Reasons to Invest
1. Attractive Market Dynamics
This year, we have expanded the market in which we operate to include a wider range of hard surface coverings beyond tiles, including products like luxury vinyl tiles, wood and laminate, shower panels and splashbacks. The Group now has the capability to supply all hard surface coverings and related products to homeowners and trade customers, and, as such, operates in markets worth approximately £2.1 billion, with minimal disruption from alternative technologies.
The UK housing market is older and more underinvested than in other European markets, suggesting a strong pipeline of future demand.
2. Ambitious Growth Strategy
This year we have launched our new goal, Mission 365, which is to profitably grow sales to £365 million in the medium term, while materially increasing our profit. In our omni-channel Topps Tiles and CTD brands, we will increase sales densities per store by continuing to offer innovative and inspirational products, as well as expanding into new product areas, continually developing our digital presence, and delivering world-class service. In our newer businesses, Online Pure Play and Commercial, we will continue to take share as we rapidly grow our scale. All of our businesses have significant growth potential and all of our businesses can deliver net margins of around 8%
3. Strong Balance Sheet
The Group has modest levels of net cash and significant headroom against our banking facilities, which are committed to October 2027. This provides substantial resilience against any further economic shocks and
allows the business to invest for growth, as evidenced this year through the final acquisition of shares in Pro Tiler Limited and the acquisition of a significant part of the CTD Tiles business.
4. Good Cash Generation
We generate high quality profits which convert to cash well due to high gross margins, low working capital requirements and relatively modest levels of capital expenditure in normal circumstances. Our capital allocation policy sees dividend payments set at a core level of 67% of adjusted EPS, rising to up to 100% of
adjusted EPS in periods of macroeconomic weakness or short term performance issues – a strong sign of confidence.
5. Environmental Leadership
We have a goal to be carbon balanced by 2030 and intend to lead the tile industry in environmental credentials. We strongly believe that substantially reducing our impact on the environment is good for the planet and all of our stakeholders.
Our strengths
1. Market Leading Omnichannel Customer Proposition
Our multi award-winning website (www.toppstiles.co.uk) has approximately three times the web traffic of our next largest competitor. Almost every customer who visits our stores uses our website in some way, and the majority of website sales involve a store at some stage in the process, giving us a significant advantage over purely online or bricks-and-mortar competitors.
2. Nationwide Coverage
We are the only tile distributor in the UK to offer full national coverage, trading from 303 locations to offer unrivalled convenience for trade customers and allowing the whole of the UK population to access our products and customer service in person.
3. Specialist Expertise
We have a real specialism in tiles and associated products, and the scale to leverage it. We are able to buy from all over the world, have unrivalled relationships with suppliers, and work with our suppliers to develop differentiated products, 77% of which are exclusive to us.
4. World-class Customer Service
When homeowners shop with us, they are often buying a product which is unfamiliar to them, requiring a high level of support and design inspiration. Trade customers require specialist expertise, technical knowledge and stock availability. Across both groups, we are proud of our high service levels - our overall customer satisfaction scores in Topps Tiles of 91.5% are world class.
5. Diverse Market Exposure
The Group has developed and diversified in recent years and now operates across three business areas – Omnichannel (Topps Tiles), Online Pure Play (Pro Tiler Tools and Tile Warehouse) and Commercial (Parkside). This allows the Group to sell into the residential market across all price points, to the specialist trade market, to the contractor market and to designers and architects in the commercial market, all while retaining its specialism in tiles and related products.
