Former Revolution Beauty investor pursues £45m claim after accusing company of "deceit"

A former investor of Revolution Beauty has ramped up its legal action against the group after accusing it of 'deceit'.

Chrysalis Investments purchased a £45 million stake in the cosmetics company in July 2021, but sold its shares for just £5.7 million in 2022 after Revolution Beauty's value collapsed.

It has since accused the group of "deceit, negligent misstatement and/or misrepresentation" at the time of the share purchase.

In an update on Monday, the British investor added that it "has not been satisfied with the limited responses received from Revolution Beauty and its legal advisors to date".

Consequently, Chrysalis Investments is making a claim of £39 million against the beauty group, together with a further claim of £6.2 million for "consequential losses".

Revolution Beauty said it "strongly contests" the allegations and will consider a response with its own lawyers.

The news comes as Revolution Beauty progresses a new strategy to support the firm in delivering long-term profitable growth.

The British group is looking to get back on track after experiencing various legal battles and shareholder revolts over the past few years following an accounting scandal that led to its suspension on the London Stock Exchange.

Earlier this year, it reached a settlement agreement with co-founder and former CEO Adam Minto to draw a line under the issues with its accounts, which threw the business into crisis in 2022.

It said that Minto agreed to a "full and final settlement of certain claims between them" and will pay the company a sum of £2.9 million.