Holland & Barrett to be acquired by L1 Retail for £1.77 billion
Health and wellness retailer Holland & Barrett is to be acquired by L1 Retail, a fund controlled by Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman.
The £1.77 billion transaction is expected to close by September 2017 subject to regulatory approvals.
Currently part of Carlyle owned The Nature’s Bounty Co., Holland & Barrett was originally founded in 1870 and now operates stores in more than 1,150 locations worldwide and employs 4,200 staff.
With headquarters in Nuneaton, the company’s annual revenues in 2016 exceeded £610 million to mark 32 consecutive quarters of like-for-like growth. The increase was driven by investment in new store openings, the company’s online sales platform and marketing campaigns.
International expansion across Scandinavia and in Holland & Barrett’s partnerships with Tesco in the UK, Apollo Hospital Group in India, and AS Watson in Hong Kong, has helped to increase the company’s international operations footprint to 16 countries.
Commenting on the acquisition, Peter Aldis, chief executive of Holland & Barrett, said: “We are delighted to now be in partnership with the L1 Retail team and its advisory board of internationally-renowned retailers.
“We have upgraded much of our core store portfolio to concept stores to deliver additional in-store theatre and increased customer engagement. New products launched through our ethical sourcing programme have also been a key growth driver helping to underpin our substantial investment to gain presence across an increasingly global health and wellness market.
“We look forward to building on this track record as we enter the next chapter with L1 Retail.”
Led by managing partner Stephan DuCharme and supported by an advisory board which includes Karl-Heinz Holland, Clive Humby and John Walden , L1 Retail said it will aim to add value to Holland & Barrett through its deep sector and strategic expertise as well as its familiarity with data and financial markets.
DuCharme said: “Holland & Barrett is a clear market leader in the UK health and wellness retail market, with attractive growth positions in other European and international markets, and growing online presence, with a leading customer loyalty programme and 10 million active cardholders. We look forward to working with Peter Aldis, CEO of Holland & Barrett, and his strong management team.
“We believe that the company is well positioned to benefit from structural growth in the growing £10 billion health and wellness market and has multiple levers for long term growth and value creation.”
