Darwin acquired Maxinutrition for £75 million in 2007, and the sale is the firm’s first exit from its inaugural fund. The deal is Darwin’s fourth transaction this year following the acquisition of the office supplies company Euroffice in November. Founded in 2007, Darwin invests in UK businesses with enterprise values of between £10 million and £100 million.

John Clarke, president of consumer healthcare at GSK, comments that the company intends to expand Maxinutrition beyond the UK and Europe, and to continue to expand GSK’s consumer healthcare business through bolt-on acquisitions.

Maxinutrition produces nutritional supplements aimed at the sports and bodybuilding markets, and trades under the brands Maximuscle, Maxifuel and Maxitone. The company’s products are sold by high street retailers including Boots and Sainsbury, and in the year to April 2010, it recorded sales of approximately £36 million.

London-based GlaxoSmithKline is a pharmaceutical and healthcare company. In 2009 the company declared a pre-tax profit of £7.9 billion on a turnover of £28.4 billion.

Darwin was advised on the sale by PricewaterhouseCoopers and Macfarlanes.