Holland & Barrett (H&B) is a chain of health food shops with over 1,300 stores in 16 countries, including a substantial presence in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Netherlands, Belgium, China, Hong Kong, India, Saudi Arabia and UAE.

Holland & Barrett was formed in 1870 by Alfred Slapps Barrett and Major William Holland, who bought a grocery store in Bishop’s Stortford, selling groceries and clothing.

They developed their business into two shops – a grocery store and a clothing store. It is also evident that in 1900 they occupied a store in the High Street of Epsom. In the 1920s, Alfred Button & Sons bought the business and kept the name Holland & Barrett.

Holland & Barrett has since changed hands a number of times. In 1970, Booker acquired Holland & Barrett, also acquiring Heath & Heather stores which they later renamed Holland & Barrett. Lloyds Pharmacy purchased Holland & Barrett in 1992, after which NBTY acquired Holland & Barrett in 1997. NBTY was bought by American private equity firm The Carlyle Group in 2010.

The brand has become synonymous with the sale of vitamins, supplements and homoeopathy, to the point that pro-homoeopathy former MP David Tredinnick has been dubbed “The Hon. Member for Holland and Barrett”.

On 21 June 2017, it was announced that a series of negotiations had commenced by NBTY on behalf of The Carlyle Group to sell off Holland & Barrett in its entirety. A few companies showed interest in acquiring the company, namely A.S. Watson the owner of Superdrug and The Perfume Shop, and KKR the private equity firm both showed an interest in early negotiations. It was a sale that could potentially be worth $6bn.

On 26 June 2017, it was reported that Holland & Barrett was sold for £1.8 billion to L1 Retail, a group controlled by Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman