On 19th August 2024, Topps Group announced that it had acquired the CTD Tiles brands, 30 retail stores, selected stock and all related intellectual property from CTD Tiles Limited. On 2nd October 2024, the Company announced that the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) intended to review the transaction under UK merger control.

The Company is pleased to note that following the announcement of its Phase 1 decision, the CMA found that the transaction has generated no competition concerns in the majority of areas reviewed. Specifically, the CMA agreed with the Company that its acquisition of the CTD commercial tile operations (CTD Architectural and CTD Housebuilder) did not raise any competition concerns and that in 26 out of 30 locations where retail stores were acquired no local competition concerns were identified.

In the four retail localities where the CMA has identified possible concerns (Dorking, Aberdeen, Inverness and Edinburgh) the Company now has the opportunity to put forward remedies to address these concerns in lieu of a more in-depth investigation. Topps Group has pledged to continue working with the CMA in a constructive and professional manner, as it reports it has done throughout this process.

A further announcement will be made in due course.