VITABIOTICS SOLD TO BAIN CAPITAL FOR £900M

Vitabiotics, the British vitamins company and maker of Perfectil and Pregnacare, has been sold to US private equity firm Bain Capital for £900 million. The sale ends five decades of family ownership. Tej Lalvani, chief executive and former Dragons' Den investor, and his father Professor Kartar Lalvani, who founded the business in 1971, will receive a substantial financial return from the transaction. Professor Lalvani, now 94, will assume an honorary role as chairman emeritus.

Vitabiotics is the UK's largest vitamins company and operates multiple consumer brands including Wellman and Wellwoman. According to Bain Capital, the company generates close to £200 million in annual turnover and exports to more than 70 countries. Its products have been endorsed by model David Gandy and television presenters Tess Daly and Davina McCall. Bain Capital stated that the UK would remain "central" to the business, which is headquartered in London, and that there would be "no immediate changes to day-to-day operations."

The acquisition represents another instance of overseas investment in a British-founded company. Bain Capital had previously attempted to acquire the insurance mutual LV for £530 million in 2021, a bid that was unsuccessful. At the start of the year, the private equity firm Blackstone was also reported to be interested in acquiring Vitabiotics. The sale marks a significant transition for a business built from a single London laboratory into an international operation.