BlackRock, Sofina in £66m round for THG

Katharine Hidalgo
16 December 2019

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Existing investors BlackRock and Sofina have invested ТЃ66m in online retailer The Hut Group (THG).

The capital will go towards developing its technology and investing in marketing, and will also be invested in freehold properties owned by THG's events division.

Alongside the equity financing, THG has taken out a new five-year £150m revolving credit facility provided by Barclays, HSBC, Santander, Citi, NatWest and JP Morgan. It has also secured £200m in secured debt and development facilities provided by Citi and CBRE Investment Advisory for a THG subsidiary comprising THG's property assets.

Previous funding
In April 2010, Balderton Capital participated in a £14m pre-IPO placing of THG, though the company later decided against floating. In November 2010, the company raised £18.5m from existing investors to finance the £19.4m acquisition of Lookfantastic Group; backers included Balderton, Artemis, William Currie Group and ex-Matalan CEO Angus Monro.

In 2014, KKR acquired a 20% stake in the company for £100m.

In 2016, Sofina structured a round of growth funding, with participation from existing investor BlackRock. The deal was valued at £138m.

Old Mutual Global Investors led a £125m funding round for THG in 2017, with participation from Sofina. The investment valued the company at £2.5bn.

Company
Headquartered in Cheshire, THG is an online retailer specialising in health and beauty. Established in 2004, it focuses on selling own-brand or third-party branded goods to customers directly through a portfolio of 60 international websites. The company reports revenue of more than £1bn for 2019.

People
THG – Matthew Moulding (founder, CEO).

Advisers
Company – Clifford Chance (legal); Gibson Dunn (legal); Gowling (legal); EY Parthenon (financial due diligence); Deloitte (financial due diligence); Eastdil Secured (corporate finance).