Tile titans rescue 23 stores from stricken supplier
A deal has been struck to reopen 23 stores after a Birmingham-based tile supplier crashed into administration.
The CTD Tiles stores (now known as Tildist Realisations) have been acquired in two separate deals.
Stiled, which owns the Tile Giant and Tile Choice brands and currently operates 49 stores across the UK, has reached an agreement to take on 16 former CTD Tiles stores.
The seventh-largest tile manufacturer in the world Kajaria Ceramics has agreed to take on seven stores as part of a UK joint venture for the New Delhi-headquartered firm.
The deals take the total number of stores rescued to 53, as Leicester-based Topps Tiles acquired 30 stores in a deal worth £9m when administrators at Interpath were appointed on August 19.
CTD Tiles was one of Britain’s largest tile suppliers before it collapsed, trading from 87 stores and employing around 580 staff.
Last year was the first year of trading for CTD as a standalone business, following Aurelius’ carve-out and purchase of CTD’s trade and assets from Saint-Gobain in 2022. It reported revenues of more than £112m and profits of £580k.
Matt Williams, CEO of Stiled said: “We are delighted to reopen these stores that had been closed. Our focus will be working to establish these locations as Tile Giant and Tile Choice stores with new colleagues to provide market leading tile ranges.”
Viren Mundra, CEO of Kajaria-UKP said: “Kajaria is the seventh largest tile producer in the world, selling premium tiles in over 35 countries. We opened the UK’s largest tile showroom in London earlier this year. This is the next step in our UK expansion and we look forward to serving customers from these seven new locations.”
James Lumb and Will Wright from Interpath Advisory were appointed as joint administrators.
James Lumb, managing director at Interpath Advisory and joint administrator, said: “We are pleased to have reached these agreements which pave the way for a further 23 stores to reopen under new ownership, and which we hope will create a significant number of new employment opportunies for those former workers who were impacted by redundancy, as well as others in the local communities.
“We’d like to thank all those stakeholders who have helped to get these agreements over the line in such a short timeframe, and wish both Stiled and Kajaria-UKP all the very best of luck for the future.”
Addleshaw Goddard LLP and Eversheds Sutherland (International) LLP acted for the Joint Administrators. Stiled Limited were advised by Dutton Gregory LLP. Kajaria-UKP Limited were advised by Hill Dickinson LLP.
Stores transferred to Stiled:
Ipswich
Cricklewood
Chelmsford
Eastbourne
Aintree
Rochdale
Exeter
Plymouth
Basildon
Cambridge Central
Blackpool
Slough
Dundee
Stirling
Whetstone
Sutton Coldfield
Stores transferred to Kajaria-UKP:
Brierley Park
Chester
Colchester
Coventry
Croydon
Derby
Northampton
