RNS Reach
For Immediate Release 15 May 2017
Victoria PLC
('Victoria' or the 'Group')
New Senior Management Appointment for Hard Flooring
Victoria PLC, (LSE: VCP) the international designers, manufacturers and distributors of innovative flooring, is delighted to announce the non-Board appointment of Jan Debrouwere as the Group's Director of Business Development - Hard Flooring, with immediate effect, reporting directly to the Group's CEO, Philippe Hamers.
Jan brings with him 28 years' expertise in manufacturing, selling and marketing of all kinds of hard flooring - a product group which represents significant growth potential for Victoria.
A focused entrepreneur, with a passion for product development, design and innovation, Jan's appointment is an important step as the Group seeks to secure customers, suppliers and acquisitions to gain market share in the growing hard flooring market.
For the last four years, Jan headed the successful turnaround of Beaulieu International Group's (BIG) worldwide hard flooring business, a multi-product, multi-national division with a turnover of €500m, overseeing multiple production sites and sales teams in Russia, USA and Europe. In this role, he initiated and oversaw multi-million Euro greenfield start-ups to produce LVT and sheet vinyl both in Europe and the USA. He was also pivotal to the acquisition and successful integration of one of Russia's largest flooring distributors into BIG.
Prior to this role, Jan held senior management positions at IVC (part of Mohawk Industries Inc.), Domo (acquired by Balta Group in 2010) and Tarkett. Jan has a law degree from the University of Ghent, Belgium and is multi-lingual in Dutch, English, French and German.
Geoff Wilding, Chairman of Victoria PLC, commented:
"Victoria is very determined to grow its existing successful hard flooring business, which we believe represents a significant opportunity for us. With almost three decades of flooring experience in Europe, we are delighted to have secured such a senior and experienced individual as Jan to run our hard flooring division. As a very driven entrepreneur who is extremely well-known in the industry, Jan will be a fabulous asset to us as we materially develop our hard flooring business across the UK and Europe."
For more information contact:
Victoria PLC Geoff Wilding, Chairman Michael Scott, Group Finance Director |
+44 (0) 1562 749 300 |
Cantor Fitzgerald Europe (Nominated Adviser and Broker) Rick Thompson, Phil Davies, Michael Reynolds (Corporate Finance) Mark Westcott, Caspar Shand-Kydd (Sales) |
+44 (0) 20 7894 7000 |
finnCap (Joint Broker) Matt Goode, Carl Holmes (Corporate Finance) Tim Redfern (Corporate Broking) Buchanan Communications (Financial PR) Charles Ryland, Victoria Hayns |
+44 (0) 20 7220 0500 +44 (0) 20 7466 5000 |
About Victoria PLC
Established in 1895 and listed since 1963 and on AIM since 2013 (VCP.L), Victoria PLC, is an international manufacturer and distributor of innovative flooring. The Group, which is headquartered in Kidderminster, designs, manufactures and distributes a range of carpet, underlay, artificial grass and flooring accessories. In addition, it markets and distributes a range of complementary LVT (luxury vinyl tile) and hardwood flooring products produced by third-party manufacturers. Victoria has operations in the UK, the Netherlands and Australia and employs approximately 1,800 people across 17 sites. Victoria is the UK's largest carpet manufacturer and the second largest in Australia.
The Group's strategy is designed to create wealth for its shareholders, focussed on constantly increasing earnings per share via acquisitions and sustainable organic growth. Growth for the Group is fundamentally driven by three aims:
· achieving a leading position in UK, Europe and Australia;
· continuing to seek and deliver cross-business synergies to drive like-for-like margin improvement; and by
· consolidating a fragmented market place with earning-enhancing acquisitions.
The Group's subsidiaries, as set out segmentally, include:
UK & Europe: |
Abingdon Flooring Ltd, Alliance Distribution Ltd, Carpet Line Direct Ltd, Ezifloor Limited, Gaskell Mackay Carpets Ltd, Interfloor Group Ltd, Thomas Witter Carpets Ltd, Victoria Carpets Ltd, View Logistics Ltd, Westex (Carpets) Ltd, Whitestone Weavers Ltd, Avalon Grass BV, Grass Inc. BV. |
Australia: |
Dunlop Flooring Pty Ltd, Quest Carpet Manufacturers Pty Ltd, and The Victoria Carpet Co. Pty Ltd |
