Victorians unhappy with their physical appearance may soon find themselves perusing non-surgical aesthetic options at one of SILK Laser Clinics’ (ASX: SLA) newest locations after the roll-up operator acquired five new clinics. 

With the acquired Unique Laser clinics located in Ballarat, Doncaster, Geelong, Torquay and Waurn Ponds, it takes SILK’s nationwide network to 128 clinics which customers frequent when in need of cosmetic injectables, body contouring, skincare or laser hair removal and skin treatment. 

The acquisitions are part of a concerted effort by SILK to expand their presence in Victoria where prior to the additions, only had 14 locations – the fewest amongst all States besides Tasmania. 

“The non-surgical aesthetics sector is going through a consolidation phase, which after this acquisition, and the acquisition of Australian Skin Clinics last year, SILK is leading,” said SILK Founder and Managing Director, Martin Perelman. 

“This acquisition aligns with SILK’s goal to increase its East Coast presence – particularly in Victoria. We’re thrilled to welcome the Unique Laser team to the SILK family and we’re excited to further grow the SILK network – which has doubled in size over the past 12 months – across Australia and New Zealand.”

No financial terms around the acquisition were announced by SILK but the Company will enter four into their franchise network while electing to retain part ownership in one. 

While SILK has been impacted by ongoing lockdowns throughout COVID, it took just six weeks for trading to return to normal levels as an indication of how highly Australian’s value their cosmetic injectables. Although such services were previously most commonly associated with aging, the average age of customers is dropping very quickly, as evidenced by social media followers being a key metric in SILK’s investor presentations. They proudly had more than 115,000 advertised in their last one if you’re wondering. 

For the six months ended 31 December 2021, SILK Laser Clinics reported $40.5m in revenue which represented a 32% increase on the previous corresponding half year. This delivered $12.7m in pro forma EBITDA. Due to the seasonal nature of some services (notably laser hair removal which is less utilised in winter), SILK expects full year EBITDA to be around $20m. 

Recent media reports raised attention to Australia’s underregulated cosmetic surgery industry that is rife with shady operators that pry on customer insecurity. However, SILK’s non-surgical services are not central to the current Independent Review of the Regulation of Health Practitioners and Patient Safety Issues in Cosmetic Surgery that was ordered by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) and the Medical Board of Australia

SILK listed on the ASX in December 2020 after successfully raising $83.5m at an Offer Price of $3.45 for a market capitalisation of $162.5m at the time of listing.