Victoria acquires Dutch artificial grass and carpets distributor

Flooring business Victoria said on Tuesday that it acquired Netherlands-based artificial grass and carpets distributor Edel Group for a total cash consideration of €49.4m.

Victoria said the move to expand its artificial landscaping grass business would be immediately earnings-accretive, noting that Edel had generated unaudited total revenues of €47.6m and normalised underlying earnings of €10.0m in 2020.

The AIM-listed group noted that the purchase price was funded entirely from its cash balances, with Victoria's leverage remaining in line with its stated financial policy following completion, with its ratio of total net debt to pro-forma EBITDA of about 3.3x and senior net debt to pro-forma EBITDA of roughly 3.0x.

Chief executive Philippe Hamers 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."

As of 1100 BST, Victoria shares were up 1.53% at 995.0p.