£515m war chest for online fitness store

THE Hut Group has amassed a £515m warchest as the online health and beauty retailer plans to continue a recent acquisition spree.

The company said it has increased the size of its revolving credit facility from £345m to £515m, with the cash to be used for strategic initiatives including ‘possible mergers and acquisitions’.

The Hut Group, backed by the likes of former Tesco chief executive Sir Terry Leahy and exMarks & Spencer boss Lord Rose, has recently bought Australian online haircare brand RY, skincare group ESPA as well as beauty business Glossybox in the UK.

Matthew Moulding, chief executive, said: ‘This substantial new credit facility provides us with even more firepower to pursue our ambitions for further significant international growth.’

The new facility will see existing lenders HSBC, Barclays, Santander, Lloyds, RBS, Bank of Ireland and Silicon Valley Bank joined by Citibank, AIMCo and JP Morgan.