An online entrepreneur will pocket millions of pounds after selling the light-bulb retailer he started three years ago.
Jonathan Ruff, 33, owns 80% of Jersey-based LED Hut, which has sold for £18m. The website offers a range of lighting products as well as LED bulbs. The purchaser is Batteries Plus Bulbs, an American retailer that has more than 600 stores.
LED Hut is Ruff’s fourth business. He began at the age of 17, selling mobile phone accessories on eBay, before launching other companies that he has since sold on.
LED Hut has 60 staff and last year made profits of £750,000 on sales of £17m. It expects revenues to reach £30m this year. “I like building things from scratch,” said Ruff. “When a company gets near to 100 employees or sales of £40m, it isn’t for me.”
He will remain chief executive of LED Hut for two years and oversee expansion in Australia. Convex Capital advised on the deal.