Nail salons are next in line for Starbucks-style expansion after decades of being overlooked by investors, the boss of the UK’s largest luxury chain has said, after clinching a £130 million valuation.

Townhouse, which runs 40 luxury nail salons in the UK, said it was targeting hundreds of new franchised sites after securing backing from the US private equity firm behind the Burger King and Tim Horton chains in China.

The new investment from Cartesian Capital will propel the expansion of the business, which was founded in 2018 by Juanita Huber-Millet and headed up by her husband and chief executive Jonathan Millet.

Mr Millet said it was capturing a turning point in the nail care industry, which is highly fragmented and has been typically under-invested in compared with other services.

“I think there is probably an element of beauty services overall being overlooked,” he told the Press Association.

“I would say there is a little bit of an element of, historically, 20, 30 years ago, finance and capital being very dominated by men, and this being a sector that primarily serves women.

“So if you’re a male private equity investor maybe 15 or 20 years ago then maybe it wasn’t front and centre of your mind as something to invest in.”

He made comparisons with industries such as coffee houses, hotels, gyms and sandwich shops, which have all expanded with the emergence of chains over recent decades.

Other parts of the beauty salon sector, such as waxing and massages, have started to grow with brands “delivering that Starbucks-esque experience” after years of the beauty services industry “lagging behind”.

Meanwhile, there are no major nail salon chains in the UK, with Townhouse entering a market that is typically led by independent and boutique shops.

Mr Millet also said the nail industry has been plagued with poor working conditions for staff, a lack of employment contracts, and even cases of modern slavery.

“In our industry there has historically been quite a lot of exploitation of workers,” he told the Press Association.

“When Covid hit, there were a lot of people in the industry who didn’t have contracts, who were just being paid cash in hand, so they didn’t get government relief.

“And we still see a lot of people, as we’re recruiting, who have worked in the industry and not had contracts – all the way through to, less pervasive but there, some elements of trafficking and indentured labour.”

Townhouse says it offers its nail technicians above-market pay, private healthcare, paid leave and structured career progression, including in the US, where it currently has a handful of stores.

The business has signed up major franchisees, with about 149 sites committed over the next five years, and another roughly 350 in advanced negotiations.

It said this would bring the chain to about 500 salons internationally and create an estimated 5,400 jobs.

Mr Millet said Townhouse sits in the “premium to luxury part of the market” with prices ranging from about £30 to £100 for each treatment.

He suggested that nail care was “more resilient” to economic downturns, adding: “We see people who may need to cut down in some parts of their lives really keep up their beauty regime because it’s that small moment of luxury.”

“It’s not affordable for everyone, but it’s a price that people are willing to pay.”

The chain is predominately focused in London but has also opened salons in cities including Manchester, Bristol and Leeds.

Gold and silver prices are likely to remain volatile and could see further corrective moves in the coming week, with investors closely watching developments in the Middle East conflict and a packed calendar of major central bank policy meetings, analysts said.Market participants are expected to remain focused on the evolving geopolitical situation, as any sign of escalation or de-escalation in the Middle East could trigger sharp swings across commodities, currencies and broader financial markets.

Middle East conflict to remain key trigger

Analysts said traders will continue to track the conflict in the Middle East closely, with geopolitical headlines likely to remain the biggest short-term driver for bullion prices.“In the week ahead, focus will remain in the Middle East region as any signs of further escalation or de-escalation may lead to increased volatility in the financial markets,” Pranav Mer, vice president, EBG – commodity & currency research at JM Financial Services Ltd, was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.While gold and silver are traditionally seen as safe-haven assets during times of crisis, recent sessions have shown that broader market stress can also lead to profit-booking and cash-raising, which can weigh on prices even when geopolitical risks remain elevated.

Fed, ECB, BoE and PBOC decisions in focus

On the macroeconomic front, investors will also monitor a heavy lineup of central bank meetings this week.The US Federal Reserve will announce its policy decision on Wednesday, followed by the European Central Bank and the Bank of England on Thursday, and the People’s Bank of China on Friday.These central banks are widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged, but traders will be closely watching their forward guidance for clues on the path of global monetary policy, especially at a time when higher crude oil prices are complicating inflation expectations.

Bullion under pressure last week

Bullion prices remained under pressure in domestic markets last week. On the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX):

In the international market, Comex silver dropped nearly $3, or 3.52%, during the week, while gold fell $97, or 2%.Mer told PTI that gold broke down from a consolidation range on Friday and ended the week nearly 2 per cent lower, dragged by a stronger US dollar and growing expectations that major central banks may delay interest rate cuts because of the inflationary impact of surging crude oil prices.

Why bullion fell despite safe-haven demand

The fall in bullion prices came even as equities and other risk assets saw broad pressure.According to PTI, Mer said gold prices slipped despite a wider sell-off in risk assets because traders and investors may have chosen to book profits at higher levels or sold holdings to meet margin calls and liquidity needs.Still, he said bullion continues to retain an important support base from safe-haven demand because of the escalating conflict in the Middle East.“Silver prices closed in negative for the second consecutive week, weighed by a stronger dollar and a consolidative/ corrective move in the industrial metals,” Mer told PTI.

Long-term allocation still favoured

Despite near-term volatility, analysts said gold and silver continue to play an important role in portfolio construction.“Gold and silver earn their place not because of what they return in isolation, but because of how they behave relative to everything else,” Vijay Kuppa, CEO of InCred Money, said, as per PTI.He said the two metals remain valuable because of their low correlation with equities and their ability to act as a hedge against currency debasement.Kuppa also cautioned investors against trying to time the market, saying that while broader commodity markets have been disrupted by supply chain issues and changing trade routes amid the conflict, investors should maintain a long-term allocation to bullion rather than chase short-term price swings.