BGF invests £10m in Victoria

Following the transaction, Victoria will undertake an acquisitive growth strategy, with £7.7m of the funds provided by BGF earmarked for the acquisition of Abingdon Flooring.

The investment, which is provided in the form of loan notes with a cash-paid coupon worth £10m, marks the fund’s first investment in a listed company.

The terms of the deal involve no repayment for five years, with payment to be made in the three years that follow. The fund also retains the option to acquire equity in Victoria at a later date. 

BGF stated it was attracted to the deal by Victoria’s potential for international expansion and the opportunity to extend its own portfolio to include public companies.

The GP stated its intention to make more investments in publicly traded assets.

Debt
Barclays extended its lending facilities to support the company’s growth strategy.

Company
Headquartered in Kidderminster and founded in 1895, Victoria is a provider of mid-to-high-end carpets and flooring. The company also has operations in Australia and has a headcount of 600.

Victoria has provided carpets for Buckingham Palace and Balmoral Castle. It was also commissioned to manufacture carpets used in royal weddings at Westminster Abbey. Its other clients include John Lewis.

Abingdon is headquartered in Kidderminster, with additional operations in south Wales and Yorkshire. The company has a headcount of 500.

People
Geoff Wilding is executive chairman of Victoria. Gavin Petken, a regional director at BGF, will take a seat on the board at Victoria. Stephen Welton is CEO of BGF.

Advisers
Equity – BDO, Graham Elsworth, Vinny Patel (Financial due diligence); Wragge Lawrence Graham, Jeremy Millington (Legal).
Company – Brown Rudnick, Lena Hodge (Legal).

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• Topics
• Expansion
• Industrials
• UK / Ireland
• United Kingdom
• BGF (Business Growth Fund)