Online giant The Hut Group (THG) is to acquire healthy snack bar business Brighter Foods, strengthening its presence in a high-growth category.

THG will pay £43m cash for Brighter Foods, which develops and manufactures snack bars. The deal, which has been conditionally agreed, is expected to complete next month. 

The purchase is not expected to be material in the short term for THG, so profit guidance for the current year has not been changed. However, in the 2022 financial year it should generate incremental sales of approximately £20m and adjusted EBITDA of £6.5m.

For the 12 months to March, Brighter’s sales were £19.8m and adjusted EBITDA was £3.7m.

THG executive chair Matthew Moulding said: “We are delighted to announce our first major acquisition within THG Nutrition in 2021. 

“Brighter highly complements our developed vertical integration strategy and strengthens our capabilities in the growing convenience and snack bar market. Nutritional bars are a high growth category for THG, with significant product extension opportunity across all our brands.

“The Brighter team brings a wealth of bar manufacturing and product development expertise and, in line with the [previous] Claremont and David Berryman acquisitions, enables THG to significantly accelerate the launch of further product innovation into global markets, while increasing the proportion of THG Nutrition products wholly manufactured in-house.”

THG floated last autumn in London’s biggest IPO for five years. Moulding, who founded the etailer, revealed last week that he was donating £100m of his shares to good causes. 

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