REG - Victoria PLC - Victoria Announces CFO Transition

VictoriaAnnouncement

01/06/2022 07:00

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RNS Number : 4758N  Victoria PLC  01 June 2022

For Immediate
Release
                    1 June 2022

Victoria PLC

('Victoria' or the 'Group')

Victoria Announces CFO Transition

 

Victoria PLC (LSE: VCP), the international designer, manufacturer and
distributor of innovative flooring, today announces the upcoming departure of
Mike Scott, after more than six years as Victoria's Chief Financial Officer.
Mike has decided to retire from Victoria later this year for personal and
family reasons. He will be succeeded by Brian Morgan, who has been selected by
Victoria's Board following an extensive search.

 

Transition

Mike will continue in his role until Brian starts on 22 August 2022 and will
then remain as a non-executive director until the following AGM to assist with
the transition. Thereafter he will continue to be available as needed to
assist Victoria as it continues to create wealth for shareholders.

 

Geoff Wilding, Chairman, commented:

"During Mike's time at Victoria, the Group has grown from a small UK-centric
carpet manufacturer with revenues of c. £250 million in 2016 to a global
flooring group with current annual revenues of c. £1.5 billion. In line with
this growth, Mike has led the Group through several successful capital raising
processes, most recently the €750 million senior bond issue in March 2021,
the (undrawn) £150 million revolving credit facility, and the £150 million
follow-on preferred equity issue in January this year. Mike has also built a
strong, integrated finance team that includes c. 20 senior finance
professionals across eight countries. As you would expect from Mike, he leaves
us in a thoughtful way, with a transparent and long-planned timeline, a robust
succession plan, and a strong finance team. The Board would like to thank Mike
for his contribution.

 

On behalf of the Board and all at Victoria, we are delighted to welcome Brian
as our new CFO. Brian's considerable experience and knowledge will be
extremely beneficial for Victoria's continued growth and we look forward to
updating shareholders on our progress."

 

Mike Scott, Chief Financial Officer, said:

"It's been a privilege to be a part of Victoria's journey and part of the
management team. I'm a 100% believer in Victoria's future and will be
remaining a long-term shareholder. I have been working to ensure a smooth
transition to my successor, Brian, who is uniquely qualified to take on this
role and will continue to drive Victoria's growth story with Geoff, Philippe
and the rest of the team."

 

Brian Morgan

Brian is joining Victoria from FTSE250 group, Synthomer plc, where he has been
Director of Group Finance since 2017.

 

Brian has spent his entire career operating across multi-national companies
like Victoria and has a proven ability to adapt to vastly different business
cultures, having managed teams across the globe. His global remit has given
him a deep understanding of cross-jurisdictional accounting.

 

Victoria's Board was attracted to the fact that, in addition to his
responsibility for accounting, financial reporting, budgeting, treasury, and
tax, Brian has a strong M&A background having previously been part of the
Corporate Finance team at a Big-Four firm and more recently leading the
Synthomer finance team through five acquisitions, including two
transformational deals of c. $1 billion each. He also led the business'
issuance of €520 million senior bonds in June 2020.

 

Apart from possession of the requisite CFO skills, the Board focussed on
finding someone with experience of high-growth and entrepreneurial
environments, who would be a good cultural fit and know how to continue to
develop Victoria's strong governance and control mechanisms further.

 

Brian adds to the strong bench of management talent carefully built at
Victoria over the last nine years.

 

 

Disclosures in accordance with the AIM Rules

 

Brian Morgan, aged 49, is, or has been, a director of the following companies
during the past five years:

·    Synthomer Trading Limited

·    Synthomer Jersey Limited.

 

Mr Morgan owns no shares in Victoria.

 

There are no further disclosures required in accordance with AIM Rule 17 and
Schedule Two paragraph (g) of the AIM Rules for Companies.

 

 For more information contact:

Victoria PLC                                                   +44 (0) 1562 749 610

 Geoff Wilding, Executive Chairman

 Philippe Hamers, Group Chief Executive

 Michael Scott, Group Finance Director

 Singer Capital Markets (Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker)    +44 (0) 207 496 3095

 Rick Thompson, Phil Davies, Alex Bond

 Berenberg (Joint Broker)                                       +44 (0) 203 207 7800

 Ben Wright, Richard Bootle

                                                                +44 (0) 207 418 8900

 Peel Hunt (Joint Broker)

 Adrian Trimmings, Andrew Clark                                 +44 (0) 20 7466 5000

 Buchanan Communications (Financial PR)

 Charles Ryland, Chris Lane, Jack Devoy

 

About Victoria

 Established in 1895 and listed since 1963 and on AIM since 2013 (VCP.L),
 Victoria PLC, is an international manufacturer and distributor of innovative
 flooring products. The Group, which is headquartered in Kidderminster, UK,
 designs, manufactures and distributes a range of carpet, flooring underlay,
 ceramic tiles, LVT (luxury vinyl tile), artificial grass and flooring
 accessories.

 Victoria has operations in the UK, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Germany, the
 Netherlands, Turkey, the United States and Australia and employs approximately
 7,500 people across 30 sites. Victoria is Europe's largest carpet manufacturer
 and the second largest in Australia, as well as the largest manufacturer of
 underlay in both regions.

 The Group's strategy is designed to create value for its shareholders and is
 focused on consistently increasing earnings and cash flow per share via
 acquisitions and sustainable organic growth. (Further information about
 Victoria can be found on its website, www.victoriaplc.com.)

 

 About Victoria

 Established in 1895 and listed since 1963 and on AIM since 2013 (VCP.L),
 Victoria PLC, is an international manufacturer and distributor of innovative
 flooring products. The Group, which is headquartered in Kidderminster, UK,
 designs, manufactures and distributes a range of carpet, flooring underlay,
 ceramic tiles, LVT (luxury vinyl tile), artificial grass and flooring
 accessories.

 Victoria has operations in the UK, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Germany, the
 Netherlands, Turkey, the United States and Australia and employs approximately
 7,500 people across 30 sites. Victoria is Europe's largest carpet manufacturer
 and the second largest in Australia, as well as the largest manufacturer of
 underlay in both regions.

 The Group's strategy is designed to create value for its shareholders and is
 focused on consistently increasing earnings and cash flow per share via
 acquisitions and sustainable organic growth. (Further information about
 Victoria can be found on its website, www.victoriaplc.com.)

 

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