Retailer buys Hale Country Club
FAST growing online retailer The Hut Group has acquired the upmarket Hale Country Club & Spa for an undisclosed sum.
Operating across 50,000 sq ft, Hale Country Club provides fitness, leisure, spa and beauty facilities to more than 5,000 members.
The Hut Group, which saw 2015 sales increase 35% to £334m, said the acquisition is a continuation of its investment in the growth and durability of its core online health and beauty businesses.
It plans to rebrand the club’s gym facilities as Myprotein and expand its health and beauty facilities under its Lookfantastic beauty brand.
Matthew Moulding, group chief executive and founder, said: “As we continue to build enduring and scalable brands we are committed to investing in the infrastructure which supports our core online Health and Beauty businesses. This acquisition is a continuation of our investment strategy, with Hale Country Club & Spa’s unrivalled facilities providing a step-change in Myprotein and Lookfantastic.”
This latest deal follows its acquisition of high-end US and Australian competitor Salu Beauty in May, which added to its stable of specialist trading platforms including Zayyi, MyProtein, Coggles and IWantOneofThose.com.
The group has more than 800 brands across 29 websites in 166 countries in Europe, the US and Australia.
Other recent investments by the group include the £120m design, build and acquisition of a 1 million sq ft distribution centre; and £10m invested during 2015 into the group’s sports nutrition and weight management production centre.
The Hut’s shareholders include Sir Terry Leahy, former chief executive of Tesco, and Lord Rose of Monewden, former head of Marks & Spencer. It is chaired by Richard Pennycook, chief executive of the Co-op.
Legal advice was provided to The Hut Group by Addleshaws, led by Roger Hart, Paul Dowdall, Oliver Hincks and Ed Hamilton. GVA advised on property whilst Indigo advised on planning.
Jonathan Brown and Mike Murphy of Hill Dickinson advised the shareholders of Hale Country Club & Spa on the sale.
