The Hut Group builds acquisition war chest with new £515m credit facility

The online beauty business said the facility would be used for “general corporate purposes” as well as “strategic initiatives”, which it admitted included “possible” mergers or acquisitions and infrastructure development.

Earlier this month the group added cult cosmetics brand Illamasqua to its fast-growing beauty empire, snapping up the business in a deal understood to be worth around £25m.

It has also acquired luxury skincare brand Espa and cosmetics subscription business Glossbybox this year.

The Hut now trades through more than 140 websites across 47 languages and 30 currencies, with international revenues accounting for 73% of overall sales.

The group’s founder and chief executive Matthew Moulding said: “The continued confidence in the strength of our business shown by HSBC, Barclays, Santander, Lloyds, RBS, Bank of Ireland and Silicon Valley Bank is testament to their belief in our ambitions and ability to deliver.

“We are extremely pleased by the additional support of Citibank, AIMCo and JP Morgan, all of which are international banks, and further support our transformation into a truly Global Group.

“This year has seen a real acceleration in investment for THG, especially across beauty, infrastructure, technology and talent.

“This substantial new credit facility is another important step for the group and provides us with even more firepower to pursue our ambitions for further significant international growth.”