Holland & Barrett sold to Russian billionaire for £1.8bn
Health food chain with 147-year history is first retail acquisition for Mikhail Fridman
One of the largest health food retailers in Europe, Holland & Barrett, has been sold to a company owned by the Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman in a £1.8bn deal.
The chain has a 147-year history dating back to 1870 when it was founded by William Holland and Alfred Barrett in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, says the BBC.
The company started out in clothing and groceries, but it was the sale of its food business in the 1920s that constituted Holland & Barrett in its current form. The store has changed hands several times since, culminating in a 1997 buyout by Nature's Bounty.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Natures Bounty, or NBTY, is a producer of nutritional products that are largely sold through Holland & Barrett stores. It was bought by the private equity group Carlyle in 2010 for around $3.8bn (£3bn).
This sale is the first part of Carlyle's planned divestment of that business, with NBTY being lined up for a separate sale.
It also marks the first purchase for L1 Retail, a holding company for Fridman which sits alongside separate funds that operate in the telecoms, technology and energy sectors, says the BBC.
The company boasts a very experienced advisory group including John Walden, the former chief executive of Home Retail Group, and Karl-Heinz Holland, who was chief executive of the German discount supermarket Lidl.
Fridman is a former chief executive of BP's Russian joint venture TNK. He made his fortune when it was sold for $56bn (£44bn) to Rosneft in 2012.
Holland & Barrett is Europe's largest health food chain, says The Guardian, with 4,200 staff, 1,150 retail locations and annual revenue last year of £610m.
Image courtesy of Swipp Inc
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Today's political cartoons - November 23, 2024
Cartoons Saturday's cartoons - qualifications, tax cuts, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Long summer days in Iceland's highlands
The Week Recommends While many parts of this volcanic island are barren, there is a 'desolate beauty' to be found in every corner
By The Week UK Published
-
The Democrats: time for wholesale reform?
Talking Point In the 'wreckage' of the election, the party must decide how to rebuild
By The Week UK Published
-
Labour shortages: the ‘most urgent problem’ facing the UK economy right now
Speed Read Britain is currently in the grip of an ‘employment crisis’
By The Week Staff Published
-
Will the energy war hurt Europe more than Russia?
Speed Read European Commission proposes a total ban on Russian oil
By The Week Staff Published
-
Will Elon Musk manage to take over Twitter?
Speed Read The world’s richest man has launched a hostile takeover bid worth $43bn
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
Shoppers urged not to buy into dodgy Black Friday deals
Speed Read Consumer watchdog says better prices can be had on most of the so-called bargain offers
By The Week Staff Published
-
Ryanair: readying for departure from London
Speed Read Plans to delist Ryanair from the London Stock Exchange could spell ‘another blow’ to the ‘dwindling’ London market
By The Week Staff Published
-
Out of fashion: Asos ‘curse’ has struck again
Speed Read Share price tumbles following the departure of CEO Nick Beighton
By The Week Staff Published
-
Universal Music’s blockbuster listing: don’t stop me now…
Speed Read Investors are betting heavily that the ‘boom in music streaming’, which has transformed Universal’s fortunes, ‘still has a long way to go’
By The Week Staff Published
-
EasyJet/Wizz: battle for air supremacy
Speed Read ‘Wizz’s cheeky takeover bid will have come as a blow to the corporate ego’
By The Week Staff Published