Ultra Finishing splits with parent company

Bathroom products manufacturer and supplier Ultra Finishing has become independent from the Ultra Finishing Group following a multi-million pound investment from BGF (Business Growth Fund).

The BGF is a provider of growth capital to small and mid-sized businesses that are privately owned or listed on AIM (Alternative Investment Market) and typically have revenues between £2-£10 million. BGF is an independent company, which is backed by five of the UK’s main banking groups – Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, RBS and Standard Chartered.

The funding received will support the manufacture of new products by Halifax-based Ultra Finishing, with the first expected to hit the market in the summer.

It will also be used to target new opportunities in Europe and the US to make improvements to the service proposition, assisting organic growth.

The funding comes only nine months after Ultra Finishing received a fine of £786,668 from the Competitions and Mergers Authority (CMA) for fixing online prices.

The move also sees Alan White appointed as a non-executive chairman. White has held executive roles at Topps Tiles, JD Sports, TM Lewin and was a former chief executive of home shopping business N Brown Group.

Ultra Finishing is a member of the ‘Made in Britain’ scheme and generated a turnover of £60m in 2016 and employs more than 350 people.

Dave Cullen, chief executive of Ultra Finishing, said: “After a strong 2016, we are in a good position to accelerate our growth plans for Ultra Finishing, and expand our international presence. The business has built to a significant scale over the past 30 years, and I would like to thank Stephen Heys and the wider team for their efforts in helping the business to get where it is today. We are looking forward to the next stage of growth with BGF as our long term minority partner, and are pleased to be joining a number of growing businesses in Yorkshire that are backed by them.”

BGF’s Richard Taylor, who will join the board of Ultra Finishing, added: “Ultra Finishing is a great company, with the potential and opportunity to grow even further. Dave and his management team want to explore opportunities to expand into new markets and we are really pleased be providing the financial resources to support this.”

Home > News > Ultra Finishing splits with parent company