A scaffolder who started his business as a teenager has landed a multi-million payout after a wise move on the London Stock Exchange. Thomas Ryder, 41, became obsessed with the gym as a teenager.
Working out created his passion for business and led him to open his first sports supplement store called “Body Fuel” at the age of 18. The entrepreneur, who was raised on a council estate in Liverpool by his grandparents, built up the cash for his business venture by selling muscle-bulking protein powder and delivering takeaway pizzas alongside his scaffolding job for the local council.
Ten years ago, he established his sports supplements brand called Applied Nutrition. On Thursday, he sold 19 per cent of his shares of the business, valued at £350million, on the London Stock Exchange, The Mirror reports.
Ryder, who now holds a 35 per cent stake in his business, was paid out £62million. Speaking to the Telegraph, Ryder said he had “always been passionate” about sports supplements, and when he first started, the industry was “nowhere near what it is today”.
He continued to do scaffolding work while running Body Fuel for six years before switching to selling supplements full-time. In 2014, he launched his now-multimillion-pound company Applied Nutrition from a small factory in Knowsley, Merseyside. Over the last decade, the company saw rapid growth, with retail giant JD Sports now being one of its largest shareholders.
Ryder said: “You can’t take away the credibility and recognition it gives you to be a listed company on the London Stock Exchange.”
Following Thursday’s initial public offering, shares in Applied Nutrition jumped more than 7 per cent to 150p, with Ryder noting that listing the business was “by far the best all-round option we had.” Now, Ryder is hoping the business will make its mark in the US.
He said: “The US is the big goal. We are in an industry worth £189billionn and the US is 50 per cent of that. You can’t ignore the fact that it’s by far the biggest opportunity. Our priority is to keep growing. We have not scratched the surface of where we can be. The growth opportunity ahead of us is huge.”
Alongside the US plans, the business is also looking to expand its target audience. Ryder said the supplement industry continued to be very “bodybuilding” centric, but this was something he wanted to change, adding: “That has never been my thing but I’ve always been into the benefits of supplements.”
Going forward, Ryder says the business doesn’t just want to focus on gym-goers. He also wants to target people using weight-loss jabs such as Wegovy, as Applied Nutrition has just introduced with these users in mind.
He said: “There is a huge consumer base taking prescribed drugs that’s stopping them from eating. But you then are lacking protein, minerals, vitamins, etc, and we can supplement that. It’s great you are losing weight but you’ve got to replace the goodness in your body. And we’d love to work with the NHS and anyone else prescribing these drugs.”
Even though Ryder has big plans for Applied Nutrition in the future, his heart and the businesses will remain at its base in Knowsley, Merseyside.
He said: “Liverpool is our home and is at the heart of our company.” The Liverpudlian entrepreneur has never shied away from his roots with the business having previously sponsored mixed martial artists Paddy Pimblett and Molly McCann as local ambassadors of Liverpool in 2023.
He told the Liverpool Echo at the time: “They’re both Liverpool through-and-through and understand the importance of the community. They also want to give back to their community like we do. It’s nice using local people from Liverpool to showcase the brand.”
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