Manzanita Capital explores £400m sale of Space NK

Space NK owner Manzanita Capital is preparing to put the British retailer up for sale with a price tag of up to £400 million.

The London-based private investment firm is in talks to hire bankers to oversee a partial or full sale of Space NK after more than 20 years under its ownership, according to Sky News.

It is unclear which firm would receive the mandate, but industry sources said a decision is expected to be made in the near future.

One source said that based on Space NK's financial performance, it could be worth between £300 million and £400 million.

Manzanita, which also owns Diptyque, Malin + Goetz and Susanne Kaufmann, is said to be undecided on whether to sell a minority or controlling interest in the high street chain.

Established in 1991, Space NK - which is named after founder Nicky Kinnaird's initials - first opened its doors in Covent Garden in 1993.

Today, the premium beauty retailer operates 76 stores and employs more than 1,000 people. Earlier this year, it reported a 23% increase in turnover to £146 million for the year ending 25 March 2023, helped by continued investment in its store estate.

EBITDA reached £5.9 million, against £2.2 million in 2022. The business said the decision taken in the previous financial year to continue to invest in order to fuel growth was now "paying a return".

It added that directors at Space NK were "confident" this would further increase the company’s resilience and result in strong long-term growth to both turnover and EBITDA.

Manzanita previously explored a sale of Space NK in 2018, hiring Goldman Sachs to conduct a strategic review. It opted not to proceed with a deal.