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We could all do with a little sanctuary at the moment. The start of 2008 has been difficult, to say the least.

HgCapital has instead, though, opted for £75m, and a realisation of £22.4m, in flogging the Sanctuary Spa to PZ Cussons, the consumer products group.

The deal will add 48p to HGCapital’s net asset value, put at 940p following the sale of frozen food products business Hofmann Menu - a good result for the mid-market private equity shop which acquired the business in 2005 for £23m, and bought in a products business which previously operated under license.

The business, which has grown up around the women-only spa based in London’s Covent Garden, now makes most of its money through its range of products sold under the same brand. The range, which is sold in the UK through high-street retailer Boots, accounted for about 70 per cent of the Sanctuary’s £26.3m in revenues last year.

The spa side of the business also may be set for a renaissance. The Sanctuary, which welcomes more than 64,000 women each year and counts itself as the largest day spa in Britain, had been looking a little sad and tired, but at the end of last year revealed the results of a design refresh, along with changes to help the spa deal with increased visitor numbers.
Shares in the maker of Imperial Leather and Carex soaps rose 2.2 per cent on its new buy, as the group reported an 8 per cent rise in pre-tax profit on Tuesday.