Holland & Barrett has insisted its operations will not be impacted by sanctions placed on its Russian oligarch backers, who have now stepped down from its owner’s board.
Health and wellbeing specialist Holland & Barrett was acquired in 2017 by retail investment fund L1 Retail in 2017, a branch of Luxembourg-based LetterOne, which is controlled by Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman.
Fridman, along with his business partner Petr Aven, has been sanctioned by the European Union following the invasion of Ukraine because of their connections to Russian president Vladimir Putin.
Aven was described as one of Putin’s “closest oligarchs” by the EU, while Fridman was referred to as a “top Russian financier” of Putin’s inner circle.
The sanctions include the freezing of any assets the pair hold in the EU, as well as a travel ban.
‘No impact on the business’
LetterOne has now removed the two Russian oligarchs from the website page detailing the investment fund’s board of directors. The company confirmed to Politico on Tuesday (March 1) that Fridman and Aven have stepped down from the board following the announcement of sanctions.
Fridman and Aven said they would “contest the spurious and unfounded basis for the imposition of these sanctions – vigorously and through all means available to them”.
Fridman added that he did not know if he would be sanctioned by the US or the UK, where he is a tax resident.
A spokesperson for LetterOne told Retail Week: “LetterOne is not subject to any sanctions and the sanctions imposed on Mikhail Fridman and Petr Aven have no impact on the business. We will continue to run and grow the great businesses we have invested in.”
“We are not affected by any sanctions, nor do we expect to be”
Holland & Barrett spokesperson
That was echoed by a Holland & Barrett spokesperson who said: “Our thoughts are with those affected by the situation in Ukraine. We are a UK-registered company that has grown over the last 150 years from one store in the UK to over 1,600 stores and operations in 19 countries around the world.
“We are not affected by any sanctions, nor do we expect to be. Our focus, as always, is on supporting the wellness of our colleagues and customers.”
The move of LetterOne to distance itself from the Russian oligarchs comes days after Fridman penned a letter to employees at the private equity firm stating that “war can never be the answer”, although he is yet to directly criticise Putin.
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