QEP-UK, the home of tiling, flooring and hardware home improvement brands such as QEP®, Roberts®, Vitrex®, Tile Rite®, Plasplugs®, Homelux®, XPS Foam™ and Kraus®, has been acquired in a management buyout with specialist support from PKF Smith Cooper’s transactional tax and corporate finance teams.
As a result of this transaction, the UK business is now owned by the Boyce Family Group. Paul and Sarah Boyce have been associated for many years with some of these industry leading brands. Paul has been a member of QEP’s group management team for the past 14 years, having most recently served on the US Board of Directors as CEO of International Operations.
The management team continues to be led by Paul Boyce as CEO. He has been supported in the transaction by FD Steven White and newly appointed COO Cam Gradwell.
QEP-UK, headquartered in Burton on Trent, is a manufacturer and supplier of tiling, flooring and hardware tools and accessories, providing premium products to consumers, trade and retailers.
Its brands cover both the “DIY” and trade sections of the tiling and flooring market and its products are sold in a number of home improvement stores, including B&Q, Wickes, Topps Tiles, Screwfix, Homebase and Travis Perkins, along with a wide-reaching independent retailer network.
The management team has acquired the UK business from US-listed QEP Inc and will continue to trade under the name QEP-UK. The PKF Smith Cooper transactional tax team, led by Adam Rollason, provided a full range of taxation advice, including personal, corporate and VAT.
Darren Hodson and Josh Gurton provided deal support to the management team, alongside Dahren Naidoo (Freeths).
Adam Rollason, tax partner at PKF Smith Cooper, said: “I am delighted to have supported Paul and Cam on this transaction. I have no doubt that under its new ownership structure, QEP-UK will go from strength-to-strength over the next few years, and I wish them all the very best for the future.”
