Proactive Investors - Victorian Plumbing Group PLC (LON:VIC) has announced the acquisition of rival online bathroom retailer and former trademark challenger Victoria Plum.
Some £22.5 million was paid for the Doncaster-headed business and its intellectual property, Victorian said on Monday, funded through existing cash reserves.
This follows Victoria Plum’s recent collapse into administration, which Victorian noted meant a cost reduction plan was already underway.
Victoria Plum and Victorian Plumbing had met in court over a trademark dispute in 2016, with both found to have paid to advertise infringing text in online search engine results.
Each had been set up separately, with issues arising over the two bidding for domain names featuring the other’s similar title.
Victorian said the purchase price represented around 0.5 times Victoria Plum's estimated annual revenue, with the latter set to continue trading as usual initially, likely breaking even over the second half of the year.
“The acquisition aligns with our ambitions to accelerate our growth,” Victorian Plumbing chief executive Mark Radcliffe said.
“We are pleased to welcome the existing Victoria Plum team to our group and look forward to continuing to provide customers with a fantastic range of bathroom products and accessories.”