Investor on warpath over ‘costly blunders’ at Topps Tiles

The largest shareholder in Topps Tiles is calling for the board to overhaul its senior management and strategy after what it characterised as a series of “costly blunders”.
Piotr Lipko, managing director of the Austrian investor MS Galleon, wrote to Topps Tiles’ chairman Paul Forman last week claiming that management had shown a “complete failure” to adapt to the changing retail landscape, citing its comparatively small online business.
MS Galleon, which holds a 29.9 per cent stake in Topps Tiles, also blasted the company’s acquisition of CTD Tiles, which it described as “unequivocally irrational” and “highly detrimental” to the interests of the company.
Lipko told Forman he had “grown frustrated” by his continued lack of engagement. Topps Tiles said it engaged regularly with all of its largest shareholders.
In August, Topps Tiles paid £9 million to acquire CTD Tiles’ brands, 30 of its stores and some of its stock out administration. The Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) subsequently opened an investigation into the deal on competition grounds.
Topps Tiles, led since 2019 by chief executive Rob Parker, overpaid for the deal and failed to conduct sufficient due diligence, according to MS Galleon. Topps Tiles said it conducted “appropriate” due diligence and CTD, a trade-focused brand, would significantly accelerate its growth.
MS Galleon, which has more than €7 billion (£5.8 billion) assets under management, first invested in Topps in 2020, and sought to oust former Topps chairman Darren Shapland in 2022. Shapland survived that attempt, only to step down the following year.
Over the past five years, shares in the company have fallen by 46 per cent to 40p, valuing it at £76.8 million.
Topps Tiles, which sells tiles and flooring from 301 stores, said it was taking market share in a very challenging market and had invested significantly in expanding its digital operations. The company’s sales dropped by 9.1 per cent on a like-for-like basis last year.