COMPETITION COMMISSION CLEARS HOLLAND AND BARRETT/JULIAN GRAVES MERGER

The Competition Commission (CC) has formally cleared the completed acquisition of Julian Graves Limited by Holland and Barrett (which is owned by NBTY Europe Limited).

In its final report published today the CC has concluded that the merger would not result in a substantial lessening of competition within the market for the supply of nuts, seeds and dried fruit in the UK, or any local market in the UK. This confirms the conclusions of the provisional findings report, which was published on 22 July 2009.

The final report is published on the CC website at www.competition-commission.org.uk.

Julian Graves is a large independent specialist food and ingredients retailer, with over 350 stores in the UK, whilst Holland and Barrett is the UK’s leading specialist retailer of health products, with over 500 stores across the country. Prior to the merger, both companies were competing in the sale of nuts, seeds and dried fruit.