Online cosmetics firm Cult Beauty hires advisers to explore sale
Online cosmetics business Cult Beauty has reportedly hired advisers to explore a potential sale of the company.
The firm, which is one of the UK’s fastest-growing online beauty businesses, has appointed JP Morgan to explore its options, Sky News reported.
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Co-founders Jessica De Luca and former model Alexia Inge set up the platform in 2008 to offer high-end beauty products from brands such as Benefit, Charlotte Tilbury and Nars.
In the event of a sale, the founders and Cult Beauty’s external investors could decide to sell some rather than all of their shares.
The formal process is not yet underway, according to Sky News, and any transaction would probably not take place until next year.
The website’s sales almost doubled to £68.9m in the year to May 2018, and operating profits remained flat at £3.7m.
“Performance since year end has seen continued revenue growth, albeit at a lower percentage growth rate than recent previous years, as expected and forecast by the board,” the company said.
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“Many of the company’s metrics around engagement, followers, subscribers and customers are trading well ahead on a like-for-like basis over the same period last year.”
However, Cult Beauty’s valuation is expected to reach hundreds of millions of pounds due to its strong growth potential and a demand for high-quality consumer businesses among investors.
Main image credit: Getty