Roper Rhodes acquired by Svedbergs Group

Roper Rhodes has been acquired by Svedbergs Group, which the board welcomed as a ‘fantastic custodian for the brand, customers and its employees’.

The deal was completed on December 1. Sons of founder Brian Roper and majority shareholders Mark and Paul Roper, will leave the business with immediate effect. Current managing director Leigh Leather and fellow directors Will Steele, Simon Taylor and Chris Vallance, will all remain on the Roper Rhodes operational board.

Svedbergs Group operates exclusively in the bathroom sector across the Nordic region, designing and manufacturing bathroom products and most notably bathroom furniture. The parent company Svedbergs i Dalstorp AB was started in 1920 manufacturing tin and in 1962 switched to manufacturing bathroom cabinets.

The acquisition of Roper Rhodes is said to fit in with Svedbergs Group’s strategy to acquire market-leading brands in the bathroom sector in key European markets.

Roper Rhodes’s three brands – Roper Rhodes, Tavistock and R2 – are all said to have impressive customer retention, employee loyalty, a focus on innovation and product development with a track record of sales growth in the UK.

Leather will report directly into Svedbergs Group CEO, Per-Arne Andersson. Leather said: “I am personally very excited for the future of our business and think this step offers strong continuity for both our employees and customers alike.”

Andersson added: “Roper Rhodes is a perfect match with Svedbergs Group’s strategy and ambition of becoming the leading bathroom supplier in selected markets in Europe. Roper Rhodes is well-managed and financially strong with a strong market position and more than 40 years in the industry in the United Kingdom. The company is very similar to the other branded companies of the Svedbergs Group, with strong brands and innovative products in different sales channels and a diverse customer base.

“Together with the experienced Roper Rhodes management team, we are looking forward to grow in the British market, which provides clear potential going forward due to its size and underlying demand for new homes and refurbishment. The acquisition of Roper Rhodes is in line with Svedbergs’s strategy to grow organically and through strategic acquisitions and let companies operate independently with their own management and strategic focus areas while benefiting from Svedbergs’s central functions and experience.”

The Roper family has received numerous approaches and offers to sell the business to both private equity investors and multiple trade operators over the past few years.

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