Elemis sold for £700million

L’OCCitane has snapped up premium British skincare brand elemis for just under £700m.

the Hong Kong-listed beauty group plans to expand the brand across asia while taking advantage of its popularity with younger customers.

elemis was founded in 1990 by noella Gabriel, sean Harrington and Oriele Frank, all of whom will stay at the business when the purchase completes.

the company, known for its pro-collagen range of skin creams which costs up to £150 for 100ml, is owned by steiner Leisure, which was founded by Ocado chief executive tim steiner’s great-grandfather.

steiner Leisure was originally set up by Henry steiner as a hair and skincare brand in 1901 and is owned by private equity group, L Catterton.

reinold Geiger, chairman and chief executive of L’Occitane, said the deal would allow it to develop a portfolio of premium beauty brands.

sean Harrington, co-founder and chief executive of elemis, added: ‘reinold Geiger has a strong history of developing and supporting brands like ours that are creating products sourced from nature and developed through cutting-edge science and technology.

‘With his inspiring and entrepreneurial leadership, i am confident that through this transaction we can continue to realise our mission of delivering extraordinary products and experiences, and grow elemis into one of the leading skincare brands in the world.’