Iceberg Research published on Victoria plc (London: VCP — GBP462 million), an English roll-up of carpet and flooring businesses. Iceberg Research alleged that Victoria plc engaged in spurious acquisitions that “raise serious concerns over the integrity of its financial statements.” For example, in October 2016 Victoria plc acquired Ezi Floor for ~£17 million. The Ezi Floor entity had been created just three weeks before the acquisition, had ties to a Victoria plc executive, and appears to have minimal real operations. Iceberg speculated that the company’s spurious acquisitions were to enrich insiders or inflate sales. Iceberg also highlighted that two of Chairman Geoff Wilding’s past ventures ended in failure and Mr. Wilding recently purchased a $65 million yacht called “Resilience.”

Bear Cave #129