Online bathroom retailer Victoria Plum has secured a £7 million funding package after a 46% increase in sales for 2020. The flexible facility from Secure Trust Bank Commercial Finance is intended to support further growth.
The company, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary, reported sales of £103 million in the year to February 28. Profits (EBITDA) reached £4.5m – an increase of 115% on the previous year. It grew its workforce by 49 people to 398 in February and last year launched a new bathroom design and installation service.
The £7 million comprises a £4 million inventory facility and a £3m cash flow loan.
Victoria Plum chief financial officer Martin Hargreaves said: “We are very pleased to partner with Secure Trust Bank to agree this new growth funding package. Our market fundamentals are strong, we have the necessary scalable infrastructure in place and a clearly differentiated design and installation service that is experiencing rapidly increasing demand.
“In addition, we continue to utilise the constant stream of valuable data and consumer insight to adapt our product offering to meet our customers’ needs. All of these factors combined mean we are ideally positioned to make Victoria Plum the most differentiated, most trusted and most respected bathroom provider.”
Victoria Plum is owned by private equity fund Endless. Endless partner Matthew Jubb said: “Since we acquired Victoria Plum, we’ve been executing an ambitious growth strategy, and we’re proud to see the progress that has been made in the past year.
“We’re confident that we will continue to grow at speed, but it was essential we found the right partner that could support us in achieving our ambitions for the business. Having worked with Secure Trust Bank on many previous occasions, we knew they would be the ideal partner, as they take the time to understand our growth ambitions and create a bespoke flexible facility that works for us.”
John Gribbon, regional managing director at Secure Trust Bank Commercial Finance, added: “Victoria Plum is a fantastic Yorkshire business with an impressive management team that is committed to customer service. Reflecting on the retailer’s expansion in the past 12 months, it is clear to see the real benefits since Endless came on board, and with a clear scalable infrastructure, there’s no doubt it will continue on this trajectory.
“We’re pleased to be building on our relationship with Endless and look forward to continue working with them to support Victoria Plum and other portfolio companies moving forward.”