City round-up: Strix Group; Victoria Plumbing; Tatton; Franchise Brands
Strix Group, the Isle of Man-based designer and manufacturer of kettle safety controls and other complementary water temperature management components, has achieved a major milestone, having surpassed the manufacture of three billion products worldwide.
Strix estimates that its controls are used approximately 1.2 billion times per day, in more than 100 countries, by around 10% of the world’s population. It said it occupies the number one position in the manufacturing of controls. It has around 1,000 staff and partners around the world.
Strix made the announcement during its attendance at the Canton Fair, the oldest, largest, and most representative trade fair in China.
Strix’s team of 25 attending the fair includes members from various functions, consisting of engineering and industrial design, technical support, customer relations, sales and applications, all supported by senior management.
Chief executive, Mark Bartlett, said: “We are very pleased to have reached another significant milestone for the company, achieving threed billion products manufactured is a clear demonstration of the ongoing demand within our core business.
“We continue to invest in our kettle control division, bringing to market innovative products for our customers around the world.”
He added: “Attending the Canton Fair is a major event in our annual calendar, providing us with the opportunity to meet with existing and new customers, as well as gaining important market insight as we move further into our peak season.”
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Mark Radcliffe
Bathroom retailer Victorian Plumbing Group plc says revenue for 2024 increased by c.4% on the prior year, but decreased c.1% on a like-for-like basis, excluding the impact of the acquisition of Victoria Plum).
The company says “robust customer demand”, together with the acquisition of its similarly named competitor has driven further market share gains and strong order volume growth of 10% versus FY23 (+3% like-for-like), with a record 1,021,000 orders delivered in the year (FY23: 932,000).
Since the acquisition of Victoria Plum on 17 May 2024 the business has contributed c.£15m of revenue but incurred an adjusted EBITDA loss of c.£2m in the period since acquisition. It said by the time results of formally released it will have managed “the discontinuation of Victoria Plum.”
The group has recently finalised a consultation process with Victoria Plum’s workforce and has taken the decision to close the business and its operations in Doncaster, which is expected to be completed by 31 December 2024.
However, its new 544,000 square feet semi-automated distribution centre in Leyland, Lancashire, is now operational, with more than half of all daily orders being dispatched from the new site. Management expects all orders to be dispatched from the new distribution centre by the end of the calendar year.
Mark Radcliffe, CEO of Victorian Plumbing, commented: “I am pleased with the Group’s performance in FY24 which has been a very busy year for Victorian Plumbing. We have increased profitability, as our higher margin own brand proposition continues to resonate with customers and consolidated our leading position as the UK’s number one bathroom retailer. At the same time, we have delivered a year of transformational change with significant investment in our people, technology and operations.
“Our state of the art new distribution centre is now operational and will remove previous capacity constraints, enabling us to serve customers more efficiently and execute on our strategic growth plans in our expansion categories and our trade proposition. Moreover, the recent decision to close Victoria Plum provides the Group with a significant opportunity to accelerate growth and continue to further the investment in our brand and marketing.
“This positive momentum and the successful delivery of our warehouse transformation reaffirms confidence in our profitable growth strategy that is delivering long-term value for all stakeholders.”
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Metro Rod, a Franchise Brands business
Franchise Brands is to prioritise a share buyback programme from its employee benefit trust to mitigate the dilution of its shares after “anomalies” in the share price which “significantly undervalues” the business.
The Trustee of the Franchise Brands PLC Employee Benefit Trust currently holds 983,510 Ordinary Shares which represents 0.51% of the issued share capital.
Franchise Brands will re-commence its discretionary programme to buy ordinary shares of 0.5p each in the Company with immediate effect, up to an aggregate value of £5,000,000.
The Trustees of the EBT have entered into arrangements with the company’s joint broker, Stifel Nicolaus Europe to carry out on-market purchases under the programme, including on a discretionary basis independent of the company.
The board remains focused on debt reduction, a progressive dividend policy and investment in the organic growth of the group and says this action will “modestly extend” the debt reduction timetable, but full repayment of outstanding bank debt by the end of 2027.
The Board believes that recent speculation about the potential impact of any changes to Inheritance Tax legislation in the Autumn Budget on 30 October 2024, including potential removal of Business Property Relief for qualifying companies quoted on AIM may have contributed to recent volatility in the Company’s share price.
However, they said in a statement today (15 October 2024) that in times of such volatility, anomalies in the share price present opportunities to act in the interests of all shareholders and purchase shares.
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Paul Hogarth
AIM-listed investment management and IFA support services business Tatton Asset Management says the six months ended 30 September 2024 results will be “in line with the Board’s expectations” for the Period, with continued growth in both revenue and profits driven by strong net inflows.
Organic net inflows have averaged £305m per month in the Period (FY24: £192m per month). Total net inflows in the Period were a record £1.832bn, representing 22.1% of opening Assets Under Management on an annualised basis, and ahead of both the final six months of the prior financial year (H2 24: £1.393bn) and the same Period last year (H1 24: £0.910bn).
The business has increased the total number of supporting IFAs to 1,038 (31 March 2024: 975), a 6.5% increase since the end of the prior year.
Paul Hogarth, Founder and CEO of Tatton Asset Management plc, said: “The Group has made strong progress this financial year which is exemplified by the record level of net inflows over the last six months. Particularly pleasing is the consistency of the flows averaging £305m per month with a high of £375m and low of £260m per month over the Period. The strong flows coupled with the consistent investment performance has increased our AUM by £2.3bn to just short of £20bn in six months, a key milestone as we head towards our target of £30bn by the end of FY29. As always, we remain appreciative of the consistent support from existing and new firms who choose Tatton as an investment partner.
“Our Paradigm Mortgage business participated in £6.6bn of mortgage completions showing an improving performance from the second half of last year. We welcome the continued improvement in the housing market as inflation and interest rates have both reduced over the Period. Paradigm Consulting continues to perform in line with our expectations.
“As we enter the second half of the year, we are conscious of the wider macroeconomic and geopolitical volatility but more acutely, the impact the UK Autumn Budget is having on investor sentiment and the UK market generally. However, against this backdrop, we believe we are well positioned to make further progress over the remainder of this financial year.”
