Alastair Massey and Tony Wright of FRP Advisory were appointed joint administrators of International Decorative Surfaces Limited (IDS) on Monday 9th September 2024.
Based across 12 sites in England and Scotland, 11 of which remain operational, IDS was one of Europe’s largest distributors of decorative surface materials, including laminates, wall panels, worktops, flooring and decking.
The business, based in Newcastle-under-Lyme, has its origins in the 1999 merger of L Bloom and Meyer Laminates. ID Surfaces was acquired by Saint-Gobain in 2000. Its current incarnation, a £120m turnover business, was formed from a management buyout from Saint-Gobain in 2022, with backing from private equity investor Chiltern Capital.
However, the slowdown in the property and construction sectors leading to funding difficulties at IDS.
At the time of the appointment of administrators, the company employed nearly 400 people, some of whom have now been made redundant.
However, the administrators are continuing to trade through the stock holding and market the business and its assets for sale. IDS has a number of strengths, the administrators say, including half a million sq ft of warehousing across its regional sites, supporting more than 50,000 monthly transactions, and an 85-vehicle delivery fleet.
FRP partner Alastair Massey, one of the joint administrators of International Decorative Surfaces Limited, said: “While IDS has faced significant challenges in recent months, it remains a business with considerable strengths and capabilities. We’re now focused on exploring all options to secure a future for the business, including marketing it for sale and we would encourage any parties interested in acquiring the business to make contact with us as soon as possible.”
