The Hut Group

The Hut Group
Private
Industry Retail & Technology
Founded 2004 (2004)
Founders
  • Matthew Moulding
  • John Gallemore
Headquarters Northwich, Cheshire, United Kingdom
Area served
 Worldwide
Key people
Products Various
Revenue £334 million (2015)[1]
Number of employees
 1000+[2]
Divisions Retail & Technology Services
Website www.thehutgroup.com

The Hut Group is a British e-commerce company with headquarters in Northwich, Cheshire. Operating over 100 international websites that sell premium Fast-moving consumer goods ("FMCG") direct to consumer in the Health and Beauty markets through its proprietary technology and operating platform.

The company is led by founder and CEO Matthew Moulding, chaired by Richard Pennycook and backed by investors KKR, BlackRock, Sofina and Balderton Capital as well as senior retailers Sir Terry Leahy and Lord Rose.

The Hut Group regards itself as Europe's fastest growing Health and Beauty online retailer. As of 2015, The Hut Group's sales have predominantly been outside the UK.[3].

The Hut Group was regarded as a European technology unicorn. In 2017 it was valued at more than $1.1bn.[4]

History

The Hut Group was founded in 2004 by Matthew Moulding and John Gallemore, when Matthew bought a CD online at a price much cheaper than in store and realised the disruptive potential of online retail. Matthew launched the company with a £500,000 investment and a focus on entertainment products such as Music and Gaming.[5][6]

In order to build up revenues and profitability, The Hut Group used its proprietary technology platform as a whitelabel solution for large physical retailers who wanted to go online. This included ASDA, Argos Entertainment, Tesco and WHSmith.[7][8]

Locations

The Hut Group's main headquarters is in Gadbrook Park, Cheshire. Part of the Northern Powerhouse, it is one of 20 tech British-based Unicorns(?) as of 2016.[9]

Talent

The Hut Group is noted for its unorthodox talent model based on the accelerated promotion of young graduates into leadership positions very early on in their careers.[10] These include the promotion of a Physics graduate to become a divisional CEO aged 26 [11] and the hiring of a top Computer Science graduate from Cambridge.[12]

Other unorthodox approaches include its high prize money technology competitions for undergraduates.[13]

Awards

In November 2008, the Hut Group won the Bank of Scotland North West Entrepreneur Challenge, with the prize of a £5 million interest free loan.[14] On 5 February 2009, the company was voted the United Kingdom's best entrepreneur after beating the other regional finalists.[15]

In September 2009 The Hut Group topped the Tech Track 100 list of fastest growing technology companies in the United Kingdom.[16]

In April 2013, Mybag.com, the Hut Group's footwear store won the Draper's Footwear and/or Accessories Etailer of the Year.[17]

In April 2014, The Hut Group, topped the Sunday Times Profit Track 100 list of Britain's private companies with the fastest growing profits.[18]

In April 2015, The Hut Group topped the Sunday Times Profit Track 100 list of Britain's private companies with the fastest growing profits for the second year running. Profits grew an average of 217% a year from £503,000 in 2011 to £16m in 2014.[19]

In July 2016, The Hut Group announced it had bought Hale Country Club and Spa, a 50,000 sq ft fitness and beauty facility located in Wythenshawe.[20]

Ownership

Chaired by Richard Pennycook, the chief executive of the Co-operative Group, its investors include Sir Terry Leahy, the former Tesco chief executive, and Lord Rose, the chairman of Ocado and Britain Stronger in Europe. In 2014, the company sold a 19.2% stake to KKR, one of the world's leading private equity firms, while Balderton Capital, a technology investor, owns an identical stake.[21] BlackRock, the world's biggest asset manager is also a shareholder and invested £138m in February 2016.[22]

In May 2016, Sofina announced an undisclosed equity stake in The Hut Group.[23]

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. In 2016, the group made its first ever physical retail acquisition with the purchase of Hale Country Club & Spa. [24]

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. [25] [26]
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. [27]
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. [28]
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. [29]
HQHair 2011 The Hut Group bought HQ Hair out of administration in 2011. [30]
Myprotein 2011 The Hut Group bought Myprotein in 2011 in its first Health-focused acquisition. The acquisition was also notable in its size, with the deal estimated at £60M at the time of the announcement. [31]
Coggles 2013 The Hut Group picked up luxury fashion retailer Coggles from Administration. Originally a predominantly physical retailer based in York, it is now operated solely online as part of The Hut Group's e-commerce platform. [32]
Preloved 2014 The Hut Group acquired online secondhand marketplace, Preloved from its founder Ian Buzer in 2004. The marketplace and community was started in 1998 and is one of the largest in the UK with over 6 million members. [33]
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).[34] [35]
IdealShape 2016 The Hut Group acquired IdealShape, a US-based dieting and nutrition brand based out of American Fork, Utah. The female-focused dieting brand complements The Hut Group's previous acquisition of ExanteDiet and Myprotein. [36]

Litigation

Oliver Cookson was involved in a long running case of litigation with The Hut Group 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.[37][38]

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.[39]

Oliver Cookson and the Trust appealed the court's decision to award The Hut Groups damages.[40] The court of appeal dismissed the appeal on the 22 March 2016.[41]

References

  1. ↑ "Annual Returns up to end of 2015". Companies House.
  2. ↑ "The Hut Group Linkedin". The Hut Group. Retrieved 2017-02-01.
  3. ↑ Hardy, Emily (19 April 2016). "The Hut Group profits jump 33% as international sales soar".
  4. ↑ "The North’s fastest growing tech companies".
  5. ↑ "History of The Hut Group".
  6. ↑ "Profile: Matthew Moulding".
  7. ↑ "Profile: Matthew Moulding".
  8. ↑ "The Hut Group buys collapsed beauty site".
  9. ↑ Rolet, Xavier (5 July 2016). "Britain will retain its golden spirit of enterprise if we keep backing entrepreneurs". Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  10. ↑ Fleisher, Lisa (2 June 2014). "Away From the U.K.'s Tech Capital, a Challenger Emerges". Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  11. ↑ Hurley, James (19 November 2015). "The online boss who some might think is barely out of nappies". Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  12. ↑ Ralph, Alex (18 November 2013). "Dad can apply too if son is special". Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  13. ↑ Batchelor, James (3 December 2015). "the hut group hosts 100 000 game of code competition". Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  14. ↑ "The Hut Group wins North West final of Bank of Scotland Entrepreneur Challenge". The Hut Group. 2008-11-28. Retrieved 2009-03-02.
  15. ↑ "The Hut Group voted Britain’s best entrepreneur". The Hut Group. 2009-02-05. Retrieved 2009-03-02.
  16. ↑ "Tech Track 100 league table 2009". Fast Track. 2008-09-21. Retrieved 2009-09-23.
  17. ↑ "Draper's Footwear and/or Accessories Etailer of the Year 2013". Drapers. 2013-07-05. Retrieved 2013-07-05.
  18. ↑ "Fasttrack 2014" (PDF).
  19. ↑ "Fasttrack 2015" (PDF).
  20. ↑ "The Hut Group buys country club".
  21. ↑ "Hut Group Grows Beauty Arm With Canadian Deal". Sky News. 23 February 2016. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  22. ↑ "The Hut Group secures extra funding as sales and profits jump". Retail Week. 16 February 2016. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  23. ↑ "The Hut Group lands £138m investment". Drapers online. 16 February 2016. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  24. ↑ "Hale and The Hut Group | Hale Country Club & Spa". www.halecountryclub.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-10-10.
  25. ↑ "Zavvi placed into administration". BBC Online. BBC News. 2008-12-24. Retrieved 2009-01-06.
  26. ↑ "The Hut swoops for Zavvi.co.uk". MCV. 2009-03-02. Retrieved 2009-03-02.
  27. ↑ "The Hut Group makes double acquisition". Growth Business. 2010-08-12. Retrieved 2017-02-05.
  28. ↑ "The Hut Group buys Lookfantastic.com in £19.4m deal". Retail Week. 2010-11-09. Retrieved 2017-02-05.
  29. ↑ "Mankind Direct acquired by The Hut Group". MEN. 2010-06-12. Retrieved 2017-02-05.
  30. ↑ "The Hut Group buys collapsed beauty site". Retail Week. 2011-01-21. Retrieved 2017-02-05.
  31. ↑ "Hut Group buys Myprotein in £60m deal". MEN. 2011-06-01. Retrieved 2017-02-05.
  32. ↑ "The Hut Group buys Coggles from administration". Fashion United. 2013-06-19. Retrieved 2017-02-05.
  33. ↑ "Retailing group the Hut Group buys Preloved.co.uk classified portal". Internet Retailing. 2014-03-28. Retrieved 2017-02-05.
  34. ↑ Misiri, Talya (31 May 2017). "The Hut Group adds a competitor to its portfolio". Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  35. ↑ "Retailing group the Hut Group buys Preloved.co.uk classified portal". Internet Retailing. 2014-03-28. Retrieved 2017-02-05.
  36. ↑ "Hut Group expansion goes on as tech firm gets into Ideal Shape". Sky News. 2016-09-18. Retrieved 2017-02-05.
  37. ↑ “The judgment by The Hon Mr Justice Blair - The Hut Group Ltd v Cookson”, England and Wales High Court (Queen's Bench Division) Decisions, 20th November 2014.
  38. ↑ “Business Desk article - 21st November 2014
  39. ↑ “Costs awarded in The Hut Group vs Oliver Cookson & Barclays Private Bank & Trust Ltd - Press Release by DWF
  40. ↑ "Permission to appeal granted in High Court case between The Hut Group Ltd and Oliver Cookson and others". DWF.LAW. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  41. ↑ "Deals/Restructuring / Deals List / The Hut successfully defends court appeal by Cookson - TheBusinessDesk.com". Retrieved 17 April 2016.
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