Cruise ship and resort operator, One Spa World (OSW), has struck a rescue deal with private equity firm, L Catterton for financial pandemic assistance.

The agreement will see OSW sell US$75m (£59.8m, €68.4) in common equity and warrants to Steiner Leisure, part of the L Catterton portfolio.

OSW was previously owned by Steiner, but was sold to Haymaker Acquisition Corp in 2018 in a transaction valued at US$948m (€825.6m, £720.6m).
OSW has been struggling since the pandemic began and has furloughed 96 per cent of its US and Caribbean resort spa staff and 37 per cent of corporate personnel, repatriated 45 per cent of all cruise ship employees and closed all US and Caribbean destination resorts spas.

Leonard Fluxman, OSW’s executive chair said: “This investment substantially increases our financial strength and liquidity and attests to investor confidence in our ability to weather this unprecedented crisis, rapidly rescale our operations, and resume our record of profitable growth.”

L Catterton acquired OSW in 2015, when it bought Steiner; it later split the group, selling off OSW and keeping the Cortiva Institute, which offers training for massage and skincare therapists, and product lines including skincare brand Elemis and Ideal Image.

Marc Magliacano, L Catterton managing partner and OSW director, commented: “We’re proud to have the opportunity to increase our investment and further our partnership with OSW. We’ve worked with OSW since 2015 and now have re-committed our resources to assist them during these challenging times.”

Glenn Fusfield, OSW CEO, commented: “This investment will sustain the business through an extended period of cancelled voyages and fuel our continued innovation of service offerings and spa experiences.

“This will enable us to fully capitalise on our market position and growth opportunities when normal operations resume.”

The recent deal will see OSW issue approximately 18.8m common shares to Steiner in exchange for the cash infusion. Steiner will also expand its representation on the OSW company board to three of the 10 directors.