Hillarys blinds sold in £300m deal

Hillarys Blinds, the Colwick-based company which employs 1,350 people in the UK, has been sold for £300m to Hunter Douglas, one of the largest international window covering companies based in the Netherlands.

The Hunter Douglas Group has its head office in Rotterdam and a management office in Lucerne, Switzerland. It currently consist of 130 companies with 50 manufacturing and 80 assembly operations. Last year, it generated a turnover of £2.2bn and employs over 21,000 people across 100 countries.

Hillarys which was established in 1971, generated a turnover of £185m last year and had until now been backed by Ares Capital Corporation. Hillarys has grown over the years to become the market leader in blinds, curtains, shutters and awnings, recently adding both carpets and flooring to its offer.

The business markets its products through the company's in-home sales and installation service, direct to the trade through the Arena and Custom West brands, and retail sales through its e-commerce brand Web-Blinds.

CEO John Risman said: "We provide outstanding products and unsurpassed service that, together, deliver great value to our customers. This opportunity allows us to accelerate our plans for growth and provide an even more compelling customer experience for all of our customers. We are delighted that Hunter Douglas has bought in to our portfolio of strong brands and our team.

"We are excited to be working with such a dynamic company with its expertise across all aspects of the window furnishing business. This makes it ideally placed to support Hillarys' growth strategy and expansion in the coming years."

David and Marko Sonnenberg, co-presidents and CEOs of Hunter Douglas, added: "We are delighted to have Hillarys join the Hunter Douglas family of companies, adding a strong brand and value offer, as well as an exceptional management team."

It is understood that following the Hunter Douglas deal, there will be no changes to Hillarys' senior management team and the business will continue to operate as a standalone company from its Colwick Industrial Estate headquarters.

Source: Insight Team

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