Bluebox advises on the sale of Models Own

As reported in the Sunday Times yesterday, Bluebox Corporate Finance is delighted to announce the sale of Models Own, the UK cosmetics brand that is popular with many celebrities such as Pixie Lott, Kylie Minogue and Alexa Chung, to Saudi based retail conglomerate Fawaz Alhokair & Co. The terms of the deal were not formally disclosed, but the Sunday Times cited a £20m transaction value. The deal represents yet another successful transaction for Bluebox in 2014 and provides further evidence of an ability to identify, access, negotiate and secure a deal with ‘hard to access’ International purchasers for our clients.

Models Own, which was created in 2008 by the former Ministry of Sound CEO, Mark Rodol, together with his brother Steven, trades from a number of unique ‘perspex moulded, bottle shaped’ retail outlets in prime locations at shopping centres throughout the UK including Westfield London, Brent Cross and Meadowhall in Sheffield. The Company enjoys revenues of over £7m, and has demonstrated the recession proof allure of cosmetics having rapidly expanded in recent years supplying Superdrug and Boots in the UK, and a host of major retailers across the world including Monoprix in France and Forever 21 in the US.

Following the transaction, Models Own plans to open some 100 stores in the UK creating in excess of 800 jobs in addition to securing franchising deals in the US, Middle East, Asia and South America. The Rodol brothers will continue to operate the company and will retain an interest moving forward.

Alhokair is one of the largest retailers in the Middle East and Central Asia. The Group, which owns over 12 million square feet of retail space and controls over 2,000 stores in 18 Countries, operates more than 70 leading brands including Gap, Marks & Spencer, Banana Republic, Zara, Monsoon and Superdry. Alongside a strong presence in the Middle East, it has stores in the US and Eastern Europe.

Mark Rodol, who will continue as CEO of Models Own, commented:

“In selecting an adviser, I wanted to be sure that I was able to gain unparalleled access into overseas markets where our target buyer or partner was likely to reside. In identifying and concluding a deal with Alhokair, we have secured a partner that is not only able to meet our immediate objectives, but is also able to provide us with an excellent infrastructure to grow the business in the years to come. I couldn’t recommend the team at Bluebox highly enough and was hugely impressed with their pragmatic approach and meticulous attention to detail.”

Paul Herman, CEO of Bluebox, commented:

“I am delighted that the Bluebox team was able to identify and secure a deal with Alhokair, one of the world’s best kept retail secrets. The deal has provided the existing management team with a partner alongside whom they will be able to rapidly scale the brand on an international stage.”


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