Nail salons will be the next target for Starbucks-style expansion after decades of being ignored by investors, the boss of Britain’s largest luxury chain said after being valued at £130m.
Townhouse, which operates 40 luxury nail salons in the UK, said it was targeting hundreds of new franchises after securing backing from the US private equity firm behind the Chinese Burger King and Tim Hortons chains.
The new investment from Cartesian Capital, which was founded in 2018 by Juanita Huber-Millet and is led by her husband and CEO Jonathan Millet, will fuel the expansion of the business.
Mr Miller said it was capturing a turning point in the nail care industry, which is highly fragmented and often underinvested compared to other services.
“I think there’s an overall element of beauty services that may be overlooked,” he told the Press Association.
“I would say historically, 20, 30 years ago, finance and capital was largely male-dominated and it was an industry that primarily catered to women.
“So if you were a male private equity investor 15 or 20 years ago, it probably wasn’t at the top of your mind.”
He compared industries such as cafes, hotels, gyms and sandwich shops, all of which have expanded with the emergence of chain stores in recent decades.
After years of being “lagging behind” in the beauty services industry, other parts of the salon industry, such as waxing and massage, have begun to evolve, with brands “delivering a Starbucks-like experience.”
At the same time, there are no major nail salon chains in the UK, and Townhouse enters a market typically dominated by independent boutiques.
Miller also said the nail industry has been plagued by poor working conditions, a lack of employment contracts and even modern slavery.
“There has historically been considerable exploitation of workers in our industry,” he told the Press Association.
“When COVID hit, there were a lot of people in the industry who didn’t have contracts, they were just getting cash, so they didn’t get relief from the government.
“As we recruit, we still see a lot of people who have worked in the industry but without a contract – there has always been, although less prevalent, some element of human trafficking and indentured labor.”
Townhouse says it offers manicurists above-market pay, private healthcare, paid time off and structured career development, including in the United States, where it currently has several locations.
