Kidderminster based Victoria Carpets buys Dutch artificial grass and carpet business

Victoria PLC  the Kidderminster-based designers, manufacturers and distributors of flooring, has announced a substantial expansion of its existing artificial landscaping grass business with the acquisition of Edel Group BV, the Netherlands-based designers, manufacturers, and distributers of artificial grass and carpets. Victoria paid £42.9 million.

For the year ended 31 December 2020, Edel generated unaudited total revenues of €47.6 million ( £41.4 million).

Victoria PLC said that Edel is an exceptionally well invested business with state-of-the-art and well-maintained yarn extrusion, tufting and backing production facilities located in the Netherlands and Germany, making it a best-in-class producer.

Established in 1918, Edel primarily supplies artificial grass for domestic and landscaping purposes across Europe, a market in which Victoria already has a strong presence following its February 2017 acquisitions of Avalon and GrassInc. This is a high-growth sector of the industry with European demand for artificial grass expected to achieve double-digit growth from 82.4m m² in 2020 (up from c.60m m² at the time of the Avalon and GrassInc acquisition) to 110.6m m² in 2023 (10.3% p.a. in volumes) AMI Consulting (2020). Additionally, Edel supplies carpet backing services utilising the same equipment.

The integration of Edel with Victoria's existing artificial grass business will create the largest premium landscaping grass group in Europe with revenues of more than €77 million and significant opportunities for value-creating commercial and operating synergies:

Victoria currently outsources the production of c.4 million m² of artificial grass.

Philippe Hamers, Group Chief Executive, said: 'Victoria's 2017 investment in the premium artificial landscaping grass sector has been very successful and this acquisition represents an opportunity to create Europe's largest and most profitable business in the sector. The addition of production facilities benefits our customers by enabling them to source locally in Europe, avoiding inflationary and disruptive imports from the Far East. Furthermore, the outlook for this product category is positive due to growing consumer acceptance and increasing demand for sustainable products that address climate change.

Geoff Wilding, Executive Chairman, added: "Victoria has, so far this financial year, invested a little over £90 million to add approximately £17 million of EBITDA to the Group. We continue to have substantial amounts of capital to deploy and are in active discussions with additional high-quality opportunities to grow our business. Therefore, shareholders can expect further acquisitions in the weeks and months ahead."