Sukin skincare brand sold for $70m to group run by former BWX boss

Beauty and wellness brands owner BWX Group’s Australian assets, including Sukin, have been sold by receivers.

Beauty and wellness brands owner BWX Group’s Australian assets, including Sukin, have been sold by the collapsed company’s receivers.

A company run by the former boss of the collapsed BWX Group has snapped up its Australian assets – headlined by the well-known Sukin skincare brand – for more than $70m.

Receivers KPMG said beauty and wellness brands operator BWX’s Australian assets have been sold to Victorian-based PNB Consolidated.

The company, whose executive chairman is former BWX chief executive John Humble, is believed to have paid more than $70m for the assets.

The sale includes BWX’s manufacturing facility in Melbourne, plus associated assets and operations, KPMG said.

KPMG said it received extensive interest from both local and international parties in the sales process, run by advisory firm Greenhill.

KPMG Australia’s restructuring services partner David Hardy noted the sale kept the Sukin brand and the company’s high-end manufacturing operations together.

“PNB Consolidated bring a strong pedigree in the manufacturing and distribution of health and wellness brands,” Mr Hardy said.

“Their vision and ownership will provide the ideal platform for Sukin to flourish for years to come.”

PNB Consolidated has a majority stake in beauty products manufacturer Natural Beauty Care.

The ASX-listed BWX Group’s Australian operations went into voluntary administration last April, with receivers from KPMG appointed a day later by Commonwealth Bank, the company’s largest lender.

The company’s beauty products are predominantly sold under the Sukin, Andalou Natural and Mineral Fusion brands.

BWX also owned a majority stake in beauty entrepreneur Zoe Foster Blake’s Go-To skincare range, which was not included in the administration or receivership and was managed and operated independently of BWX.

Ms Foster Blake is now the majority shareholder of Go-To after she and her co-founders acquired BWX’s 49.9 per cent stake last month.

Beauty entrepreneur Zoe Foster Blake.

The sale meant full control of Go-To Skincare, which Ms Foster Blake co-founded in 2014, returned to its original shareholders.

BWX had paid $89m in 2021 for a 50.1 per cent interest in Go-To Skincare.

Two other BWX businesses – online retailer Flora & Fauna and e-commerce platform Nourished Life – were sold to New Zealand group HealthPost and Flora & Fauna founder Julie Saunders in May.

Mr Humble was CEO of BWX from 2013 to 2018.