AHK Designs, the owner of e-commerce sites Beds.co.uk and Cox & Cox, has acquired Victoria Plum, one of the UK’s leading online bathroom retailers, in a pre-packaged insolvency deal, according to reports.
Completing the deal late on Friday evening, all 300-plus jobs at Victoria Plum will be transferred to the new owner.
Having been put up for sale by its owner Endless, the British private equity firm, the bathroom brand had struggled to battle with inflationary pressures, particularly freight costs, as well as reduced consumer spending.
Struggling to maintain profitability and a healthy cash flow in recent months, Endless, which had owned the brand since 2019, is said to have sold the business for several millions to AHK Designs.
EY, the accountancy firm, managed the sale and pre-pack process.
Endless, a Leeds-based investment group, pumped around £3 million into the Victoria Plum after acquiring the brand from TPG, a US-based private equity firm, which incurred significant losses on the original £200 million it paid to buy the bathroom company.