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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Business
Simon Hunt

Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group buys Studio Retail out of administration as Revolution Beauty buys Badass with Heart

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.

BH Cosmetics was founded in Los Angeles in 2009. (Revolution Beauty)

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.

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