Andrew 'Twiggy' Forrest Buys R.M. Williams

R.M. Williams is a brand that quite literally forms part of the fabric of Australia and now mining magnate Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest has brought iconic bootmaker R.M. Williams back to local shores following a $190 million acquisition.

The news was announced by Forrest’s investment fund Tattarang who purchased the label from parent company LVMH, which had partnered with equity firm L Catteron to seek buyers for the brand.

“Nicola and I are incredibly proud and humbled to be able to bring R.M. Williams back under Australian ownership,” says Dr Forrest. “We just saw a Fantastic brand, a great Australian product, a legacy for the country and it just needed to be Australian – it just had to come back home.”

The bootmaker, originally founded in 1932 by Reginald Murray William, grew to include leather accessories and apparel before selling in 2014 for $110 million. At the beginning of negotiations, the controlling group was asking for as much as $500 million.

Tattarang has bought 100 per cent of the business, buying out minority shareholders, such as movie star and brand ambassador Hugh Jackman, who owned about 5 per cent of the business and is set to receive about a $10 million windfall from the deal.

The Forrests have also pledged to keep manufacturing jobs in Australia, with about 400 works currently employed in the label’s Adelaide workshop.

Rmwilliams.com

A new investment fund targeting celebrity-founded consumer brands has secured US$40 million in commitments and is rapidly approaching its US$50 million fundraising target, signalling growing investor appetite for alternative opportunities beyond traditional asset classes.

The Global Talent Fund, which has a maximum raise of US$100 million, focuses on building and investing in consumer businesses alongside celebrities, athletes, and influential personalities who play an active role as co-founders rather than simply endorsing products.

The strategy is based on the belief that changes in consumer behaviour, particularly the rise of social media and digital engagement, have fundamentally altered how brands are built and scaled.

GTF founding partner Jeremy Hunt, who is helping lead the fund’s strategy, said consumers increasingly feel connected to personalities they follow online and are more willing to support products developed by those individuals.

“Consumers are searching for content to engage with, and when a celebrity they like or follow takes them on the journey of creating a product or brand, they genuinely feel part of that process,” he said.

The fund is targeting high-growth consumer sectors including wellness, hydration, beauty and recovery, areas Hunt believes continue to benefit from strong global demand and ongoing innovation.

Rather than backing celebrity endorsement deals, the fund is seeking businesses where talent is deeply involved in product development, brand creation and long-term growth.

According to Hunt, authenticity remains one of the biggest differentiators between successful celebrity-backed brands and those that fail.

“The consumer can see clearly if someone is simply being paid to promote a product,” he said. “The winners are typically the brands where the celebrity has genuinely helped build the business from the ground up.”

The model has attracted support from several prominent Australian investors and business families, reflecting broader interest in alternative investments with global growth potential.

Hunt said consumer brands offered a level of tangibility that many investors found appealing.

“Consumer brands are what we touch, feel, smell and taste every day,” he said. “Our investors understand the growth potential in the model, but they also want to be part of the journey.”

The fund’s rapid progress towards its fundraising target comes amid growing recognition that celebrity influence, when combined with strong commercial execution and scalable business models, can create significant enterprise value.

With several high-profile celebrity-founded businesses generating billion-dollar exits in recent years, supporters of the strategy believe the opportunity remains in its early stages.

Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest Buys R.M. Williams

The iconic bootmaker is now solely in local hands.

With US$40 million already committed, the Global Talent Fund is attracting investor attention with a strategy focused on building globally scalable consumer brands alongside high-profile talent.