Latest news with #LetterOne
Irish Times
5 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Healthy returns at Holland & Barrett
Health foods are proving healthy for the bottom line at the parent of retailer Holland & Barrett, which saw its 66 Irish outlets deliver sales of just over €1 million each last year, on average. Turnover rose almost 18 per cent to €66.4 million over the 12 months to the end of September last, although rising costs saw pretax profits slip 37 per cent to €2.65 million compared with €4.2 million the previous year. Attention to detail is evident in disclosures that the business monitors average footfall per store, average items per basket and average transaction value 'on a regular basis'. That data presumably helped the wellness group make the case for the expansion that saw it add seven stores to its Irish business last year compared with just two in 2023. Allowing for two closures, the group now has 66 outlets. READ MORE It's all a far cry from the tumult of war that has been rumbling in the background at ultimate parent, Luxembourg-based LetterOne Investment Holdings, which bought Holland & Barrett back in 2017 for £1.77 billion. LetterOne was cofounded in 2013 by Russian oligarchs Mikhail Fridman and Petr Aven, largely on the back of proceeds of the sale of Russia 's third-largest oil producer TNK-BP to state-controlled Rosneft. When Russia invaded Ukraine , the European Union almost immediately imposed sanctions on both men who quickly stepped aside from their roles at the investment group even while protesting the EU move. At the time, LetterOne chairman Mervyn Davies and chief executive Jonathan Muir noted the LetterOne assets of the two men who 'own less than 50 per cent' of the business were 'effectively frozen'. The affair has rumbled on in the background with the EU's second-highest court last year ruling that the imposition of sanctions on the two men was unfair. Neither appears to have returned to their board positions thus far. Back at Holland & Barrett, the business last year paid a dividend to its owners of €59.14 million. On the basis of the company statement when they stepped down, neither Aven nor Fridman will see any of that. With all that drama, perhaps no one will notice that the director's report of the Irish business managed to consistently misspell their own company's name. Attention to detail indeed.
Times
15-05-2025
- Business
- Times
Weight-loss drugs boost health food sales at Holland & Barrett
The use of weight-loss drugs such as Ozempic and Mounjaro is fuelling stronger sales at Holland & Barrett, according to its boss. Alex Gourlay, executive chairman, said the health foods chain was 'reformulating' its range to cater to customers using the new generation of appetite-suppressing treatments after a surge in demand for healthier snacks and drinks. The retailer is incorporating more high-protein and functional ingredients such as collagen and ashwagandha after a 34 per cent increase in food sales year-on-year. People on weight-loss drugs often express a preference for healthier foods as they may feel less hungry and have reduced cravings for unhealthy foods. 'GLP1 is a real trend breaker,' Gourlay said. GLP1 is a class of weight-loss medication and stands for glucagon-like peptide-1. He added that because of an 'insufficient public health care provision due to constraints on national health systems, there is an increasing unmet need which Holland & Barrett was well positioned to serve'. Holland & Barrett was founded in 1870 by Major William Holland and Alfred Barrett and has more than 1,000 shops, including over 790 in the UK and Ireland. The business has been owned by Letter One, an investment vehicle, since 2017. Total sales rose 10 per cent year-on-year to £884.5 million in the year to September 30 as customer numbers rose by a record 9 per cent, reaching a record high. Sales volumes across the group grew by 5 per cent. Gross profit rose 10 per cent to £524.2 million, which it said was a result of investment in the business's digital transformation strategy. Pre-tax losses narrowed to £61.8 million from £73 million the year before as its turnaround plan started to pay off. The plan included investing in employee training, renovating shop locations, product innovation and upgrading its IT systems. The chain, whose headquarters are in Nuneaton, ended the year with £72 million in cash and net assets of £644 million, compared with £32 million in cash and net assets of £526 million in the prior year. 'Strong growth' carried into the first half of this financial year, with sales and gross profit both up 8 per cent year-on-year and customer numbers and satisfaction continuing to rise. Gourlay said the company planned to open a further 36 stores this year after opening about the same number in the latest financial year. • Should we all be eating our food raw? Asked if Letter One was considering a sale of the Holland & Barrett chain, he said the owners 'see this business as a business that they want to hold for a while. They want to invest in it.' He added that a flotation had also not been discussed. 'I don't think it is on the plan at the moment for obvious reasons because it's not easy to list a business at the moment.'
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Hungary demands end of sanctions against Holland & Barrett oligarch
Hungary is pressuring European leaders to remove sanctions on a billionaire Russian oligarch who owns Holland & Barrett. Budapest wants EU sanctions on Mikhail Fridman to be lifted, the Financial Times reported. Mr Fridman, a Russian-Israeli citizen, owns significant assets in the UK including the health food chain and a £65m London mansion. The businessman has been under EU and UK sanctions since March 2022 following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. He was sanctioned by the UK Government for 'obtaining a benefit from or supporting the government of Russia' through his links to the country's financial sector. Mr Fridman, who is valued at $13bn (£10bn), co-owned Russia's largest private bank, Alfa, until late last year. Hungary has demanded his removal from the EU list of sanctioned individuals in exchange for backing the renewal of sanctions on 2,000 other businesspeople and politicians tied to the Russian state, the FT said. Led by strongman Viktor Orbán, Hungary is the most pro-Russian member of the EU and has repeatedly pushed back against the sanctions regime. Mr Orbán has claimed sanctions have done €19bn (£16bn) worth of damage to Hungary's economy. He told state radio in January: 'Now the issue of the rollover of the sanctions is on the agenda and I have pulled the brakes and asked EU leaders to understand this cannot continue. 'This is not good that we pay the price of helping Ukraine ... and they cause us problems.' According to Radio Free Europe, a European news organisation, Hungary initially pushed for six business figures to be removed from the sanctions list, including metals oligarch Alisher Usmanov, before narrowing its demands down to Mr Fridman. Diplomats have been meeting over the past few days to discuss the sanctions, which are rolled over twice a year in mid-March and mid-September. The negotiations have become known as the 'sanctions dance' by diplomats, because of the tit-for-tat negotiating between Hungary and the EU. Mr Fridman is the co-founder of Luxembourg-based conglomerate LetterOne, which owns stakes in a number of UK businesses including Holland & Barrett and is not currently sanctioned. Mr Fridman stepped down from the board of LetterOne after the invasion but he remains a shareholder. A LetterOne spokesman said the group was 'entirely separate' from its sanctioned shareholders and had no comment. The oligarch has challenged the EU sanctions in court and won a partial victory against the EU sanctions last year after the European Court of Justice ruled that authorities had failed to provide enough evidence of his links to the Kremlin. However, he remains under sanctions. The billionaire has also filed a lawsuit against Luxembourg, where LetterOne is based, alleging $15.8bn of damages because of the sanctions. Luxembourg also supports his removal from the EU sanctions list. The UK National Crime Agency (NCA) raided Mr Fridman's £65m north London home, known as Athlone House, over suspected alleged evasion of sanctions in 2023, with more than 50 officers descending on the property The 59-year-old businessman was arrested and released on bail. He later challenged the search in courts before the NCA dropped its case. Mr Fridman was born in Lviv, Ukraine, but currently holds joint Russian and Israeli citizenship. He was a resident of Britain until 2023. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
13-03-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Hungary demands end of sanctions against Holland & Barrett oligarch
Hungary is pressuring European leaders to remove sanctions on a billionaire Russian oligarch who owns Holland & Barrett. Budapest wants EU sanctions on Mikhail Fridman to be lifted, the Financial Times reported. Mr Fridman, a Russian-Israeli citizen, owns significant assets in the UK including the health food chain and a £65m London mansion. The businessman has been under EU and UK sanctions since March 2022 following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. He was sanctioned by the UK Government for 'obtaining a benefit from or supporting the government of Russia' through his links to the country's financial sector. Mr Fridman, who is valued at $13bn (£10bn), co-owned Russia's largest private bank, Alfa, until late last year. Hungary has demanded his removal from the EU list of sanctioned individuals in exchange for backing the renewal of sanctions on 2,000 other businesspeople and politicians tied to the Russian state, the FT said. Led by strongman Viktor Orbán, Hungary is the most pro-Russian member of the EU and has repeatedly pushed back against the sanctions regime. Mr Orbán has claimed sanctions have done €19bn (£16bn) worth of damage to Hungary's economy. He told state radio in January: 'Now the issue of the rollover of the sanctions is on the agenda and I have pulled the brakes and asked EU leaders to understand this cannot continue. 'This is not good that we pay the price of helping Ukraine ... and they cause us problems.' According to Radio Free Europe, a European news organisation, Hungary initially pushed for six business figures to be removed from the sanctions list, including metals oligarch Alisher Usmanov, before narrowing its demands down to Mr Fridman. Diplomats have been meeting over the past few days to discuss the sanctions, which are rolled over twice a year in mid-March and mid-September. The negotiations have become known as the 'sanctions dance' by diplomats, because of the tit-for-tat negotiating between Hungary and the EU. Mr Fridman is the co-founder of Luxembourg-based conglomerate LetterOne, which owns stakes in a number of UK businesses including Holland & Barrett and is not currently sanctioned. Mr Fridman stepped down from the board of LetterOne after the invasion but he remains a shareholder. A LetterOne spokesman said the group was 'entirely separate' from its sanctioned shareholders and had no comment. The oligarch has challenged the EU sanctions in court and won a partial victory against the EU sanctions last year after the European Court of Justice ruled that authorities had failed to provide enough evidence of his links to the Kremlin. However, he remains under sanctions. The billionaire has also filed a lawsuit against Luxembourg, where LetterOne is based, alleging $15.8bn of damages because of the sanctions. Luxembourg also supports his removal from the EU sanctions list. The UK National Crime Agency (NCA) raided Mr Fridman's £65m north London home, known as Athlone House, over suspected alleged evasion of sanctions in 2023, with more than 50 officers descending on the property The 59-year-old businessman was arrested and released on bail. He later challenged the search in courts before the NCA dropped its case. Mr Fridman was born in Lviv, Ukraine, but currently holds joint Russian and Israeli citizenship. He was a resident of Britain until 2023.
