MILLIES Cookies millionaire Richard O'Sullivan has swapped cakes and biscuits for the healthy eating sector in a multi-pound deal.

The 43-year-old who made his fortune by selling the Bury-based chain to catering giant Compass for é24m in December 2003 has spashed out around é5m on a licence to open a chain of juice bars.

He and former Millies partner Mario Budwig have struck a deal with ultra-successful Australian company Boost Juice Bars.

The concept was launched in Australia by mother-of-three Janine Allis. Tapping into the trend for healthy eating the company sells a range of fresh fruit juices and smoothies that contain no preservatives, artificial flavours or colours and are low in fat.

Boost Juice has grown from a single store in 2000 to a chain of 170 throughout Australia.

Richard, 43, said today: "I am incredibly excited. Boost is a fantastic concept and is the best marketed and well-run business I have ever seen.

"We will run the business from the north west, start off small and then build it up like we did with Millies.

"The rules will be the same, I'll open 10 or so and see what works and what doesn't and then go from there."

Accident

He discovered Boost Juice by accident: "My daughter went to Australia and went to a store, She rang me and said 'Dad you've got to look at this'.

"I left Millies in December, went to Australia and was so impressed that I knew it was something I had to bring home.

"There are other juice bar chains in this company, but none with the same funkiness as Boost. It's like comparing Armani clothes to C&A - there's no comparison.

"With the increasing worries about obesity among young people, it's a perfect time for us to launch Boost here in the UK - it's healthy, unbelievably tasty and has that funky appeal that's made the concept so successful."

The first Boost Juice Bar is expected to open at the end of 2006.

Richard, who built Millies up from a handful of outlets to a 140-store chain with sites in Hong Kong, Germany and France, plans to spend the next few months in Australia learning the `nuts and bolts' of the Boost Juice business.