Following a £3 million investment, e-commerce bathroom retail giant Victorian Plumbing has announced plans to re-launch the MFI brand in the UK.
Founded in 1964, the MFI kitchen and bedroom furniture brand was bought by now-shuttered Victoria Plum back in 2011, although it eventually ceased trading in 2015. Although MFI bedroom furniture was quietly relaunched online by Victoria Plum in 2016, there has been little activity from the brand ever since.
In its half-year financial results released this week, Victorian Plumbing revealed it had acquired the MFI brand as part of its takeover of rival Victoria Plum last year, and was planning to launch the brand’s products to the UK market.
Victorian Plumbing says its relaunch of MFI represents its strategic entry into the “homewares” market, which is adjacent to its current bathroom offering. The retailer estimates the total addressable market value of the homeware market is £20bn – a considerable increase over the estimated £1.5bn share of the UK bathroom market.
A spokesperson for the company confirmed to kbbreview that in this context, “homewares” refers to furniture products such as bedroom tables and furniture, not fitted kitchens or bathrooms at this stage.
The e-commerce retailer said that the MFI business can use the platform provided by Victorian Plumbing’s “proprietary software, e-commerce knowledge and supply chain logistics, which enabled the growth of [its] bathroom business”.
Victorian Plumbing said that the £3m investment has gone into people and property costs in the 2025 financial year to support the launch, although it doesn’t plan to make any corresponding revenue with the MFI brand in this financial year.
Aside from just the announcement about MFI’s relaunch, Victorian Plumbing also reported making revenue of £152.7m for the first half of the financial year, a 6% year-on-year increase over the £144.6m earned at this point in 2024.
Victorian Plumbing also generated adjusted pre-tax profits of £15.2m for the first half of this year – an impressive 15% boost over last year’s half-year profits of £13.2m.
Considering the costs of re-launching the MFI brand, Victorian Plumbing said it expects its full-year adjusted profits before tax to amount to between £21m and £22m.
“Having invested significantly in preparing the business for future growth last year, I am pleased with the Group’s strategic progress in the first half,” commented Mark Radcliffe, the founder and CEO of Victorian Plumbing.
“I am very excited about the upcoming re-invention of MFI, allowing us to tap in to more of the £20bn UK Homewares market. Our dedicated and ambitious team, decades of e-commerce knowledge and best-in-class proprietary software, together with the recognisable MFI brand, will help to deliver our strategic ambition over the medium-term.
“Victorian Plumbing has always taken an opportunistic and entrepreneurial approach; alongside this we have built a business that invests in the future, has solid financial foundations and is committed to delivering long-term value to all shareholders, as epitomised by our enhanced capital allocation policy and increased interim dividend.”
