New IPO: Northern VCTs–backed The Beauty Tech Group
In September, home-use beauty technology business The Beauty Tech Group (“TBTG”) – the largest holding in the Northern VCTs – announced its intention to float on the London Stock Exchange.
The business, which is behind beauty gadgets said to be used by the likes of Kim Kardashian and Serena Williams, confirmed the IPO price range has been set at 251p to 291p per share. That’s equivalent to a valuation of £280-320 million. Trading is expected to begin on 3 October.
The Cheshire-based firm started off in 2009 as CurrentBody.com, an e-commerce site selling third-party at-home beauty devices. In 2019, it turned to producing and selling its own products, eventually becoming a global leader in home-use beauty technology products.
The Northern VCTs first invested in 2018. Their current stake is valued at £20.7 million on a cost of £4.1 million (June 2025). Past performance is not a guide to the future.
Important: The information on this website is for experienced investors. It is not advice nor a research or personal recommendation to invest. If you’re unsure, please seek advice. VCT investments are high risk and you could lose the money you invest.
What does TBTG do?
TBTG was founded in 2009 as CurrentBody.com by beauty entrepreneur Laurence Newman (CEO) and ecommerce expert Andrew Showman (CTO). The idea was to take professional beauty technology out of cosmetic clinics and spas and into people's homes.
The company originally sold third-party products – an initial bestseller was a facial cleansing device by L'Oréal. This helped the business grow rapidly but also left it exposed to a single product and geography. To counter that, in 2018 CurrentBody raised funds to help develop its own product range, which launched in 2019.
Since then, CurrentBody has evolved into a portfolio of category-leading brands, under the umbrella of TBTG, which includes brands CurrentBody Skin, ZIIP Beauty and Tria Laser, together covering the four core clinic-based technologies of LED, radio-frequency, microcurrent and laser.
Today, TBTG has R&D teams in California and Manchester, dual manufacturing across the US and Asia, and six international warehouses supporting global operations. Its products are sold in more than 90 countries.
In 2024, TBTG reported underlying earnings of £22.9 million on revenue of £101.1 million, while sales rose 27% to £55.2 million in the first half of 2025.
Northern VCTs' investment
Mercia, the manager of the Northern VCTs, first invested in CurrentBody in 2018, and provided debt funding during the pandemic to allow the company to meet the rapid increase in demand.
A venture capital investor acquired a majority position in the company in 2021, though the Northern VCTs retained a sizeable stake. The VCTs subsequently sold some shares for total proceeds of £950,000 in the first half of 2025.
The residual position is now valued at £20.7 million (5.0% of NAV) on a cost of £4.1 million, as at June 2025. Past performance is not a guide to the future.
The Northern VCT is expected to sell some of its holding as part of the IPO, and the other two VCTs are likely to follow suit.
How might you invest in similar companies?
When you invest in the Northern VCTs you will get exposure to the whole portfolio of around 65 companies.
The Northern VCTs – Northern Venture Trust (NVT), Northern 2 VCT (N2VCT) and Northern 3 VCT (N3VCT) – are among the longest-standing venture capital trusts.
While the VCTs are generalist, they have a strong track record within the healthcare and technology sectors.
In the five to 30 June 2025, the VCTs have returned an average 45.9% (cumulative performance calculated on a net asset value total return basis with dividends reinvested) past performance is not a guide to the future.
See Northern VCTs' performance
NAV and cumulative dividends per share (p)
Source: Morningstar. Past performance is no guide to the future. Dividends are variable and not guaranteed. The bar chart shows net asset value and cumulative dividends per share for the period 31/12/2019 to 30/06/2025.
Wealth Club aims to make it easier for experienced investors to find information on – and apply for – investments. You should base your investment decision on the offer documents and ensure you have read and fully understand them before investing. The information on this webpage is a marketing communication. It is not advice or a personal or research recommendation to buy any of the investments mentioned, nor does it include any opinion as to the present or future value or price of these investments. It does not satisfy legal requirements promoting investment research independence and is thus not subject to prohibitions on dealing ahead of its dissemination.
Alex Davies
Chief Executive
Alex was a board director at Hargreaves Lansdown, where he worked for 15 years. He was responsible for building Hargreaves Lansdown into the biggest direct-to-consumer SIPP provider in the UK with more than 150,000 clients and over £12 billion under management. He is a keen investor with a portfolio of shares, funds, student property, EIS and VCT investments.