The Hut Group raises £1bn capital in anticipation of Brexit

By Sarah Parsons | Published: 16-Dec-2019

The Manchester beauty and wellness e-commerce brand owner was founded by Matthew Moulding in 2004

British beauty brand owner The Hut Group has landed £1bn in fresh capital to prepare for the ‘macro-economic and political changes’ caused by the general election and Brexit.

The company behind Illamasqua and Espa is expected to use the funding to invest in its cosmetic brands and online platform Ingenuity, as well as its content creation studios Icon and THQ.

“The expanded capital raising is a landmark achievement and provides an exceptional growth and investment platform for the business,” said Matthew Moulding, founder and CEO of The Hut Group.

“The significant excess demand and new debt rating, and during the time of the general election, demonstrate the strength of The Hut Group’s business model and proposition and is further testament to the global model we’ve built.

“Our business continues to evolve with the demands of consumers, as we continue to invest across the group to develop our people, infrastructure and particularly our proprietary e-commerce solution Ingenuity.”

The Manchester-based company’s new financing include £66m of equity from BlackRock and Belgian investment company Sofina.

There is also a €600m capital market term-loan and a five-year £150m revolving credit facility provided by lenders by Barclays, HSBC, Santander, Citi, NatWest and JP Morgan, and a £200m package provided to a new Hut Group subsidiary, Propco, comprising the company's property assets.

It has grown sales from £80m in 2010 to more than £1bn this year, with two-thirds of revenues generated internationally across Europe, Asia and the US.

The Hut Group has grown rapidly in the past 12 months through several acquisitions, including hair care brand Christophe Robin, and its ambitious head office plans near Manchester City airport.

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