The Hut Group (“THG or the “Group”), one of the world’s largest online beauty and wellbeing businesses, today announces the acquisition of Acheson & Acheson, a pre-eminent British beauty contract manufacturer and product developer.

Established in 1992, by Kenneth and Fiona Acheson, Acheson & Acheson has grown at rapid pace to its position as a distinguished manufacturer for prestige beauty brands, supported by its best-in-class R&D, manufacturing, regulatory compliance, product design and product development functions. Acheson & Acheson has over 380 employees, which includes over 50 people working exclusively on pioneering product development and innovation, keeping its clients at the forefront of the beauty industry.

The business offers an end-to-end service that runs from product/packaging design & development, formulation development, international sourcing, product testing to UK manufacturing, warehouse and distribution. The company also holds numerous high value accreditations, including being a certified BRC Grade A Supplier and compliant with SEDEX.

Acheson & Acheson has a state-of-the-art 78,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility in Frome, Somerset along with two other sites in Trowbridge – one being its head office and the other, a facility for product packaging, storage and distribution. The facilities will now be added to THG’s portfolio, which includes two food production and distribution facilities – a 1m sq. ft. Cheshire based facility (Omega) and a US facility in Kentucky – as well as a production and logistics centre in Poland, which brings next-day delivery to continental Europe.

The investment represents long-term strategic benefits for THG as it reinforces its ambition of becoming the fully integrated, global digital leader in the beauty and wellbeing sectors. Future expansion plans include THG’s intention to spend £50m replicating Acheson & Acheson in Europe and USA.

Ameliorate, Acheson & Acheson’s own skincare brand, is included in the purchase and will subsequently be added to THG’s own brand portfolio. Targeted at sufferers of Keratosis Pilaris, the specialist brand is sold globally through leading prestige and specialty retailers including Space NK Apothecary, Selfridges, Boots, Harvey Nichols, Liberty’s and Marks & Spencer.

Matthew Moulding, Chief Executive Officer of The Hut Group, commented: “Acheson & Acheson is a truly exciting addition to THG and I am delighted to welcome this very talented team. In Acheson & Acheson, we have made a significant investment and one that uniquely positions THG to make a step-change in its innovation, operational excellence and manufacturing capacity.”

Kenneth Acheson, Co-owner and Managing Director, said: “I am delighted with this transaction, which will no doubt take Acheson & Acheson to the next level of growth under THG’s expert guidance. We’re incredibly proud of everything we’ve accomplished to date and of our fantastic team. It’s why finding the right partner was of utmost importance to us and I have absolutely no doubt that we’ve found this in THG.”

Tim Leach, Managing Director of Baylor Klein said, “With our knowledge of the Acheson & Acheson business and its expertise in providing the highest quality premium products, we knew it would be a perfect fit to help The Hut Group’s growth ambitions. This provided the inspiration to match the two and we are confident the partnership will be a highly successful one.”

Acheson & Acheson were advised by Baylor Klein (Tim Leach and Rob Halsall), who sourced and brokered the deal and Addleshaw Goddard (Paul Medlicott) provided legal advice. THG were advised by Travers Smith (Adrian West), providing legal advice and Ernst & Young (Richard Harding and Steven Kingham) and Deloitte (David O’Leary) provided financial and taxation due diligence advice respectively.