Victoria offloads Turkish subsidiary Graniser in £31m deal

(Sharecast News) - Flooring specialist Victoria announced the sale of its Turkish ceramic tile subsidiary Graniser on Tuesday, for total consideration of €36.8m (£30.9m). The AIM-traded firm said the divestment, which included an upfront cash payment of €10m and the buyer assuming €26.8m in net debt, was part of its strategy to optimise its balance sheet while maintaining tile supply continuity.

Graniser, based in Izmir, had faced challenges in recent years due to instability in several key markets.

For the 12 months ended 30 March, Graniser generated underlying revenues of TRY 994.8m (£30.1m) and EBITDA of TRY 13.4m.

Despite the headwinds, Victoria said it had secured a long-term supply agreement with the buyer, Hasan Akgün, ensuring continued access to ceramic tiles at cost-price manufacturing rates.

The agreement was expected to enhance Victoria's earnings.

Victoria said the buyer, Mr Akgün, was a member of the prominent Akgün family, founders of the Akgün Group, one of Turkey's largest and most diversified companies.

Established in 1925, the family-owned conglomerate operates across sectors including construction materials, automotive and logistics, with 5,000 employees and 17 factories.

Victoria originally acquired Graniser to diversify its ceramic tile manufacturing into a lower-cost environment for energy, labour, and raw materials.

By retaining supply continuity while divesting the business, the firm said it retained that strategic advantage while freeing capital for other investments.

"Having experienced a difficult demand environment recently, the sale of Graniser to, and partnership with, Mr Akgün will provide Victoria's ceramic tiles business continued access to cost-effective tiles whilst contributing towards the deleveraging of the Group's balance sheet by reducing leverage by approximately 0.5 times," said chief executive officer Philippe Hamers.

"For the avoidance of doubt, the sale of Graniser will have no impact on our other Turkish businesses, which employ 900 people extruding synthetic fibre for our soft flooring factories, and manufacturing rugs for export to Europe and the United States, and remain an important part of the group."

At 0934 GMT, shares in Victoria were down 0.38% at 52.8p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.