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Victoria Plum secures GBP7m funding package from Secure Trust Bank following record growth period

Victoria Plum has secured a GBP7 million flexible facility from Secure Trust Bank Commercial Finance to support further growth, following record sales by the company.

The specialist online bathroom retailer, owned by private equity fund Endless, reported GBP103m in sales in its 20th anniversary year, up 46 per cent on the previous 12 months.
 
EBITDA reached GBP4.5 million, an increase of 115 per cent on the previous year, and the workforce grew by 49, taking total employee numbers to 398 in February 2021.
 
Over the course of last year, Victoria Plum launched a bathroom design and installation service and also took the decision to prioritise flexible working. This has seen the company’s offices in Doncaster and Hessle transformed into co-working hubs where people can work and meet as required.
 
Victoria Plum was well placed to benefit from the speeding up of the structural shift towards online retail throughout 2020. Chief Financial Officer, Martin Hargreaves, who led the financing transaction, believes Victoria Plum will continue to grow at speed.
 
“We are very pleased to partner with Secure Trust Bank to agree this new growth funding package,” he says. “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.”
 
The GBP7m facility provided by Secure Trust Bank Commercial Finance, comprised of a GBP4m inventory facility and a GBP3 million cash flow loan, will support Victoria Plum with continued expansion building on the momentum it has seen in the past year.
 
Secure Trust Bank has supported Endless in funding a number of its portfolio companies including provider of operated road sweepers, GoPlant Fleet Services, multi-channel garden furniture retailer, Moda Furnishings, and wholesaler of pet food and pet products, KennelPak.
 
In 2020, Secure Trust Bank Commercial Finance provided more than GBP70m in funding to private equity-backed businesses, across six financial sponsors, and worked closely with each of them to ensure they could maintain and drive the maximum value from their investments. 
 
Commenting on the facility, Endless Partner, Matthew Jubb, says: “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, says: “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.”
 

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