The Hut Group: we're strong enough not to float

The boss of online beauty and health retailer The Hut Group on Thursday put a damper on speculation that it will float on London’s junior stock market as profits and sales soared.

Co-founder and chief executive Matthew Moulding, who still controls the business, said: “Just because of the scale, people assume we’d IPO. Building a big business in a private arena is a big achievement and if we’d been listed, our results wouldn’t have been any better. If we were to list, we’d get taken out very quickly and I’m not prepared to let that happen.”

The company, which owns and runs beauty websites such as SkinStore.com, saw underlying profits go up 39% to £69 million on sales of £736 million for the year to December 31. It also helps run other business websites — including L’Oreal and Estée Lauder — and sells some of its technology to the likes of HSBC and Microsoft.

Earlier this month, the group, backed by retail supremo Sir Terry Leahy, bagged £600 million from a string of banks to fund its expansion. It plans to add 2000 staff this year to its existing 4000.