Doja Cat was among the celebrity collaborators for BH Cosmetics before it filed for bankruptcy.
(Picture: Getty Images for Atlantis Paradi)Two outspoken retail bosses struck deals to rescue ailing firms today.
Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group rushed to salvage its £29 million stake in Studio Retail after the struggling company called in the administrators, while Adam Minto’s Revolution Beauty acquired American-founded BH Cosmetics after it filed for bankruptcy.
Frasers Group has paid £27 million for Studio Retail, formerly known as Findel, which surprised the market with its sudden collapse after the company failed to secure a £25 million short-term loan. Frasers Group had a 29% share, worth £29 million, in Studio Retail before shares were suspended earlier in February.
The deal will save 1,500 jobs at Studio Retail that were under threat.
Ashley has built a reputation hoovering up struggling firms as they teeter on the edge of collapse, including buying House of Fraser and Evans Cycles in 2018 after both entered administration.
Elsewhere, Kent-based Revolution Beauty announced a $3.9 million (£2.9 million) deal to buy BH Cosmetics, which filed for bankruptcy in January after losing $22.5 million (£16.8 million) in 2020. Founded in Los Angeles, BH, or Badass with Heart, sells animal cruelty-free, vegan beauty products and has collaborated with a number of celebrities including Iggy Azalea and Doja Cat.
Revolution Beauty CEO Adam Minto said: “[BH] was acquired by a PE company in 2018 and they quite frankly put lots of overhead into the business. We are not taking any of the overhead.
“This gives us the opportunity to leverage a wonderful brand spirit of an LA-born brand and take it around the world.”
Revolution Beauty, a £390 million business selling cosmetic products through retailers like Superdrug and Boots, will integrate the BH brand into its existing business in a bid to expand US operations. Only employees from BH’s brand team are set to join Revolution.
Shares in Frasers Group climbed 1.8%, while shares in Revolution Beauty climbed 3.3% in early trading.
