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HEALTH SECTOR NEWS Leading bathroom product makers to merge
Villeroy & Boch AG has signed binding agreements to acquire operating companies in the Ideal Standard Group. The two businesses say they are
‘a strong strategic fit’ given their regional presence, sales strategies, and product and brand portfolios, ‘laying the foundations for a stronger market position and additional growth’. In an industry with global growth potential, the integrated company will, after completion of the transaction, join the ranks of Europe’s biggest bathroom product manufacturers. The Ideal Standard shares are being sold by corporations under the management of Anchorage Capital Group and CVC Credit. The acquisition price is based on a company valuation of approximately €600 m. The revenue of the Villeroy & Boch
Bathroom & Wellness Division will double to €1.4 bn as a result of the merger. Including the Dining & Lifestyle business, this represents an increase to over €1.7 bn (around €995 m in the 2022 financial year) for the Group as a whole. “This merger means we will now
catch up with the largest players on the
European market in the bathroom sector in terms of turnover,” explains Frank Göring, CEO of Villeroy & Boch (pictured). “Our complementary strengths also make us more competitive, and significantly improve our starting position for achieving additional growth.” The two companies say the merger
will create ‘a powerful combination of complementary established brand and
UK’s first modular barn theatre under construction in Kent’s county town
Premier Modular is constructing what is reportedly the UK’s first modular barn surgical theatre, in Kent’s county town. As the newest addition to Maidstone Hospital, the ‘transformational’ orthopaedic section will be named the Kent and Medway Orthopaedic Centre, expanding the capacity of Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust for scheduled surgical procedures. The new Centre is a component of a larger national initiative to establish more than 50 new surgical hubs throughout England, performing over two million additional surgeries over the following three years.
“Current capacity problems can be solved by barn theatres, which incorporate customised operating facilities in an open-plan surgical environment,” Premier Modular explained.
This summer marked the start of construction on the permanent unit, which will house a surgical hub with three open-plan operating rooms, an X-ray facility, a therapy area, a recovery area, office space, and single patient and ‘pod’ rooms, all under one roof. The structure will be situated away from the Emergency Department and main hospital building. Through the use of walls and HEPA filtration, theatre spaces will be improved to reduce the danger of cross-contamination and maintain high air quality.
M&E components will include an air filtration system, housed in a specially designed plant room. The building will employ ‘a unique’, dual pitched roof with reduced insulation depth to minimise the building’s U-value.
To complete the initial concept and design, Premier Modular worked with P+HS Architects, HMY Architects, and SES Engineering Services, to provide the M&E facilities. The surgical hub is
expected to be completed next January, treating its first patients in March 2024.
sales strategies’. Villeroy & Boch has a strong geographical basis in Central and Northern Europe, and Asia, while Ideal Standard ‘enjoys an excellent reputation with its brand portfolio’ in the UK, Italy, and the Middle East / North Africa region in particular. While Villeroy & Boch’s sales strategy focuses primarily on a high-end private customer base, Ideal Standard possesses particular expertise in the project business – including for the public sector, the healthcare sector, and developers of large residential, hotel and commercial properties. In addition, alongside a broad range of ceramic bathroom ware and other products, Ideal Standard has an established fittings business, which generated more than a third of its revenue in the last financial year. Frank Göring points to the ‘cultural similarities’ between Villeroy & Boch and Ideal Standard. He said: “We are characterised by strong brands steeped in tradition, and share similar values. These include a pronounced service orientation, a flair for good design, and a constant striving for innovation.”
Archus’s continuing role in NHS estates guidance
Healthcare infrastructure specialist, Archus, has been re-appointed as the lead supplier to NHS England for the delivery of the next phase of the NHS Estates Technical Standards and Guidance Programme. Archus has supported the
programme since 2019, overseeing the development and publishing of the NHS Net Zero Building Standard, alongside several other HBNs, HTMs, and ‘strategically important guidance documents’. Its reappointment for a further four years will see it continue providing a broad range of specialist skills and support to the core team at NHS England as part of the delivery of 13 priority documents, and the scoping phase of a further 13. Archus will be supported by a range
of ‘carefully selected organisations and professionals’ undertaking subject- matter expert roles. Partners include HKS, Corstorphine & Wright, Square Gain, Hydrock, Hoare Lea, Part B, Mott MacDonald, Atos, MTS, Akerlof, WT Partnership, Waterwise, and The Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction.
November 2023 Health Estate Journal 21
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