Private equity tempted by Hotel Chocolat

Alice Murray
28 May 2013

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Private equity houses are in talks with confectioner Hotel Chocolat regarding a possible purchase, which could see the company valued at around £100m.

The confectioner brought in PwC last year to assess unsolicited approaches. According to reports, Hotel Chocolat has now entered into negotiations with potential private equity buyers. The company is thought to be worth between £50-100m.

Hotel Chocolat was established in 2004. The company grows its own cocoa on its Rabot Estate cocoa plantations in Saint Lucia, while manufacturing takes place at its facility in Huntington, UK. The retailer has stores throughout the UK and the US, as well as concessions in John Lewis. In 2011, the confectioner opened a hotel in the grounds of its cocoa plantation in Saint Lucia.

The recent private equity interest in Hotel Chocolat highlights the improving condition of UK retailers, particularly in the luxury food sector. Thorntons, another high street confectioner, reported encouraging results in January 2013, with sales reaching £88m over a 14-week period from October to January, up 54% on the same period last year. The improved results come after Thorntons was forced to shut down 120 of its shops due to weak trading in 2011.