REG - Victorian Plumbing - Acquisition of Victoria Plum

Victorian PlumbingAnnouncement

20/05/2024 07:00

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RNS Number : 0046P  Victorian Plumbing Group PLC  20 May 2024

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of
the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 as it forms part of UK domestic law
by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 ("MAR"), and is
disclosed in accordance with the Company's obligations under Article 17 of
MAR. Upon the publication of this announcement via the Regulatory Information
Service, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

 

20 May 2024

 

Victorian Plumbing Group plc

("Victorian Plumbing" or "Company")

 

Acquisition of Victoria Plum

 

 

Victorian Plumbing (AIM: VIC), the UK's leading bathroom retailer, announces
the acquisition by Victorian Plumbing Limited, a subsidiary of the Company, of
the entire issued share capital of AHK Designs Ltd, trading as Victoria Plum
("Victoria Plum") (the "Acquisition")(1) on 17 May 2024. Victoria Plum is an
online only UK bathroom retailer, headquartered in Doncaster, UK.

 

The purchase price for the Acquisition is £22.5m, on a cash free, debt free
basis, subject to adjustment for normalised working capital. The Acquisition
has been funded from the Company's existing cash reserves. The purchase price
represents c.0.5x Victoria Plum's estimated annual revenue and reflects the
significant strategic value to the Company of the Victoria Plum brand and its
associated intellectual property. The Company's expectation is that Victoria
Plum will be broadly break even in the second half of 2024.

 

Given that Victoria Plum has recently been through an administration and there
is already a cost reduction programme in progress, the Company intends to
continue to trade the business as normal initially, pending finalisation of
our integration plan. Further information will be provided on 28 May 2024
alongside the Company's interim results for the six month period ended 31
March 2024.

 

 

Mark Radcliffe, CEO of Victorian Plumbing, commented:

 

"I am delighted to announce the acquisition of Victoria Plum, a
well-established brand with a solid base of customers, suppliers and product
ranges. The acquisition aligns with our ambitions to accelerate our growth. We
are pleased to welcome the existing Victoria Plum team to our group and look
forward to continuing to provide customers with a fantastic range of bathroom
products and accessories.

 

"This acquisition represents another exciting strategic milestone for the
company and, together with the investment in our new distribution centre,
provides a unique opportunity to deliver increased shareholder return."

 

 

 1)  The Acquisition constitutes a substantial transaction under the Rule 12 of the
     AIM Rules for Companies. For the six months ended 31 March 2024, unaudited
     management accounts indicate that Victoria Plum had book value gross assets of
     £15.8m and losses of £3.3m.

 

 

The person responsible for arranging the release of this announcement on
behalf of the Company is Daniel Barton, Chief Financial Officer

-ENDS-

 

 

For further information, please contact:

 

 Victorian Plumbing Group plc                     via FTI Consulting

 Mark Radcliffe, Chief Executive Officer          +44 20 3727 1000

 Daniel Barton, Chief Financial Officer

 FTI Consulting (Financial PR)                    +44 20 3727 1000

 Alex Beagley, Harriet Jackson, Amy Goldup        VictorianPlumbing@fticonsulting.com

                                                (mailto:VictorianPlumbing@fticonsulting.com)

 Houlihan Lokey Advisory Ltd (Nominated Adviser)  +44 20 7839 3355

 Sam Fuller, Tim Richardson

 Barclays Bank PLC (Joint Broker)                 +44 20 7623 2323

 Nicola Tennent, Stuart Muress

 Deutsche Numis (Joint Broker)                    +44 20 7260 1000

 Luke Bordewich, Oliver Steele

 

About Victorian Plumbing (prior to the Acquisition)

 

Victorian Plumbing is the UK's leading bathroom retailer, offering a wide
range of over 34,000 products to B2C and trade customers. Victorian Plumbing
offers its customers a one-stop shop solution for the entire bathroom with
more than 130 own and third party brands across a wide spectrum of price
points.

 

Victorian Plumbing's product design and supply chain strengths are
complemented by its creative and brand-focused marketing strategy to drive
significant and growing traffic to its website.

 

Headquartered in Skelmersdale, Victorian Plumbing employs over 600 staff
across nine locations in Lancashire, Manchester and Birmingham.

 

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