Unic Press UK: L1 Retail, the retail investment arm of LetterOne, has acquired Holland & Barrett for £1.77 billion. This was announced today by the Board of The Nature’s Bounty Co. and The Carlyle Group. Nature’s Bounty, which is owned by Carlyle, is the parent firm of Holland and Barrett.
The new owners of Holland & Barrett, L1 Retail is controlled by Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman. His net worth is currently $14.1 billion, says Forbes.
Excerpts of a statement issued by L1 Retail, confirming its purchase of Holland & Barrett, reads:
Commenting on its acquisition L1 Retail Managing Partner Stephan 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, 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.”
Steve Cahillane, President & CEO, The Nature’s Bounty Co., said:
”We are proud of the growth in both sales and market share that Peter Aldis and all associates at Holland & Barrett have achieved in the past seven years. This is due to their high standards of delivery and to the investments supported by Carlyle notably in new product development, store relocations & refurbishments. We wish Peter and all associates well in the future as they continue to build the business.”
Peter Aldis, CEO, Holland & Barrett, added:
“ 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 are particularly proud that our international business last year received the Queen’s Award for International Trade. Carlyle has been a great partner for Holland & Barrett over the last few years, investing in the brand, our people, and next generation technology, which has driven our growth. We look forward to building on this track record as we enter the next chapter with L1 Retail.”
Marco De Benedetti, Managing Director and Co-Head, Carlyle Europe Partners advisory team, said:
“It has been a privilege to work with Peter and his talented management team over the past seven years. We have invested heavily in the Holland & Barrett brand, built an innovation pipeline, opened over 300 new stores, built an industry leading omni channel platform, and expanded the business internationally. This has delivered 32 quarters of consecutive like-for-like growth and sustainable financial performance.”
Holland & Barrett is the largest health food chain in Europe, and among the world’s leading retailers of health food.
