Lightbulb moment as ex-FD returns to buy LED Hut
MANCHESTER-based online lighting retailer LED Hut has been bought back from US venture capitalists as new owners look to secure jobs and future growth.
The company, which merged with US company Batteries Plus in 2014, has now been bought by former LED Hut financial director Clive Brown and his business partner Simon Boyle.
Between them they have over 30 years’ experience at director level in SMEs and blue chip companies.
Established in 2011, LED Hut currently employs 60 people at its head office in Manchester and recorded a turnover of over £18m in 2015.
The company has sold more than 8 million light bulbs in the last five years, providing lighting solutions to upwards of 250,000 homes in the UK.
Brown, LED Hut’s new chief executive and managing director has worked across a number of industries, holding senior positions at Elopak UK Ltd, Photronics UK Ltd, Pharmapac UK Ltd and Schlumberger before setting up his own company, Browns Consulting Services, in March last year, providing business, financial and IT services to SMEs.
Co-owner and chief operating officer Boyle is a business consultant who previously held the position of financial controller at Elopak UK for seven years. He has worked with a number of SMEs during his career, providing financial and business expertise.
They will be joined on the new management team by Neil Pollard, IT director; Ash McDowell, group finance controller; John Walsh, sales manager; Anthony Holguin, marketing manager; Mark Chapman, warehouse manager; Richard Chambers, customer service manager and Dan Coleman, executive director.
The new owners are now looking to build on the company’s success with the aim of increasing turnover by 15% in the next 12 months.
Brown said: “Having worked at LED Hut as financial director for the last seven months I know that we have a sound business that’s profitable with plenty of untapped potential.
“Now that the business is back in our control we can create stability as well as push forward with new ideas without being constrained by the US parent company; where the market is very different compared to here in the UK.”
