Bluebella, founded by Oxford University economics graduate Emily Bendell, burst into the black — making a profit of £347,000 in 2014 against a £430,300 loss the previous year. Sales tripled to £3.7 million.
Bendell said: “Our motto is ‘never save anything for best’. It’s how about how the product makes you, rather than him, feel — our highly wearing collections make every day feel just that little bit more exciting.”
The enduring popularity of EL James’s racy novels and subsequent film boosted Bluebella, which supplies a Fifty Shades range to Tesco.
Bendell was president of Oxford’s Magdalen College — which boasts Chancellor George Osborne and Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt as alumni — and quit her job editing a legal journal to set up the seductive underwear brand in 2005.
Bluebella is now sold in 20 countries and is stocked in Selfridges, House of Fraser and Next.
