UK 07:06 Wednesday, 7 October 2026
Breaking news and expert analysis on fast-moving AIM and LSE listed shares
Holders of Victoria (VCP) 2028 bonds are being offered the chance to swap every 1000 Euro of their old bonds for 525 Euro of new bonds wth a 2031 maturity. Okay the 2028 bonds can be bought in the market for only 24 cents in the dollar but why would anyone do this? What is gong on? Evil Banksta explains.
Victoria (VCP) has always reported a result before exceptional items but in the 52 weeks ended 29 March 2025 even after excluding £246.0 million of losses it still reported a loss of £18.4 million in respect of its underlying performance.
Accounts for the Victoria (VCP) carpets roll up are now up at Companies House and a kind reader sends me a detailed analysis. I cannot say I disagree with a word and the fact that the bonds now trade at sub 24 cents in the dollar tells you the equity is worthless. It is when not if the shares go to zero. The reader writes:
A few weeks ago, Victoria PLC (VCP) released its results for the year to March 31 2025 along with news of refinancing £420 million of debt due next year.
Most people associate carpet manufacturer Victoria plc (VCP) with its largest shareholder and executive chairman Geoff Wilding and indeed it is the colourful kiwi who is largely responsible for building up and then destroying a business that was founded 130 years ago.
I believe that drowning in debt, cash guzzling, carpets company Victoria (VCP) will see shareholders either largely or wholly wiped out in a debt for equity swap and with large tranches of debt repayable in 2026 the day of judgement is looming. That is why my target price remains 0p.
On 8 January Victoria (VCP) put out a trading statement confirming it was on track to meet forecasts. With the brown envelope man among those promoting the stock it was already rallying but this RNS saw the shares hit 143p by the 13th. Today they are 80p. There are three explanations:
You may remember that On 14th September 2023 Victoria (VCP) received a qualified audit report for the year ending April 2nd 2023 from Grant Thornton. This followed the auditor finding accounting deficiencies at its Hanover Flooring Subsidiary (HFL), run by Batash Karim (a former convicted criminal). Victoria PLC acquired the business in 2021 for £25 million.
In the end, I still see Victoria (VCP) failing to generate free operating cashflow and thus drowning in its own monstrous debt. My end game target price remains zero. But recent times have been “challenging” for we bears with the shares surging from 41p to 125p today having been higher in recent sessions. A reader who has lost money writes to flag up a few fundamental issues:
A reader asks if news that NED Gavin Petken had bought 255,172 shares in Victoria (VCP) on New Year’s Eve alters the bear case. Paying c69p a pop this is a decent punt. Or is it?
I have written about Victoria PLC (VCP) for a number of years now and this is the final time. The shares now trade at 44p (market cap cap £50 million) and while I think that they will go to zero it is now a marginal short as the cost of borrow is now 18%. The recent interims follow the usual Victoria playbook: a thumping statutory loss (£172 million) and a raft of exceptional and non-underlying items.
