Holland & Barrett sold for 1.8 billion pounds to Russian billionaire | Progresiv
Holland & Barrett, the UK's biggest health food retailer, is being bought by a Russian billionaire for 1.8 billion pounds. L1 Retail, a fund controlled by Mikhail Fridman, is buying the chain from US private equity firm Carlyle. 
Carlyle acquired Nuneaton-based Holland & Barrett as part of its 3.8 billion dollars (3 billion pounds) purchase in 2010 of US firm Nature's Bounty, now NBTY.
The chain, which has more than 1,300 stores worldwide, is expected to change hands in September.
Holland & Barrett was founded by William Holland and Alfred Barrett in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, in 1870.
They initially sold groceries and clothing, but later split the two into separate businesses. The grocery business was sold to Alfred Button & Sons in the 1920s, but the original name was retained.
The company eventually started focusing on health foods and changed hands several times. It now employs more than 4,000 people. (www.bbc.com)
