Tapi Carpets backers invest £16m as it eyes route to profitability

Lord Harris, who founded rival Carpetright before starting Tapi with his son Martin five years ago, is among the existing shareholders inject cash into the business.

Will Barker, who runs US investment firm Camelot Capital Partners, is understood to have stumped up the majority of the new investment. Barker has also replaced Sir Harry Djanogly as Tapi’s chair.

His appointment, and that of former Eve Sleep boss James Sturrock as Tapi’s new chief executive, come as the business targets its first full-year profit in the intense rivalry with Carpetright.

Tapi, which surpassed £100m in annual sales for the first time in the year to December 2019, aims to become EBITDA positive within the next 18 months.

It had initially targeted turning a profit this year but those ambitions have been curtailed by the coronavirus pandemic. It has, however, reiterated plans to become the UK’s leading carpet and flooring operator within five years.

Tapi closed its doors to the public on March 23 but started reopening some of its 137 stores from May 11 with new safety measures in place.

It is welcoming customers by appointment only through its ‘Queue Buster’ initiative. Consumers wishing to visit a store can text or scan a QR code to join a virtual queue, enabling them to wait in their car or shop elsewhere until they are allowed in.

Tapi has also made use of video showroom consultations, connecting customers with a manager in stores, and mobile showrooms to take the store to the customers in lockdown themselves. All measures will remain in place for the foreseeable future.

Since reopening, Tapi has reported “encouraging” sales figures, in keeping with wider home and DIY trends that have surfaced during the lockdown. The retailer also hopes to capitalise on the “improve not move” trend amid a challenging housing market.

Barker said: “We have built a formidable team around a tightknit, family culture at Tapi, with unrivalled expertise and ambition that knows no ceiling. Delighting our customers wherever and however they engage with us will always be at the heart of our strategy. We now have the team, funding and platform in place to supercharge growth and lead the industry.”

Sturrock added: “It is a genuine pleasure to be joining such a strong board, with unrivalled depth and breadth of expertise. Martin and I will continue to lead change and innovation in this category, which to date has been one of the slowest to adapt to the new retail landscape. We will build on our best in class reputation for customer service by fully integrating all aspects of our operations to provide a seamless and compelling experience across all channels and realise our ambition to be the leading player in the UK.”