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Victorian Plumbing founder and CEO to step down
(Sharecast News) - Victorian Plumbing said on Wednesday that its founder and chief executive was stepping down, as it hailed a strong start to the year and announced the acquisition of Sovereign Transport Services. The bathroom retailer said Mark Radcliffe will relinquish his role as CEO with effect from 31 March, but will remain on the board as a non-executive founder director.
He will be succeeded by Stephnie Judge, currently the group's managing director, with effect from 1 April. The two "will continue to work closely together to ensure a smooth transition into their new roles," the company said.
Judge joined Victorian Plumbing in 2013 and following a number of promotions was appointed Group MD in 2020.
News of Radcliffe's departure came alongside a trading update, in which the company said the positive momentum seen in the first quarter had continued into the second. Revenue for the first 21 weeks of FY26 rose 9%, driven by order volume growth across all categories with margins maintained at historic levels.
Victorian Plumbing said it was confident in delivering FY26 revenue and adjusted pre-tax profit in line with market expectations of £329.5m and £21.9m, respectively.
It also announced the £3.4m acquisition of Sovereign, a transport services business based in Merseyside, providing haulage services to the group and to a small number of other goods-based businesses in the North of England.
"The acquisition provides the group with increased control over customer fulfilment and an opportunity to improve other areas of transportation over the medium term," it said.
Berenberg reiterated its 'buy' rating on the stock after the news.
It said: "Victorian Plumbing has started the year strongly and combined with the acquisition, leaves scope for upside to FY26 earnings per share if strong trading continues, with the stock trading on an undemanding FY26E P/E of just 14x for a three-year EPS compound annual growth rate of 14% and strong net cash balance sheet.
"Furthermore, we view the CEO transition as a natural next step to the group's next phase of growth."
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