The personal holdings of the founders of a business selling LED facemasks worn by the likes of Kim Kardashian and Serena Williams will be valued at more than £20 million in a stock market debut planned for London.
Laurence Newman and Andrew Showman founded the Beauty Tech Group more than 15 years ago and are planning to float the business at a valuation that could reach £350 million.
The company, which was initially known as CurrentBody.com, makes beauty equipment for use at home — such as red LED masks to reduce wrinkles, lasers to remove hair and electrical currents to zap spots — and hopes to “take the business to the next level” with the initial public offering (IPO).
Serena Williams has used the company’s flagship product as part of her beauty routine
KEVIN MAZUR/GETTY IMAGES
The IPO will value Newman’s stake of 6.54 per cent at about £23 million and Showman’s stake of 7.23 per cent at about £25.3 million. Simon Cooper, founder of the holiday website On the Beach, is also an investor with a stake of 7 per cent.
Other shareholders include eComplete, the ecommerce group co-founded by Andrew Duckworth, the former chief executive of MyProtein; the Mooney brothers, who founded the Tanning Shop chain; and members of the O’Kane family, which founded the Irish electrical engineering business Mercury Engineering.
The group initially sold third-party beauty products but since 2019 it has established three in-house brands for laser hair removal, electric acne treatments and LED skincare. It sells its famous glowing red facemasks for near £400 and its electric-shock spot treatments for £379.
The at-home beauty market is a small but growing sector, worth between £9 billion and £12 billion of the £464 billion global beauty and personal care market.
The Hair Growth Helmet is another of the company’s home treatments
BEAUTY TECH GROUP
The public became more interested in DIY beauty trends during the pandemic. At-home gel manicures and beauty equipment became popular and brands are now expanding the market.
The Cheshire-based Beauty Tech Group said that between 2019 and 2024 its American, British and German markets grew by 13 per cent, outpacing the wider beauty market.
The company’s products are manufactured and distributed from international locations, including the US, the EU and Asia, and it now supplies 90 countries worldwide, the UK and Ireland representing about 22 per cent of its revenue.
The company made pre-tax profit of £5.2 million on revenues of £101.1 million in the year ended December 31, 2024.
Newman said: “Founded with the ambition to bring clinically proven, professional-grade beauty technology into everyday use, I am extremely proud of the Beauty Tech Group’s achievements to date.
“There are significant opportunities ahead … and an IPO on the London Stock Exchange will provide us with access to capital and enable us to raise awareness and incentivise staff to take the business to the next level.”
Elaine O’Donnell, a former chairwoman of Games Workshop, recently joined the Beauty Tech Group as non-executive chair. She said: “Considering that home-use beauty technology is a fast-growing category in the beauty sector, a float on the London Stock Exchange will facilitate the group’s ambition to capitalise on the significant opportunities ahead.”