The Hut Group, an online retailer and ecommerce services
provider, has raised £14 million in a preflotation
placement. The fundraising was completed in eight weeks and
includes investment from fund managers Artemis and the William
Currie Group, as well as from private investor Alex Monroe and
venture capital firm Balderton Capital. The round was led by
Steve Whitehead, The Hut Group’s newly appointed M&A director.
Whitehead joined the firm in January with a twofold remit: He was
first tasked with leading a fundraising round ahead of the
company’s planned flotation in 2011; his next focus is seeking
acquisition targets in order to grow the business. Whitehead says
that he is primarily looking to acquire online retailers in the
health and beauty, footwear, and sportswear market sectors and
adds that the Hut is already in talks with “a number of
potential targets”.
Even without adding new businesses to the group, The Hut
continues to trade strongly, delivering £50 million
“organically” last year, says Whitehead. He expects
the company to achieve £90 million to £100 million by
the end of this year. “It is very
ambitious,” he admits, but says that “trading to date
supports that estimate”.
In addition to planned acquisitions, The Hut continues to build
its business through launching proprietary websites. In April it
unveiled a handbag and accessories site called MyBag.co.uk and a
May date is planned for the launch of Gifted.com, The Hut’s foray
into personalised gifts.
Another part of The Hut’s business model is creating white-label
sites for other retailers. The latest site to go live is an
entertainment website for Debenhams, which launched in April. The
new store sells DVDs, CDs, and games to supplement the department
store’s existing product range that includes apparel and
homewares.
What’s more, 2010 will see The Hut expand into new territories.
Its international performance is strong-Whitehead says that Zavvi
and TheHut.com currently receive 50 percent of orders from
outside of the UK. The Spanish-language Zavvi.es launched in
February, and according to Whitehead, is seeing “good sales
volumes”. The next target for Zavvi is the Netherlands,
with further European countries earmarked for entry later this
year.
To facilitate its growth plans, the investment will enable The
Hut Group to create up to 150 jobs in the next 18 months across
all business functions from product sourcing through to IT and
customer care.
Share