Australian takeover lifts floor firm to record high

The acquisition of an Australian rival sent shares in Victoria Floor

ing to an all-time high. The purchase of Dunlop Flooring for £20m is Victoria’s seventh acquisition since chief executive Geoff Wilding took over the firm and embarked on a turnaround plan.

It’s the second company Victoria has bought which is focused on underlay. The first was Interfloor in September 2015.

Wilding said: ‘It’s an obvious area for us to expand into because for every carpet that is purchased, underlay is usually bought too.’

Dunlop reported revenue of £30m in the year to June 30, and earnings of £3.5m.

Victoria supplies around 3,000 flooring stores in the UK, largely independent shops as well as some major retailers, and around 800 in Australia. After the acquisition, around 30pc of the company’s earnings will come from Australia.

Shares climbed to an all-time high of 370p in the day, but closed up 3.9pc, or 13.5p at 356.5p.

A ‘transformative’ acquisition boosted Burford Capital. The finance company has bought Chicago-based investment manager Gerchen Keller Capital for an initial £126m in a combination of cash, shares and loan notes. Numis said that together the two ‘will be by far the largest global litigation finance operator’.

The stockbroker, which upped its rating on the business to ‘buy’, said the deal could boost Burford’s earnings by around 30pc. Shares surged 16.3pc, or 78.5p to 558.5p.

The FTSE 100 finished off 0.3pc, or 19.38 points down at 6949.19. Gold and silver miner Polymetal Interna

tional was the highest riser as the price of the yellow metal climbed almost 0.5pc during the day to peak at $1161.8. Polymetal was up 6.4pc, or 48.5p to 805.5p. Gold later reversed to close down 1.28pc.

Dixons Carphone was the great- est faller of the day. Shares slumped 6.6pc, or 24.1p to 342.6p, despite the electronics retailer reporting bumper sales.

Steelwork specialist Severfield reported new contracts in India worth £29m. The construction contractor, which worked on sites such as Anfield Stadium and London Bridge Station, has entered into a joint venture on a range of projects in Kerala, Delhi and other locations.

In partnership with Indian steel manufacturer JSW Steel, Severfield will work on two high-rise towers, a large parking facility, two industrial projects and a technology building. Shares were flat at 74p. An acquisition announcement by

Idox was eclipsed by news that the company was placing shares to raise £20.5m. The software business is looking to buy 6PM holdings, an IT company listed on the Malta Stock exchange, which provides software to the NHS, for £18.5m.

A busy day for Idox. It also reported its final results in which revenue was up 23pc to £76.7m in the year to October 31, while pretax profit was 33pc higher at £13m.

The placing of new shares is to raise £20.5m to fund the acquisition and provide working capital for the business. Shares slipped 5.4pc, or 3.75p to 66.25p.

FreeAgent flew as it reported revenue had climbed 36pc to £3.6m in the first half of the year. The accounting software business, which listed on AIM last month, said it made a pre-tax loss of £1.3m in the six months to September 30. It compares with a loss of £433,000 in the same period a year ago.

But FreeAgent said the figures reflected its investment in gaining new customers – it now has 16,724 direct clients, up from 14,582 a year ago – and said the repayment of debt had strengthened its balance sheet. Shares advanced 9.1pc, or 7.5p to 89.5p. Investors backed Tungsten Cor

poration after it reduced its posttax losses by £15.5m. The firm, which provides e-invoicing and purchase order services to companies, lost £4.5m in the six months to October 31.

Revenue was up 20pc on last year to £15.5m and the full-year loss was likely to be less than £13m, with revenue of at least £30m. Shares advanced 3.9pc, or 2p to 53p.