Board backing Likewise AIM launch with £1m directors’ investment
The directors of floor covering distributor Likewise Group, which is to list on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM), have announced they are to invest £1m, in addition to the raising of approximately £10m, on the launch on AIM.
The listing on AIM and the raising of a further £7.5m on The International Stock Exchange (TISE), in addition to the original £7m raised on its TISE launch in December 2018, is to provide a war chest to help accelerate the group’s plans for growth.
The directors, including non-executive chairman Paul Bassi, have also invested a further £1m.
Likewise Group was founded by two former Headlam directors Tony Brewer and Andrew Simpson in December 2018 and originally listed on TISE in 2019.
The company has also announced it has moved its head office from Bromsgrove to Unit 4 Radial Park at Birmingham Business Park where it recently signed a lease for 57,082 sq ft to provide a new Midlands and South West distribution centre.
As well as the head office, the new unit will house up-to-date racking systems and the latest floor covering handling equipment. To date, the investment has created 20 jobs, with more expected to follow in the autumn.
The opening of the new distribution centre follows the opening in January 2021 of the Morley Distribution Centre to augment regional centres in Manchester, Glasgow, Newcastle, Sudbury and Peckham.
Likewise chief executive officer Tony Brewer said: “The directors’ investment is a result of their confidence in the board’s ability to drive the growth of Likewise as a market leading provider of floor coverings.
“The Likewise trade brand is increasingly recognised across the UK as the result of the work of our excellent staff and we see huge opportunities to develop our reach and relationships in our existing and additional geographical areas.
In its first two years, Likewise has grown rapidly, acquiring William Armes and the trade and assets of Bruce Starke & Co which have both now been fully integrated into the group.
Further acquisitions have included Lewis Abbott, Heatseam and H&V Carpets BVBA in 2019, and A&A in Manchester in 2020.
