Hotel Chocolat takes full control of Rabot 1745 beauty brand

Cacao-powered beauty brand Rabot 1745 has been acquired by luxury confectioner Hotel Chocolat, which has taken a majority share of the brand for just £4.

Hotel Chocolat established the Rabot 1745 beauty brand in 2016 in partnership with former Lush director Andrew Gerrie, who is also the non-executive chairman of Hotel Chocolat.

The beauty brand, which was inspired by the "abundance of nature" found at Hotel Chocolat's Rabot Estate in St Lucia, includes a raft of nourishing cacao-rich products from balms and oils to scrubs, butters and mists.

The Hotel Chocolat group owned 47% of Rabot, while Gerrie owned 40.5%, with the balance held by non-related parties.

Hotel Chocolat has agreed to acquire the remaining 53% of the issued share capital of Rabot, including the 40.5% owned by Gerrie, for a total cash consideration of £4.00.

Gerrie will receive £3 in exchange for his stake, while the remaining investors will share the other £1 between them.

Hotel Chocolat said it was "well placed” to develop the Rabot brand, which reported a net loss after tax of £0.4m in the financial year to 30 June 2020.

"The group is well placed to leverage the value of the Rabot inventory and to further develop the brand's intellectual property, which includes a range of high-quality beauty products which have attracted multiple awards and favourable customer reviews," Hotel Chocolat said.

Rabot 1745 takes its name from the St Lucian cocoa plantation owned by Hotel Chocolat co-founder Angus Thirlwell.

"Hero" products in the range include its Liquid Chocolate Body Mask (rrp: £16) and its Sugar & Sour Orange Body Scrub (rrp:£16) which is packaged in a reusable bamboo cup.

The sustainable beauty brand has also pledged to ensure that all of its packaging will be compostable, reusable or recyclable by the end of 2021.