King of Shaves smoothes out £45m deal

The founder of King of Shaves, the British maker of shaving oils and razors, is set for a hefty windfall after receiving takeover approaches that could value the independent UK business at up to £45m.

Will King, who founded the brand from a back bedroom in 1993 with £15,000, has hired boutique investment bank Alpha Advisory to run a process to sell his company.

King of Shaves, based in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, sells its products in UK retailers such as Tesco, Sainsbury's and Boots, as well as in big US chains.

It has reportedly received at least two potential bids, including one from US shaving giant Remington, and another from Kai Industries, which already owns 21 per cent of King of Shaves.

It is unclear at this stage if Mr King – who has a 30 per cent stake in the company – will sell all of his shares or if he will roll them forward under new owners, in the event of a sale being completed.

But Mr King, who once used Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park to promote his products, is likely to stay on in some capacity to help a new owner drive expansion forward.

Asia is set to be a key region for growth and a buyer for the firm may well emerge from that region.