The next stages of Travis Perkins plc’s demerger of Wickes are now taking place.
In December 2018, Travis Perkins announced a long-term strategy based around focusing on its “advantaged trade businesses and simplifying the Group to enable a more streamlined cost structure and faster decision making”.
In line with these strategic aims, and following a significant improvement in the financial performance of Wickes Group plc, the Group announced the intention to demerge Wickes in July 2019. Having completed the vast majority of the work on the Wickes demerger, on 20 March 2020 the Group announced that it had placed the process on hold in order to focus on managing through the Covid-19 pandemic and to maximise liquidity across the Group.
With the Group, and Wickes in particular, having demonstrated the resilience of their operating models in unprecedented market conditions through 2020, the Board announced the decision to recommence the Wickes demerger process on 2 March 2021. The demerger will enable the management teams of Travis Perkins and Wickes to pursue their own independent strategies, each focusing on “executing a distinct business plan to deliver the best service to their primary customer base and allocating capital in the optimum way to deliver sustainable returns into the future”.
The next milestone in the process has now been achieved with Travis Perkins announcing that the Circular in relation to the proposed demerger and the Prospectus in relation to the proposed admission of the Wickes shares have each been submitted and approved by the Financial Conduct Authority. It is intended that the Wickes shares will be admitted to the Premium listing segment of the Official List of the FCA and admitted to trading on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange.
Nick Roberts, Chief Executive Officer of Travis Perkins Group, said: “I am very pleased that we have reached a significant milestone in the process to demerge Wickes from the Travis Perkins Group. It is testament to the strength of both the Group and Wickes operating models that we are back on track to complete the demerger despite the pandemic.
“The demerger is an important step towards simplifying the Group and enabling Travis Perkins to focus on its trade customers. The separation will allow both businesses to allocate capital to drive growth and further enhance their market leading positions.”
David Wood, Chief Executive Officer of Wickes, added: “This is a key milestone on our journey to listing on the London Stock Exchange as a standalone business in what will be a transformational moment for Wickes. I am very proud of our performance last year amid the challenges faced by our colleagues, our supply partners and, of course, our customers.
“The results we delivered during this period are evidence of the strength of our unique proposition, digital capability and efficient operating model, which has enabled us to respond rapidly to the changing demands of our customers. The past year has prompted many of us to think differently about our how we use our homes, and as a result, we are seeing strong demand from customers who are looking to make changes to their living spaces.
“The current year has started well and we are confident in continuing to deliver sales growth ahead of the market for the full year.”
From its network of 233 “right-sized” stores and its digital channels, Wickes says it delivered a strong performance in 2020 despite disruption caused by the pandemic. It recorded revenue of £1,347m, with 5.0% like-for-like revenue growth, and adjusted operating profit of £82m. Digital customers almost doubled and click-and-collect orders were up 450% for the year, whilst home delivered sales increased by 120% for the year.
Click here for more information from the Wickes plc corporate website
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