HOB Salons
HOB Salons is a privately held UK hairdressing group operating 16 suburban salons across London, Hertfordshire, Essex, and Buckinghamshire, serving individual consumers with cuts, colour, blow dries, treatments, subscription services, retail products, and education through its HOB Academy.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1983
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What HOB Salons does
HOB Salons is a privately held UK hairdressing group operating 16 salon locations across London, Hertfordshire, Essex, and Buckinghamshire, with a team of 300+ stylists and colourists. Founded in 1983 as Hair on Broadway with its first salon in Mill Hill, the company has built a 42-year brand positioned around delivering '5-star West End hairdressing' to affluent suburban catchments. The core offering comprises professional cuts, colour, blow dries, and treatments delivered by an award-winning creative team led by International Creative Director Akin Konizi (four-time British Hairdresser of the Year). Beyond the in-salon services, HOB operates HOB Man (male grooming at Brent Cross), HOB Homecare (e-commerce retail of professional haircare brands), HOB Academy (apprenticeship and graduate education), and a franchise model that has produced award-winning operators.
The business generates revenue across five streams: per-service salon appointments (with 25% booking deposits), retail product sales through HOB Homecare stocking brands like Olaplex, Color Wow, GHD, Wella, and Nioxin, recurring subscription services (The Blow Dry Club launched 2024 and The Colour Club launched September 2025 with waitlist), education fees from HOB Academy programmes, and franchise royalties. Go-to-market is direct-to-consumer via online booking and 16 physical locations, supplemented by HubSpot-driven email marketing, social media, and event marketing including international shows.
The company has no disclosed external investment or private equity backing and is led by CEO Tash Grossman (appointed 2024). Strategic brand partnerships with Wella Professionals and Schwarzkopf Professional anchor the technical product stack and industry recognition pipeline, while the technology stack remains conventional martech (SalonIQ booking, HubSpot CMS, Eventbrite) without disclosed AI/ML differentiation.
HOB Salons firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- HOB Salons
- Legal name
- HOB Salons
- Website
- https://hobsalons.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1983
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- HOB Salons is a privately held UK hairdressing group operating 16 suburban salons across London, Hertfordshire, Essex, and Buckinghamshire, serving individual consumers with cuts, colour, blow dries, treatments, subscription services, retail products, and education through its HOB Academy.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where HOB Salons is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices17 records
Markets served
HOB Salons business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Salon Services: Core hairdressing services including cuts, colour, blow dries, and styling. Revenue generated from individual service appointments with deposit-based booking system.
- Retail Product Sales: Professional haircare products sold through HOB Homecare e-commerce platform and in-salon. Products include Color Wow, Olaplex, GHD, System Professional, Sebastian, Nioxin, Alterna, and Wella brands.
- Subscription Services: The Blow Dry Club (subscription for regular blow dries) and The Colour Club (colour subscription service with monthly root tint or semi-permanent glossing).
- Education and Training: HOB Academy offers hairdressing courses including apprenticeship programmes, graduate programmes, and bespoke education for salon teams. Revenue from course fees.
- Franchise Operations: Franchise model allowing entrepreneurs to open HOB Salons locations under the brand. Franchise fee revenue.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Standard Salon Booking Deposit |
| Subscription | Monthly | HOB Man Booking Deposit |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Academy Apprentice Models - Blow Dry |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Academy Apprentice Models - Cut |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Academy Apprentice Models - Colour |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Blondorplex in Colour Service |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Wellaplex in Colour Service |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Wellaplex Stand-Alone Treatment |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Glass Hair Treatment |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
HOB Salons product offering
Product offeringCore offering
HOB Salons is a multi-location hairdressing group offering professional cuts, colour, blow dries and treatments across 16 UK salons, complemented by the HOB Man male-grooming concept, subscription programmes (The Blow Dry Club and The Colour Club), an e-commerce retail arm (HOB Homecare), an in-house education academy, and a franchise opportunity for entrepreneurs.
Product overview
HOB Salons is a multi-location hairdressing salon group operating 16 salons across London, Hertfordshire, and Essex. The core offering consists of professional hairdressing services including cuts, colour, and blow dries. The business operates three main divisions: HOB Salons (general), HOB Man (male grooming in Brent Cross), and HOB Homecare (e-commerce retail). Additional offerings include subscription services (The Blow Dry Club and The Colour Club), an award-winning education academy, and professional treatment services using branded products from partners like Wella and Nioxin. The company also offers gift cards and franchise opportunities.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- HOB Salons Core Services Full-service hairdressing across 16 UK salon locations, offering consultations, expert cuts, colour treatments, blow dries, and styling delivered by trained stylists and colourists. Target customers are individual consumers in suburban Greater London, Hertfordshire, Essex and Buckinghamshire.
- HOB Man Premium male grooming and barbering services located in Brent Cross Shopping Centre, offering haircuts, beard trims, and hot towel shaves for men.
- The Blow Dry Club Subscription service for regular blow dry treatments, giving members ongoing access to styled blow dries with exclusive perks.
- The Colour Club Colour subscription service providing monthly root tint or semi-permanent glossing, with complimentary treatments and exclusive member perks. Limited places per salon.
- HOB Academy Education and training platform offering apprenticeship programmes, published courses for qualified hairdressers, and bespoke in-salon team training, including Level 2 Diploma pathways and masterclasses like 'Successful Salon Business'.
- HOB Homecare E-commerce retail platform selling professional haircare products from brands including Color Wow, Olaplex, GHD, System Professional, Sebastian Professional, Nioxin, Alterna and Wella, organised by hair concern.
- HOB Salons Franchise Opportunity Franchise programme allowing entrepreneurs to open and operate HOB Salons locations under the established brand, with operational support and access to the HOB Academy training pipeline.
- HOB Salons Gift Cards Physical and digital gift cards redeemable against all HOB Salons services and HOB Homecare retail products.
- BlondorPlex in-salon lightening treatment Wella lightening treatment add-on offering up to 9 levels of lift with up to 97% less breakage; works in 2 minutes and is priced at £39 within a colour service.
- Wellaplex bond-building treatment Bond-building treatment by Wella added to tint and semi-permanent colour services; priced at £37 within a colour service or £49 as a stand-alone 15-minute treatment.
- Ultimate Smooth Glass Liquid Layer Treatment In-salon smoothing treatment providing ultra-smooth, frizz-free hair with a mirror-like shine, priced at £15.
Quantifiable outcome
- 97% less breakage with Blondorplex treatment
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use HOB Salons
Customer profileSegments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
HOB Salons technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
HOB Salons partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Schwarzkopf ProfessionalcoreSchwarzkopf Professional sponsors the HJ's British Hairdressing Awards where HOB Salons competes and wins awards. Partnership provides industry recognition and credibility through association with the premier UK hairdressing awards.
- Wella ProfessionalscoreWella Professionals is a key strategic partner providing professional hair colour products and supporting education. HOB uses Wella products and the HOB Academy uses Wella Studios London for education programmes. Partnership includes collaborative shows and events like the Infinity Show at Wella TrendVision 2024.
- Color WowminorColor Wow is a professional haircare brand whose products are sold through HOB Homecare e-commerce platform and in salons. HOB acts as a retailer/distributor for Color Wow products.
- OlaplexminorOlaplex is a professional haircare brand whose products are sold through HOB Homecare e-commerce platform and in salons.
- GHDminorGHD is a professional hair styling brand whose products are sold through HOB Homecare e-commerce platform and in salons.
- System ProfessionalminorSystem Professional is a professional haircare brand whose products are sold through HOB Homecare e-commerce platform and in salons.
- Sebastian ProfessionalminorSebastian Professional is a professional haircare brand whose products are sold through HOB Homecare e-commerce platform and in salons.
- NioxinminorNioxin is a professional haircare brand specializing in thinning hair and scalp care, sold through HOB Homecare e-commerce platform and in salons.
- AlternaminorAlterna is a professional haircare brand whose products are sold through HOB Homecare e-commerce platform and in salons.
- Charlotte TilburyminorCollaborative event partnership for exclusive masterclass at HOB Salons Temple Fortune on 20th May 2026, 5-7.30pm.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights6 records
HOB Salons competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Headmasters: Headmasters is a long-established South East England premium salon chain offering cuts, colour, education (HEADMASTERS Academy) and retail. Operates a similar suburban London/Herts positioning to HOB and competes head-to-head for both clients and stylists.
- Rush Hair: Rush Hair is a multi-location UK salon group (acquired by Bluewater) covering cuts, colour, and styling, with similar suburban/urban presence and education programmes. Closely comparable in operating model and revenue mix (services + retail + training).
- Bullers (HD Hairdressing): Bullers is a long-established Hertfordshire-based premium salon group (Hitchin, Stevenage). Highly comparable geographically (Herts overlap with HOB's catchment), brand positioning, and service mix.
- Richard Ward Hair & Metrospa: Richard Ward is a premium Chelsea-based hair salon with integrated spa/metrospa offering cuts, colour, and grooming. Comparable to HOB as a premium, award-winning London hair destination for high-end clientele, though smaller in unit count.
- Jo Hansford: Jo Hansford is a long-running, award-winning premium Mayfair/Marylebone salon famous for colour services. Directly comparable to HOB on premium positioning, colour specialism, and education/professional reputation.
- Toni&Guy: Toni&Guy is a globally recognised, multi-location UK-origin hairdressing brand with franchise and education arms (TIGI). Directly comparable to HOB in being a multi-site premium salon group with education, products, and franchise expansion, though operating at significantly larger international scale.
- Daniel Galvin Salons: Daniel Galvin is a London-based premium colour-specialist salon group with two locations and a strong colour-technology reputation. Directly comparable on premium positioning, awards heritage, and exclusive product partnerships (Olaplex, Wella).
- Paul Edmonds London: Paul Edmonds operates a small group of high-end Knightsbridge salons focused on cuts, colour, and barbering. Comparable to HOB on premium positioning and the men's-grooming segment (with on-site barbering).
Others
- Wella Company (Professional Division): Wella is HOB's key strategic product and education partner (Wella Studios London). Included as an ecosystem/partner peer because Wella's professional division competes for the same hairdresser audience HOB trains through HOB Academy and uses Wella products in HOB Homecare.
Emerging players
- Beehive Lofts / The Hangout Group: Beehive and similar emerging UK multi-site salon brands compete with HOB for clients and stylists in the suburban segment. Comparable as a smaller-scaling multi-location salon business model, though at earlier scale.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
HOB Salons social profiles
Digital presenceHOB Salons financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
HOB Salons leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
HOB Salons subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries3 records
HOB Salons funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
HOB Salons M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about HOB Salons
What does HOB Salons do?
HOB Salons is a multi-location hairdressing group offering professional cuts, colour, blow dries and treatments across 16 UK salons, complemented by the HOB Man male-grooming concept, subscription programmes (The Blow Dry Club and The Colour Club), an e-commerce retail arm (HOB Homecare), an in-house education academy, and a franchise opportunity for entrepreneurs.
Is HOB Salons a public or private company?
HOB Salons is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was HOB Salons founded?
HOB Salons was founded in 1983. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is HOB Salons based?
HOB Salons is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does HOB Salons make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Salon Services are the primary driver. The others are retail Product Sales, subscription Services, education and Training and franchise Operations.
Who are HOB Salons's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Headmasters, Rush Hair, Bullers (HD Hairdressing), Richard Ward Hair & Metrospa, Jo Hansford, Toni&Guy, Daniel Galvin Salons and Paul Edmonds London. Wella Company (Professional Division) is listed as an others. Beehive Lofts / The Hangout Group is listed as an emerging player.
Does HOB Salons have an API?
No public API is recorded for HOB Salons.