Victoria's sales helped by Brexit

The acquisitive floor covering company's purchase of two underlay companies has helped sales surge

November 22, 2016

The inflationary pressures related to sterling's steep drop aren't being felt too harshly by flooring company Victoria (VCP). As a manufacturer, less than 20 per cent of its cost base is in euros or dollars, which is low considering roughly 60 per cent of carpet sold in the UK is imported from Europe. Chairman Geoff Wilding says competitors have "put through price increases of 5-7 per cent", but he does not feel the pressure to mimic this, given the raw material price rises he needs to recoup are smaller.

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Mr Wilding said the EU referendum may have actually helped sales. He said he had heard anecdotally from the retailers who sell his goods that a drop in housing transactions had meant fewer people moving and instead spending money on their existing home. The big jump in reported sales was augmented by the acquisitions of Ezi Floor this September and Interfloor a year before, which brought with them an exposure to carpet underlay that Victoria did not previously have.