Yahoo Sport 
ABF bulks up with double dose of sports nutrition deals
Primark and British Sugar owner ABF is attempting a £60m health kick after buying two sports nutrition companies favoured by muscle men and marathon runners.
The FTSE 100 company has snapped up Reflex Nutrition, which sells tubs of protein supplements online, and High 5, which produces energy gel sachets for athletes on the go.
The deal will mean a sizeable windfall for Reflex Nutrition founder James Phillips who started the Brighton-based business more than two decades ago. It is understood the business made about £15m in revenues last year. Boutique firm Spayne Lindsay advised on the sale process.
High 5 sponsors athletes, including Team GB triathlete Vicky Holland who beat her best friend and training partner to win bronze at the 2016 Rio Olympics. The company has also invested in a professional international cycling team with cycle retailer Wiggle.
The two deals are incremental to ABF’s £20bn market cap and £13bn of revenues, the bulk of which come from its fast-fashion Primark chain.
However, it is indicative of a wider trend for large companies to snap up smaller, nimbler businesses that are targeting a rising wave of health conscious consumers. The global sports nutrition market was valued at $28.7bn (£22m) last year and expected to reach $42.3bn by 2022.
The deals follow a string of acquisitions in the consumer space, with private equity firm Lion Capital buying Grenade at the start of the month in a deal that valued the business at £72m.
A spokesman for ABF confirmed the acquisitions, adding: “These businesses complement ABF’s wider portfolio of healthier food brands.”
