Private equity firm Piper celebrated its 30th birthday with a party at Heal’s last week.

Mainstays Chris Curry and Crispin Tweddell invited Boden founder Johnnie Boden and managing director Julian Granville to give speeches at the party - Piper was an investor in the homewares retailer.

Granville recalled Boden’s 2002 launch in the US. “We had 10 plans for how we could exit but none for what we’d do if it was a success,” he said.

The business must have found plan 11 in the end. By 2012 the US business generated sales of £94m.

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