Ulta Beauty’s new chief executive officer Kecia Steelman continues to make significant moves, this time snapping up Space NK from investment firm Manzanita Capital. 

Terms of the deal were not disclosed apart from that the purchase was funded with cash on hand and capacity under Ulta’s existing credit facility. 

Press reports from last year suggested Manzanita was searching for a deal valued between 300 million pounds and 400 million pounds.

Space NK, which has 83 stores in the U.K. and Ireland, will operate as a stand-alone subsidiary of Ulta Beauty and will continue to be led by its existing management team, including CEO Andy Lightfoot.  

“Today’s announcement marks an exciting step forward for Ulta Beauty’s global expansion efforts, adding the U.K. market to our existing planned openings in Mexico and the Middle East later this year,” said Steelman. “Space NK is a beloved brand with a strong operating model and customer loyalty, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to welcome the brand into the Ulta Beauty family.”

Space NK was founded in Covent Garden in 1993 by Nicky Kinnaird as a glossy destination for niche, international brands — many of them skin care — that were difficult to find in the U.K.

It had been part of Manzanita Capital for 23 years. Reports that the firm was trying to sell Space NK emerged in April 2024. It previously tried to off-load it in 2018, before deciding to pull the retailer off the market.

Bill Fisher, CEO and founder of Manzanita Capital, said: “I have every confidence that Ulta Beauty and this terrific management team will take Space NK to new heights.” 

Lightfoot added that he was excited by the opportunity to join Ulta Beauty and “benefit from its scale, brand relationships and resources.” 

“This acquisition sets both companies on a path to further success and importantly, enables us to reach more beauty enthusiasts throughout the world at scale. As a collective force of talented, passionate teams, I’m confident we will take Space NK to new heights,” he continued.

The U.S. wholesale division of Space NK, which entails roughly 600 points of distribution across Bloomingdale’s, Nordstrom, Nordstrom Rack, Hudson’s Bay and the company’s shop-in-shop collaboration with Walmart and Beauty SpaceNK, was acquired by PCA Companies in June 2024.

Since taking the reins as CEO of Ulta at the beginning of this year, Steelman has been executing its international expansion. Later this year Ulta will debut in Mexico through a joint venture with Axo, before arriving in the Middle East via a licensing agreement with Alshaya Group. 

In the Middle East, the first locations will be in Dubai and Kuwait City, with one store in each location to begin with, although the strategy is to expand quickly. It’s the same story in Mexico.

“We’re getting ready to launch in the back half of 2025 for Mexico, and it will probably be in the later half of the year for the Middle East. For Mexico, it’s a joint venture with Axo. We’re very excited about our partnership. The teams are working very well together. We believe we can get 10 stores open in a pretty short period of time,” Steelman said during an April interview with WWD.

“In regards to the Middle East, that’s actually a licensed agreement that we’re doing with Alshaya Group. We’ve talked to Alshaya Group for quite some time, and feel like they’re a fantastic partner for us to bring our brand to life in the Middle East.”

Thursday’s announcement that Ulta is acquiring Spake NK is yet another sign that beauty M&A is picking up after a lengthy slowdown. Other recent deals include L’Oréal snapping up Medik8 and Color Wow, E.l.f. Beauty buying Hailey Bieber’s Rhode and Unilever’s purchase of Dr. Squatch.

Other beauty brands that have been in the market for some time will no doubt be hoping that this thawing means they will soon have some success.