The Hut Group

The Hut Group (also known as "THG") is a British e-commerce company headquartered at Manchester Airport, England. It operates over 100 international websites selling Fast-moving consumer goods ("FMCG") direct to consumer through its proprietary e-commerce platform. As of 2015, The Hut Group's sales had predominantly been outside the UK.[3]

For the political party, see Hut Group.

THG Holdings plc
TypePublic limited company
LSE: THG
IndustryRetail & Technology
Founded2004 (2004)
Founders
  • Matthew Moulding
  • John Gallemore
HeadquartersManchester, England, UK
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
ProductsBeauty and Wellbeing
Revenue£1.14 billion (2019) [1]
Number of employees
7000+[2]
DivisionsRetail & Technology Services
Websitewww.thg.com

In 2017, The Hut Group was valued at more than £2.5bn making it one of the most valuable private companies in the United Kingdom, and one of the UK's many unicorns.[4][5][6] On 16 September 2020, The Hut Group floated on the London Stock Exchange, the largest IPO on the LSE since 2013. Share prices quickly increased in value by 25% before stabilising. [7]

History

The Hut Group was founded in 2004 by Matthew Moulding and John Gallemore. Moulding launched the company with a £500,000 investment, focusing on entertainment products such as Music and Gaming.[8][9]

The Hut Group originally created white-label websites for large physical retailers. These included ASDA, Argos Entertainment, Tesco and WHSmith.[9][10]

Locations

The Hut Group's main headquarters are in Manchester Airport, Manchester. Part of the Northern Powerhouse, it is one of 20 tech British-based unicorns as of 2016.[11]

Ownership

Its investors include Sir Terry Leahy, the former Tesco chief executive, and Lord Rose, the chairman of Ocado. In 2014, the company sold a 19.2% stake to KKR, while Balderton Capital, a technology investor, owns an identical stake.[12] BlackRock, is also a shareholder and invested £138m in February 2016.[13]

In May 2016, Sofina announced an undisclosed equity stake in The Hut Group.[14]

In August 2017, Sky News reported that Old Mutual Global Investors had made their first private equity investment in The Hut Group.[15][16]

Acquisitions

The Hut Group has pursued an acquisition strategy of mainly taking full ownership of E-Commerce businesses in a variety of retail sectors and putting the websites onto its proprietary technology platform.

Acquisition Year Company Description Ref.
Zavvi 2009 The Hut Group's first acquisition was of Zavvi, an online entertainment business that had gone into Administration in 2008. [17][18]
IWOOT - I Want One of Those 2010 The Hut Group bought IWOOT (IWantOneOfThose.com) from Findel Group as well as Confetti, a wedding accessories retailer. [19]
Lookfantastic.com 2010 The Hut Group bought Lookfantastic group from the Crown family in November 2010. The business sells premium beauty skincare and haircare and operates beauty salons across the United Kingdom. [20]
Mankind Direct 2010 The Hut Group bought Mankind Direct weeks after purchasing Lookfantastic Group. Mankind is a male-focused online grooming retailer. At the time, it reported £5M annual sales. [21]
HQHair 2011 The Hut Group bought HQ Hair out of administration in 2011. [22]
Myprotein 2011 The Hut Group bought Myprotein in 2011. The deal estimated at £60M at the time of the announcement. [23]
Coggles 2013 The Hut Group picked up luxury fashion retailer Coggles from Administration. Originally a predominantly physical retailer based in York, it operated solely online until December 2017 when the company launched a new flagship store in Alderley Edge, Cheshire.[24] [25]
Active Nutrition International 2014 The Hut Group bought Finnish online sports nutrition retailer Active Nutrition International in 2014. [26]
ProBikeKit 2013 The Hut Group acquires ProBikeKit.com in 2013
Preloved 2014 The Hut Group acquired online secondhand marketplace, Preloved from its founder Ian Buzer in 2014. The marketplace and community was started in 1998 and is one of the largest in the UK with over 6 million members. [27][28]
SkinStore 2016 The Hut Group acquired US and Australian Beauty Retailer, SkinStore, from Walgreens Boots Alliance in 2016. The retailer is one of the leading online-only beauty retailers in USA (Skinstore.com) and Australia (Skincarestore.com.au).[29] [27]
IdealShape 2016 The Hut Group acquired IdealShape, a US-based dieting and nutrition brand based out of American Fork, Utah. [30]
Hale Country Club & Spa 2016 In 2016, the group made its first ever physical retail acquisition with the purchase of Hale Country Club & Spa. [31]
Hangar Seven 2017 The Hut Group acquired H7, a leading UK-based content producer focused on video and photographic content for the brand and retail industry. Hangar Seven had studios in London, Leeds, Macclesfield and in Portugal. [32]
UK2 Group 2017 The Hut Group acquired UK2 Group, a web hosting firm with data centres around the world. UK2 was part-owned by LDC, the banking division of Lloyds Banking Group since 2011. [33]
RY.com.au 2017 The Hut Group acquired RY.com.au, an Australian beauty online retailer. RY, which stands for 'Recreate Yourself', was established by James Patten and Brad Carr in 2005. [34]
GLOSSYBOX 2017 The Hut Group acquired European provider of beauty box subscription services, GLOSSYBOX, from fellow investment companies Rocket Internet and Kinnevik Online. [35]
ESPA 2017 The Hut Group acquired ESPA, which is based in the UK. ESPA has a presence in more than 700 spas in 60 countries. [36]
Illamasqua 2017 The Hut Group acquired Illamasqua, a British make-up brand. Illamasqua was founded in 2006 by Julian Kynaston. [37]
Language Connect 2018 The Hut Group acquired Language Connect, an online translation company. Language Connect was founded in 2003 by Ben and Iwona Taylor and has grown to become an international language services provider. [38]
Acheson & Acheson 2018
Eyeko 2018 [39]
Christophe Robin 2019 The Hut Group acquired French haircare brand Christophe Robin, which was established in 1999, for approximately £50 million. [40]
Eclectic Hotel Group 2019 In May 2019, it was announced that THG had acquired Eclectic Hotel Group, marking their second leisure property purchase since acquiring Hale Country Club and Spa in 2016. The purchase consisted of King Street Townhouse and Great John Street Hotel, both situated in Manchester, but not Didsbury House Hotel or Eleven Didsbury Park, which were hived out of Eclectic Hotel Group before completion. [41]
Perricone MD 2020 Acquired from for $60 million. [42]
Dermstore 2020 Acquired from Target Corporation for $350 million. [43][44]
Claremont Ingredients Limited 2020 Acquired for a combined purchase price of £59.5 million. [45][46]
David Berryman Limited 2020 Acquired for a combined purchase price of £59.5 million. [47][48]

Litigation

The Hut Group sued Oliver Cookson over the sale of Myprotein in 2011. Cookson was sued for £15 million, with The Hut Group claiming overestimation affected the valuation of the company when they bought it. Cookson counter sued for £12.7 million claiming a breach of warranty and fraudulent mis-representation. The matter went to the High Court in London in October 2014 and after a month-long trial judgement was given by William Blair in November 2014 giving Oliver Cookson an overall net result win of £6.5m in damages.[49][50]

At the costs hearing in December 2014, the judge awarded a payment of just under £7.5 million to be made by The Hut Group to Cookson and the Trust in respect of all of the claims and counterclaims in the action and one third of the costs incurred by Mr Cookson and the Trust.[51]

Oliver Cookson and the Trust appealed the court's decision to award The Hut Groups damages.[52] The court of appeal dismissed the appeal on 22 March 2016.[53]

References
  1. "THG Sales Surpass £1bn on Continued Profit Growth and Major Investment". The Hut Group. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  2. "THG on Instagram: "TAKING THG BEYOND IMAGINATION • • • We ended 2019 riding high and are ready to take the future to a whole new level. The last decade was…"". Instagram.
  3. Hardy, Emily (19 April 2016). "The Hut Group profits jump 33% as international sales soar".
  4. "Hut Group hits £2.5bn valuation with £125m Old Mutual investment". Sky News.
  5. "Northern Tech 100 League Table 2017 - Reports". Tech Nation.
  6. Prosser, David. "Billion Dollar Britain: 13 Unicorns From the UK". Forbes.
  7. Jolly, Jasper; Butler, Sarah (16 September 2020). "Hut Group shares jump in value by quarter on first stock market day". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  8. "History of The Hut Group".
  9. Goldfingle2012-10-05T07:00:00, Gemma. "Profile: Matthew Moulding, founder and chief executive, The Hut". Retail Week.
  10. Goldfingle2011-01-21T00:00:00+00:00, Gemma. "The Hut Group buys collapsed beauty site". Retail Week.
  11. Rolet, Xavier (5 July 2016). "Britain will retain its golden spirit of enterprise if we keep backing entrepreneurs". Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  12. "Hut Group Grows Beauty Arm With Canadian Deal". Sky News. 23 February 2016. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  13. "The Hut Group secures extra funding as sales and profits jump". Retail Week. 16 February 2016. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  14. "The Hut Group lands £138m investment". Drapers online. 16 February 2016. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  15. "The Hut Group 'to sell £125m stake' which could see the company valued at £2.5bn". Manchester Evening News. 14 August 2017. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  16. "Hut Group hits £2.5Bn valuation with £125M Old Mutual Investment". Sky News Online. 13 August 2017. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  17. "Zavvi placed into administration". BBC Online. BBC News. 24 December 2008. Retrieved 6 January 2009.
  18. "The Hut swoops for Zavvi.co.uk". MCV. 2 March 2009. Retrieved 2 March 2009.
  19. "The Hut Group makes double acquisition". Growth Business. 12 August 2010. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  20. "The Hut Group buys Lookfantastic.com in £19.4m deal". Retail Week. 9 November 2010. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  21. "Mankind Direct acquired by The Hut Group". MEN. 12 June 2010. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  22. "The Hut Group buys collapsed beauty site". Retail Week. 21 January 2011. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  23. "Hut Group buys Myprotein in £60m deal". MEN. 1 June 2011. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  24. "Luxury store opens in former bank - alderleyedge.com". www.alderleyedge.com. Retrieved 1 December 2017.
  25. "The Hut Group buys Coggles from administration". Fashion United. 19 June 2013. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  26. "massfi.co.uk - About us".
  27. "Retailing group the Hut Group buys Preloved.co.uk classified portal". Internet Retailing. 28 March 2014. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  28. "Preloved acquired by The Hut Group". BCMS. March 2014.
  29. Misiri, Talya (31 May 2017). "The Hut Group adds a competitor to its portfolio". Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  30. "Hut Group expansion goes on as tech firm gets into Ideal Shape". Sky News. 18 September 2016. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  31. "Hale and The Hut Group | Hale Country Club & Spa". www.halecountryclub.co.uk. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  32. "Hangar Seven Snapped up by Hut". Manchester Evening News. 23 April 2017. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  33. "Hut Group spending spree goes on with UK2 Deal". Sky News. 17 May 2017. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  34. "Hut Group continues spending spree with Illamasqua cult beauty brand". Telegraph UK. 24 August 2017. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  35. "Online retailer The Hut adds to beauty brands with Glossybox deal". FT. 14 August 2017. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
  36. "Hut Group takeover spree goes on with £100m-plus ESPA deal". Sky News. 6 September 2017. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
  37. "Hut Group continues spending spree with Illamasqua cult beauty brand". Telegraph UK. 4 October 2017. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  38. Greer, Stuart (17 July 2018). "Online health and beauty retailer The Hut Group acquire language translators". men. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
  39. https://www.thg.com/news/the-hut-group-eyes-up-leading-cosmetics-brand-eyeko/
  40. "The Hut Group adds Christophe Robin to growing stable". Retail Gazette. 30 April 2019. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  41. "The Hut Group acquires Manchester hotel chain". Prolific North. 2 May 2019. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  42. https://www.thg.com/news/thg-acquires-luxury-skincare-brand-perricone-md/
  43. https://thg.ir-data.com/article/id/17
  44. https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-dermstore-m-a-the-hut-group/uks-hut-group-to-buy-online-retailer-dermstore-from-target-for-350-million-idUKKBN2930IQ
  45. https://thg.ir-data.com/article/id/17
  46. https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-dermstore-m-a-the-hut-group/uks-hut-group-to-buy-online-retailer-dermstore-from-target-for-350-million-idUKKBN2930IQ
  47. https://thg.ir-data.com/article/id/17
  48. https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-dermstore-m-a-the-hut-group/uks-hut-group-to-buy-online-retailer-dermstore-from-target-for-350-million-idUKKBN2930IQ
  49. "The judgment by The Hon Mr Justice Blair - The Hut Group Ltd v Cookson", England and Wales High Court (Queen's Bench Division) Decisions, 20 November 2014.
  50. "Business Desk article - 21 November 2014
  51. "Costs awarded in The Hut Group vs Oliver Cookson & Barclays Private Bank & Trust Ltd - Press Release by DWF
  52. "Permission to appeal granted in High Court case between The Hut Group Ltd and Oliver Cookson and others". DWF.LAW. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  53. "Deals/Restructuring / Deals List / The Hut successfully defends court appeal by Cookson - TheBusinessDesk.com". Retrieved 17 April 2016.
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