Next has bought Marie Claire Beauty Limited from Ocado in a deal that is guaranteed to net a minimum of £3m for the online grocer and technology company.

Marie Claire Ltd owns the Fabled brand and website and operates a Fabled by Marie Claire premium beauty store in central London. Since its launch in 2016, Fabled has grown to offer over 250 different beauty brands.

Next’s acquisition comes at the end of an eight-month collaboration, whereby the retailer now sells over 100 beauty brands on its website through Fabled, including Estée Lauder, Clinique and L’Occitane.

Next boss Lord Simon Wolfson said the acquisition of Fabled presented the retailer with an opportunity to “develop an extensive premium beauty business supporter by our online and retail platform”.

Fabled was previously owned by a subsidiary of Ocado and its sale nets the business a minimum guaranteed payment of £3m with added earn-out based on sales in each of the four years between January 2021 and 2024.

Ocado said the deal represented a present value of £8m, based on future earnings.

Chief executive Tim Steiner said its recent joint venture with Marks & Spencer and the continued growth of its Solutions technology arm meant the strategic imperatives of the Ocado Group were changing.

“The recent JV with M&S has meant that the centre of gravity at Ocado Group has shifted. In the light of our strategic evolution and, given the success of the collaboration between Next and Fabled, we decided that it would be in the best interests of all parties to now pass the baton so that Next can take Fabled forward. We wish them all the best in this endeavour,” he said.

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