Coloroll

Coloroll is a United Kingdom wallpaper brand, currently owned by retailer ...instore.

Developed from a family owned wallpaper company founded in the 1970s, during the 1980s Coloroll Group became a dominant publicly listed home furnishings business, which collapsed in 1990 through excessive debt. Of the 10 residual brands which survived from the collapse, nine of the businesses survive presently.^[1]

Foundation

The company was founded in 1970 by the Gatward family, as a printed paper bag manufacturer.^[1] After hiring marketing manager John Bray, he developed a strategy to move into wallpaper manufacture. Hiring designers John Wilman and Linda Beard, they developed a range which was similar to the classic fashion look developed by Welsh entrepreneur Laura Ashley.^[1] To develop new overseas markets, Bray hired John Ashcroft from competitor Crown Wallpaper as export manager.^[2]

Coloroll Group

Appointed managing director in 1981, Ashcroft bought the Gatwards and Bray out of the business in 1984.^[1]

Ashcroft's strategy was to extend the Wilman/Beard designs across a range of home furnishings, to provide a co-ordinated whole home look to the consumer. After floating the business in 1985 - leading shareholders included the pension funds of Scottish Amicable and British Coal - the company spent £420M in the next five years on acquisitions, of which £16M was spent in the United States, taking the strategic vision into a reality.^[1]

The brands they bought included:^[1]

• Alexander Drew, printing
• Burlington Wallcoverings, later sold to Graham & Brown
• Denby Pottery Company^[3]
• Edinburgh Crystal
• Kosset Carpets
• Royal Winton^[4]
• Staffordshire Tableware
• William Barrett Group, furniture, later bought by property developers with assets sold to Hampson Industries

Collpase

In 1988, the group paid £215M for recently created clothing and carpet conglomerate John Crowther, which had not itself been fully integrated. In 1989, the United States wallpaper operations were sold off to create cash. In 1990, a refinancing exercise lead to an audit by the banks that showed that group debt was at £350M. Refusing to underwrite the rising debt without an additional capital injection, proposed buyer Candover Investments withdrew when the debt level increased to nearly £500M.^[1]

In June 1990, the High Court agreed at the banks request to the appointment of Ernst & Young as receivers. In six months they agreed eight management buyouts, and sold off two other business. 1,500 employees in non-saleable businesses were made redundant, while less than half of the £200M owed to the banks was recovered, with lead lender NatWest taking a £25M loss. Swedish investment companies Mercurius and Proventus, who had each paid £2.3M for 5% of the group in February 1990, lost their entire investment.^[1]

Present

Wilman and Beard owned the original artwork, licensing it to Coloroll for their designs. After a buy-out deal with the receivers fell through, Beard took the integrated home-furnishings concept to the London-based textile company Ashley Wilde. John Wilman agreed a deal where by he bought the Coloroll brand, which he later sold to ...instore, who still today produce Coloroll branded wallpaper.^[1]

Ashcroft, who had been appointed CBE in the 1990 News Years Honours list, resigned as Group chairman in March 1990. He moved from London to his Lake District farm, where he kept a pedigree flock of Charollais sheep. In 1991 he bought Cumbrian-based retailer of outdoor clothing Survival Aids, expanding it in 18 months from 3 to 14 shops. In 1993 it collapsed into administration with debts of £1.7M.^[1] He gained a Ph.d at Manchester Metropolitan University, and after a series of corporate positions, became a visiting lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan Business School.^[2]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j} David Bowen (21 November 1993). "Rolling over the past". The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/rolling-over-the-past-three-years-after-the-demise-of-coloroll-david-bowen-picks-through-the-rubble-and-finds-strength-among-the-survivors-1505777.html. Retrieved 11 April 2011. 
2. ^ ^{a b} David Bowen (7 April 1994). "Pension Scandal - rise and fall of an empire founded on ego and expansion". The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/pension-scandal-rise-and-fall-of-an-empire-founded-on-ego-and-expansion-david-bowen-examines-the-dramatic-career-of-a-man-who-personified-the-eighties-culture-of-instant-success-1368331.html. Retrieved 11 April 2011. 
3. ^ "Coloroll Ceramics". Stoke Museums. http://www.stokemuseums.org.uk/collections/browse_collections/ceramics/coloroll. Retrieved 11 April 2011. 
4. ^ "Coloroll Ceramics Group". thepotteries.org. http://www.thepotteries.org/allpotters/286a.htm. Retrieved 11 April 2011. 

External links