Cussons buys Childs Farm for £36.8m

Consumer products giant PZ Cussons said it had bought UK baby and child personal care company Childs Farm for £36.8m in cash.

The company on Monday said Childs Farm founder Joanna Jensen reinvested £3.3m to take an 8.1% stake in the purchased business and Cussons would buy this back by May 2025 for up to £32.5m.

Childs Farm’s range includes bath and shower, skincare and haircare products. It started trading in 2011, “at highly attractive gross margins”, Cussons said. The company made a loss before tax of £0.9m and gross revenue of £17.4m in the year to December 31, 2020.

Cussons said the deal was not expected to have a material impact on its profits for the fiscal year to May 31 and would be earnings accretive for the 2024 financial year.