L1 Retail has seen off competitors to acquire health and wellness retail store Holland & Barratt in a £1.8 billion deal.

The first investment for L1 Retail, part of the LetterOne operation owned by Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman and headed up by Chairman Stephan DuCharme, will see the company enter into the health and wellness market.

Speaking of the acquisition, DuCharme said, “Holland & Barrett is a clear market leader in the UK health and wellness retail market, with attractive growth positions in other European and international markets, and growing online presence, with a leading customer loyalty programme and 10 million active cardholders.
”We look forward to working with Peter Aldis, chief executive officer, Holland & Barrett and his strong management team.
”We believe that the company is well positioned to benefit from structural growth in the growing £10 billion health and wellness market and has multiple levers for long term growth and value creation.”

L1 Retail, which saw off challenges from Superdrug owner AS Watson, is expected to take full control as of September 2017, following regulatory approval.