The Hut Group gets £500m to make further acquisitions

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Oct 24, 2017

British online health and beauty retailer The Hut Group has signed a deal that increases its borrowing capacity from £345m to £515m to support its expansion drive.

The company, which recently purchased British make-up company Illamasqua for an estimated £25 million, aims to become the world’s largest online retailer of health and beauty products by 2018, building on its position as Europe’s largest retailer of premium beauty. 

According to Sky News, it has added Citibank, JP Morgan and Alberta Investment Management Corporation to its syndicate of banks, which also includes existing lenders such as Barclays, HSBC and Silicon Valley Bank.

Sources said the new credit facility will be used to fuel further acquisitions in the beauty and wellbeing categories, as well as boosting the company’s e-commerce infrastructure.

In the past four months, The Hut Group acquired three established beauty companies, including sustainable make-up label Illamasqua, prestigious skincare brand Espa and subscription-based beauty service Glossybox.

Commenting on the new facility, company founder and CEO Matthew Moulding said: "This year has seen a real acceleration in investment for THG, especially across beauty, infrastructure, technology and talent.

"This substantial new credit facility is another important step for the group and provides us with even more firepower to pursue our ambitions for further significant international growth."

The Cheshire-based company experienced a 50% increase in group sales to £501m in the year to 31 December 2016, with own brand products accounting for over half of its sales.

This year, the company expects sales to reach £750m, representing another 50% increase on the prior year’s period.