{"id":848222,"date":"2026-01-19T13:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-19T11:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=848222"},"modified":"2026-01-19T13:25:35","modified_gmt":"2026-01-19T11:25:35","slug":"popular-south-african-retailer-backed-by-springbok-captain-in-major-sale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/business\/848222\/popular-south-african-retailer-backed-by-springbok-captain-in-major-sale\/","title":{"rendered":"Popular South African retailer backed by Springbok captain in major sale"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Bellair Road Investment Partners has officially sold a stake in South African retailer Freedom of Movement (FOM) to VEA Capital Partners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Freedom of Movement was founded in 2013 by brothers L\u00e9an Boezaart and Marcel Boezaart, who were passionate about design and entrepreneurship, with the hope of building a South African-born lifestyle brand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company also has a strong working relationship with Springbok captain Siya Kolisi, who is a minority investor in the group. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Growing up in a house with four very social and sports-enthusiastic boys, their parents introduced a rule to maintain order: \u2018Freedom of Movement\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Freedom of Movement\u2019 had to be earned through hard work and personal discipline. If one’s academics were on par, they earned \u2018Freedom of Movement\u2019 and could make their own decisions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This laid a foundation for the boys to understand the importance of hard work and discipline. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having qualified as Civil Engineers and Chartered Accountants, the brothers then moved into the clothing industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With seed funding from their brother Marcel, who now works at Bellair Road, the brothers created the FOM brand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bellair Road invested in the company in 2019 alongside the founding team, committed to scaling the business and growing an authentic South African brand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the decade, FOM went from a niche leather goods business into a full-suite South African lifestyle and accessories company. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, it has a distinct product and brand identity, formidable retail and online presence, and an intensely loyal following.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since Bellair Road invested in FOM, the brand has grown from 6 stores to 29, with the headcount increasing from 30 to 170. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Revenue and EBITDA also rose dramatically, delivering 46% and 60% CAGR’s, respectively, between 2019 and 2025 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to the Zwide Vellie collection, FOM has also worked closely with the Kolisi Foundation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the business’s success, Bellair Road, L\u00e9an and Marcel decided to exit their investments in FOM in 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

L\u00e9an will also step down as CEO, while Roal will continue to build the brand and will return as an executive director. Kolisi also remains a committed shareholder. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

VEA’s plans for the business<\/h2>\n\n\n
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Boezaart brothers<\/em> and Siya Kolisi (Source: GQ)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

VEA Capital Partners has now acquired a stake in FOM, which it said will bring its investment strength and strategic growth capabilities to FOM’s reputation for craftsmanship, product innovation, and substantial brand equity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It said that this will enable an integrated platform for scaling South African design and manufacturing both locally and globally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Roal said that partnering with VEA Capital Partners gives FOM the strategic support to unlock the next chapter of its growth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kaybee Ntloana, Head of Marketing, said that as the company enters its next chapter, it will accelerate a decade of sustained growth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“This strategic partnership positions the brand to scale decisively, lead in product innovation, and cement our status as a pioneering force in South African retail,” said Ntloana. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Freedom of Movement Images<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Bellair Road<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n
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VEA Capital Partners has acquired a large stake in Freedom of Movement following the retailer’s massive growth in South Africa. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":95,"featured_media":848235,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9872],"tags":[24548,24547],"class_list":["post-848222","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-bellair-road","tag-vea-capital-partners"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/848222","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/95"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=848222"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/848222\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":848284,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/848222\/revisions\/848284"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/848235"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=848222"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=848222"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=848222"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}