Gen Phoenix (formerly ELeather)

Gen Phoenix (formerly ELeather) is the pioneer of sustainable, engineered leather. Its revolutionary process transforms leather into advanced materials while achieving a significantly lower environmental footprint. Gen Phoenix reduces waste, increases performance, and enables brands to create extraordinary products and memorable customer experiences, while improving sustainability.

Gen Phoenix has grown to supply industries ranging from transport to footwear, exporting over 90% of sales to more than 50 countries.
 

What did the business need?

£6m initial investment was required to scale up manufacturing in first facility, followed by £65m of funding to create a new, state of the art technology and manufacturing facility, greatly increasing capacity and allowing expansion into new markets. Gen Phoenix required patient scale-up funding from a seasoned investor with liked-minded values to existing family office shareholders. The investment enabled a new, state of the art technology and manufacturing facility increasing capacity by 4x and to expand the business into new markets to fuel the next phase of growth.
 

What lasting value did PE/VC investment bring?

The funding was critical for the company to meet their ambitious growth plans through increasing manufacturing capacity and entering new markets. In 2018, Gen Phoenix entered a long-term strategic innovation partnership with Nike to introduce a new performance material, Nike Flyleather. Flyleather is a performance, engineered leather made from recycled leather fibres and is lighter and more durable (based on abrasion testing) than full-grain leather. It is manufactured from unused leather diverted from landfills and constructed with high-performance materials to create Nike’s most sustainable leather product.
 

Future growth plans

Gen Phoenix are planning further expansion into consumer and lifestyle markets, as well as the automotive sector, where they can introduce the benefits of a high-performance, sustainable material that addresses consumer demands