A new majority shareholder at Planet Organic is set to double the grocer’s store count over the next five years.
Planet Organic might be the UK’s largest fully-certified organic supermarket, but it last opened a new location three years ago, on Tottenham Court Road.
That’s set to change as Scottish private equity firm Inverleith takes a majority stake in the London-based retailer.
It’s thought Inverleith spent £15 million on its stake in the business, which will see owner Renee Elliott reduce her holding of the company she founded in 1991.
Inverleith has now unveiled plans to double Planet Organic’s store count over the next five years, bringing its total up from seven to 14.
The retailer currently generates over £60 million in revenue with 60,000 customer interactions per week.
Ben Thomson, chairman of Inverleith, said the supermarket offered “the sort of shopping that is the future of the high street”.
“Consumers are looking for an experience when they shop and for real knowledge about the products offered,” he said.
Planet Organic chief executive Peter Marsh said: “The last store we opened was on Tottenham Court Road in 2015, and the ability to now look at opening three or four new sites a year is really exciting.
“Most of our employees have been at Planet Organic for many years and are looking forward to serving wider London communities,” Marsh added.
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