The Hut Group secures $1bn facility to fund more beauty and tech investments

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Apr 2, 2019

Manchester-based The Hut Group has increased its bank borrowing to $1bn (about £766m) and welcomed Shanghai Pudong Development Bank as an investor to support “upcoming major investments in beauty, technology and infrastructure”.

The company, which has become one of the leading beauty and wellbeing retail groups in the UK thanks to a string of acquisitions in the past few years, continues to grow rapidly.

Last year it reported sales in excess of $1.2bn (£920m) and its YHG Ingenuity ecommerce technology platform, which powers the group’s beauty portfolio, now trades on over 166 localised websites across 46 languages and 42 currencies.

The group’s revolving credit facility has been extended to a 4-year deal, while the M&A facility has been extended to become a 3-year deal. HSBC, Santander, Citibank, JP Morgan, NatWest and Lloyds are some of the banks involved in the transaction.

The Hut Group said Shanghai Pudong Development Bank’s support reflects its growing presence in Asian markets, which account for over 20% of group sales.

Andrew Woods, Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, relationship manager commented: “We are delighted to join The Hut Group’s core banking facility at this exciting time in the company’s development. This transaction is in line with the bank’s strategy of facilitating UK corporates with their trade flows to China and underlines our confidence in the THG management team.”

Matthew Moulding, founder and chief executive officer of THG, added: “We are thrilled to build on the continued support shown by our banking syndicate and also very much look forward to working with our new partners. We value their support and the partnership we have developed with each of them.”

The tech company also announced on Tuesday a new property funding up to €40m with Intesa Sanpaolo to finance the freehold acquisition and fit out of a new distribution warehouse in Wroclaw, Poland. The new fulfilment and manufacturing facility will occupy 800,000 square feet of space and help the group operate faster and more efficiently.

“Our new property funding for our distribution warehouse in Poland, alongside this extension of our credit facilities, are further powerful additions for the group and its business model as we continue to deliver on our ambitions of becoming the global digital leader across the beauty and wellbeing sector and drive forward our expansion plans,” CEO Moulding continued.

Among others, The Hut Group’s portfolio of brands includes Lookfantastic.com, Espa, Illamasqua and Urban Decay.