Flooring firm bought in £13m deal

FLOORING manufacturer Ezi Floor has been bought in a deal worth up to £13m.

It will become part of stock market-listed group Victoria, which will pay £6.5m up front and a further £6.5m dependent on performance over the next four years.

Ezi Floor makes underlay at its Keighley factory which it sells to wholesalers, retail groups, and independent stores. It has been bought out of a reorganised group of companies, so financial figures aren’t publicly available, but Victoria has said its earnings, as measured by EBITDA, will be £2.4m in its current financial year.

“We believe underlay to be a real opportunity and Victoria is already actively looking at other opportunities in the underlay sector,” said Geoff Wilding, chairman of Victoria.

“12 months ago Victoria acquired underlay manufacturer Interfloor. Since then, cross-selling opportunities – almost all consumer carpet purchases require underlay – and purchasing improvements as a result of the group’s scale have successfully and significantly improved the earnings of that business.”

The existing trading relationship between the two companies is now “expected to continue to grow at an enhanced rate” while Ezi Floor’s key management will remain with the business for at least four years.

Victoria now has approximately 1,700 employees and operates from 10 sites in the UK, and three in Australia.