The biggest shareholder in Topps Tiles is reportedly calling for the board to overhaul its top team and strategy following a raft of “costly blunders” at the business.
Austrian investment company MS Galleon’s managing director Piotr Lipko wrote to Topps Tiles’ chair Paul Forman last week to say management at the home and DIY retailer had shown a “complete failure” to adapt to the changing retail landscape, according to The Times.
The newspaper reported that MS Galleon, which owns a 29.9% stake in Topps Tiles, also called the retailer’s acquisition of CTD Tiles “unequivocally irrational” and “highly detrimental” to its interests.
Lipko also said he had “grown frustrated” by Forman’s “continued lack of engagement”.
In a statement published to the London Stock Exchange, Forman said: “We engage with all our larger shareholders on a regular basis and listen closely to their views. Our strategy was reviewed in April and presented to shareholders in May, with further updates given last week.
“Further expansion of our digital capabilities is at the heart of many of these growth initiatives. Our latest results show that we continue to take market share, consistently outperforming the wider tile market despite very challenging trading conditions.
“We believe this demonstrates the effectiveness of our strategy, which has the full support of the board.”
Topps Tiles highlighted its market share growth amid a “difficult trading environment” and its “increased trade B2B opportunities” following the acquisition of CTD Tiles.
The retailer also emphasised it is “well placed” to hit its medium-term growth targets.
The tile specialist saw adjusted revenue fall 5.4% to £248.5m for the 52 weeks to 28 September 2024, while adjusted profit before tax dropped from £12.5m to £6.3m.
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