King of Shaves develops

THE toiletries business founded by Lowestoft entrepreneur Will King is to split in two in a move to 'accelerate sales growth'.Mr King's King of Shaves has developed into a multi-million pound operation since being founded at his home in the town in 1993.

THE toiletries business founded by Lowestoft entrepreneur Will King is to split in two in a move to 'accelerate sales growth'.

Mr King's King of Shaves has developed into a multi-million pound operation since being founded at his home in the town in 1993.

Yesterday, it emerged that Mr King will split the business into King of Shaves Company - focusing on the sale of its own products - and KMI, which will develop other brands, including Ted Baker Fragrance and Fish & Angelfish Styling.

The company also announced inward investment of �4m from Mr King's brother and fellow shareholder, Doug King, co-founder and chief investment officer of the Singapore-based commodity fund Aisling Analytics.

Mr King will remain chief executive of King of Shaves, while his business partner Hiten Dayal will run KMI.

Mr King said: 'Launching the King of Shaves Azor system razor successfully in 2008 gives the King of Shaves a genuine opportunity to become a serious global challenger brand in the world's shaving market, building on the strong foundations of the past 16 years.

'We believe that this demerger will accelerate retail sales towards my target of firmly establishing the King of Shaves as a genuine global contender in men's grooming.'