Healthspan bought by Norwegian business

The purchase price could rise by up to £20m., depending on the company’s results over the next two years.

The sale does not include the Blue Islands airline, which will continue to be operated as an independent company.

Healthspan, which was founded by Mr Coates in 1996, has 170 staff globally, of whom 98 are employed in the Bailiwick, principally at its headquarters in the Grange.

The company grew quickly to become the leading direct-to-consumer supplier of vitamin and mineral supplements in the UK, with about 500,000 customers, and has begun to establish a presence on UK high streets through pharmaceutical retailers. The overall UK market for dietary supplements has trebled in the last decade to £1.4bn.

Chief executive Martin Talbot said Healthspan would operate as ‘a company within a company’ and gave a reassurance that jobs in Guernsey would be safe following the acquisition, further suggesting its workforce may even expand in the coming years.

‘We’re really excited about this,’ he said. ‘We align to Orkla’s strategic ambitions because although they have a dominant position in the Nordic and Baltic markets, they have not had the kind of access to the UK market which we can provide.

‘We have made great strides in the last couple of years and our ambition remains to double revenues over the next four years. We are currently at capacity but after 18-24 months there will be every opportunity for us to employ new people here.’

Healthspan will continue with the same management team and employees in place, but will be wholly owned by Orkla Health, which is itself wholly owned by Orkla Care, part of the wider Orkla group of companies which boasted revenues of £4.2bn in 2021

Orkla president and chief executive Jaan Ivar Semlitsch said the purchase was strategically important for the company.

‘It supports our ambitions of establishing a stronger position in consumer health and it strengthens our position online,’ he said, adding that Healthspan would be able to ‘tap into Orkla’s strength and expertise to drive further growth’.

When asked whether Orkla had approached Healthspan about the sale or the other way around, Mr Talbot said it had been ‘a little bit of both’ and that talks had begun ‘at the back end of last year’.

Healthspan will be consolidated into Orkla’s financial statements as of 1 March. Orkla employs 21,500 people and is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange. It has its headquarters in the Norwegian capital.

History of Healthspan

THE company was founded in 1996 by Derek Coates, the well-respected entrepreneurial businessman, who was born in Hull and moved to Guernsey at the age of 14.

The company evolved from advertising agency Harpwell Design, which he bought and turned around.

The company expanded rapidly, making use of low value consignment relief to market dietary supplements to a mainly UK customer base.

Healthspan bought the old Fermain and La Favorita Hotels in 2006, which were relaunched collectively as Fermain Valley Hotel.

It also bought Braye Bay Hotel in Alderney and the Sunnycroft Hotel in Guernsey, which was renovated and became boutique hotel Ziggurat.

The hotels were marketed to existing Healthspan customers, among others, who were able to travel to the islands on Mr Coates’ own airline, Blue Islands, which was rebranded from Rockhopper which he purchased in 2004.

Mr Coates died in August 2020, aged 72. The hotel group was subsequently sold to Hand Picked Hotels.

Healthspan has two UK websites and its 400 products are sold through UK high street retailers such as Boots, Superdrug and Lloyds.

Since Brexit, the company has expanded its online fulfilment operations in the Republic of Ireland and also in New Zealand.

The company made a profit of £4.7m in 2021, from a global turnover of £50m.