Online bathroom retail giant Victorian Plumbing has confirmed plans to permanently close its former rival, Victoria Plum, just months after it acquired the business.
Victorian Plumbing acquired the rival company in May of this year, after buying AHK Designs Ltd, the company that bought Victoria Plum in September 2023.
Confirming the proposed closure to kbbreview, a Victorian Plumbing spokesperson said: “Following the acquisition of AHK Designs Ltd, we are proposing a closure plan for VictoriaPlum.com. As a result we have entered into a consultation period with a number of VictoriaPlum.com colleagues and only when the period completes can we provide an update.
“We are committed to keeping all employees, suppliers and connected parties up to date as we progress with the consultation. This proposal does not impact Victorian Plumbing Ltd.”
Trouble first started brewing for the Victoria Plum brand in September last year, when it was rumoured that the investment company that owned the business was looking for buyers. It was then sold in a pre-pack administration deal to AHK Designs Ltd later that month.
Following Victoria Plum’s acquisition earlier this year, Victorian Plumbing CEO Mark Radcliffe said at the time that the business purchase “aligns with our ambitions to accelerate our growth”. The company also said that it expected Victoria Plum to roughly break even in the second half of 2024.
Meanwhile, Victorian Plumbing has enjoyed healthy profit growth this year, especially in light of the difficult market. It reported an 8% increase in gross profit for the period, from £66.8 million (H1 2023) to £72.3 million in 2024.
Historically, consumers have often expressed confusion over the two brands because their names were so similar. As a result, Victoria Plum received £1.75 million from Victorian Plumbing in 2018 after winning a court battle over trademark infringement relating to online advertising and search.