Buyout firm TDR Capital strikes €400m deal to buy Lovehoney

The private equity firm which owns Asda and Britain's biggest pubs operator has agreed a roughly €400m (£334m) takeover of Lovehoney Group, a big player in the fast-growing "intimate wellness" industry.

Sky News has learnt that London-based TDR Capital has struck a deal following extensive talks with Lovehoney's shareholders - who include family office Jacobs Capital - about a transaction.

City sources said it had been signed in the last few days.

In the nearly 25 years since it was founded, Lovehoney has assembled a portfolio of about 20 sexual wellness brands, including Fifty Shades of Grey, Amorana WE-VIBE and Womanizer.

Espace Plaisir, which trades online as well as in boutique stores in cities including Lyon and Toulouse, is also part of the group.

Lovehoney, which was established as a retailer and manufacturer of adult pleasure products, merged in 2021 with WOW Tech Group, a producer of sexual wellness items.

A statement at the time said the deal created a company worth in excess of €1bn (£834.8m).

One source close to the deal said that TDR had identified an opportunity to build a broader multinational intimate wellbeing platform at a time of growing institutional investor interest in the space.

Its expansion is expected to be achieved through a combination of organic growth and further consolidation of what remains a heavily fragmented sector.

The Lovehoney parent company is expected to be rebranded in due course.

Headquartered in the UK and Germany, Lovehoney Group employs more than 850 people, designing, manufacturing and selling products to more than 60 countries.

TDR, which is also the controlling shareholder in pubs giant Stonegate and David Lloyd Leisure, has agreed to buy Lovehoney from majority investor Jacobs Capital, a major family office investor.

CDH Investments, an Asian asset management firm, is a minority investor in the business.

The Lovehoney brand was established in Bath in 2002 by entrepreneurs Richard Longhurst and Neal Slateford.

They received the Queen's Award for Enterprise in 2016 in recognition of the company's growth, and agreed the sale of a majority stake to Telemos Capital - which then merged with Jacobs Holding to form Jacobs Capital - two years later.

To date, there have been few attempts to develop a global sexual wellness platform.

Waterland, another private equity firm, is an investor in EQOM Group, which owns a portfolio of sexual wellness and erotic retail brands.

Swedish-based Lelo, which sells sex toys in markets around the world, explored a listing on the London Stock Exchange in 2021 but abandoned the plan amid interest from prospective buyers.

Bankers at Houlihan Lokey have been advising Lovehoney's owners on its sale process.

TDR declined to comment on Saturday.

(c) Sky News 2026: Buyout firm TDR Capital strikes €400m deal to buy Lovehoney