Revolution Beauty agrees £3m settlement deal with co-founder Minto

Former Revolution Beauty boss Adam Minto 

The co-founder and former boss of Revolution Beauty will pay the group £2.9million as part of a settlement deal resolving allegations of a breach of fiduciary duty.

Adam Minto, who still owns a 15.34 per cent stake in the company, left the firm in 2022 amid accusations he breached his fiduciary duty after a probe revealed serious accounting issues leading to Revolution Beauty shares’ suspension. 

Minto and former chairman Tom Allsworth were also said to have given undisclosed loans worth millions of pounds to an employee and senior directors of the group, as well as some distributors.

Revolution Beauty told investors on Monday the payment, which comes with no admission or acceptance of liability by either party, will be issued in six instalments of just over £483,000 up to March 2029.

Minto will owe 8 per cent interest every year after 2029 if the full sum is not repaid in that time.

Alistair McGeorge, non-executive chair of Revolution Beauty, said: ‘We are very pleased to have reached an agreement with Adam.

‘This, together with the revised payment schedule agreed in December 2023 for the acquisition of Medichem, means we can now focus on the future. 

‘We look forward to providing an update on our strategy at our upcoming Capital Markets Event on 8 February 2024.’

Revolution Beauty shares were up 2.4 per cent to 30.2p in early trading on Monday.

Since their December 2022 low, the share have climbed more than 260 per cent but remain more than 80 per cent below their July 2021 listing price.

The turmoil of the shares’ suspension and subsequent accounting probe landed Revolution Beauty in a spate of investor spats, most notably culminating in a Boohoo-led boardroom coup.

Last week, Revolution Beauty revealed it had received a pre-action letter from former investor Chrysalis Investments seeking potential claims against the group.

Chrysalis bought shares in Revolution Beauty in July 2021 and sold them in late 2022 after a 90 per cent slump in their value.

The investment trust, which declined to comment further on the pre-action letter, told investors in financial results published on Monday that the Revolution Beauty shares had been bought ‘on the basis [of] information’ that later turned out to contain ‘misstatements and material omissions’.

It added: ‘The company wrote a formal letter of claim to Revolution Beauty on 22 November 2023, which requested a response within 28 days.

‘A response has recently been received asking for a further 28 days to provide a response. The company is now considering next steps with its retained lawyers, Travers Smith.’