Acquisition & Growth 360

The growth cockpit — sourcing, scoring and sequencing the next acquisitions, showrooms & collections, paired with proof the portfolio still returns.

The Stark Group · FY26 (modeled)

Luxury to-the-trade — designers & architects only (no retail)

670 employees · 12+ US sites · 8 countries

▲ Executive read· the answer, then the moves

The portfolio still returns — past acquisitions are averaging an illustrative 2.6x value multiple with 78% of value banked — so deploy the £75m of fundable capacity, but only behind price discipline near the 1.9x average. Advance the £18m in Diligence→LOI and finish the lagging brands before underwriting the next acquisition.

4 of 4 headline metrics improving vs prior · still off target: Acquisition-Integration Realization 74.0% vs 100.0%, Adjusted EBITDA £30m vs £33m

Do now — ranked by urgency

1
Advance the £18m in Diligence→LOIWatch
Why it matters
7 of 7 initiatives sit inside the £75m of fundable capacity; the one LOI (£6m) and one IOI (£8m) carry the near-term close.
What's driving it
£18m revenue in Diligence→LOI
Fundable capacity £75m (2.5x to ceiling)
Avg entry 1.9x; avg integ-risk 34/100
FYI
7 live initiatives, 4 High fit, £46m pipeline revenue
2 Sourced names need a first-contact owner
See initiative board →
2
Fort Street integration behind planWatch
Why it matters
Hold the 90-day integration plan; absorb onto common order/PIM systems.
What's driving it
Acquisition-Integration Realization
Signal: Alert
FYI
Acquisition-integration realization 74% blended; Fort Street at 35% integrated (newest deal).
Act →
3
Cross-house whitespace under-convertedWatch
Why it matters
Drive carpet↔fabric↔rug attach via showroom & account teams.
What's driving it
Cross-House Whitespace
Signal: Alert
FYI
Many designer accounts buy one house only; £36m cross-house whitespace identified.
Act →▤ open the whitespace list
4
LOI: Fort Street Studio (silk-rug atelier) — DONEWatch
Why it matters
Funded from cash; 40% repeat-designer.
What's driving it
~0mo to land · integration-risk 55/100
Signal: Growth initiative
FYI
Closed Nov 2025; integration underway (35%). Entry 6× · £6m · target return 2.6×.
Owner: Chad Stark
Act →

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↗ Where this connects — act / drill across

🛰Market Intel & M&A· source the next target 🏷Brand / M&A 360· the track record 🧩Integration 360· plan how to absorb it 💎Value Creation Plan· deal capacity in the plan

● LiveBuilt forCEO (Chad Stark)· source, score, sequence growthCFO· price discipline & fundable capacityThe Stark Family (owners)· is the portfolio still returning

This is the growth cockpit — sourcing → diligence → investment → integration-risk on every live initiative (acquisitions, showrooms, collections), paired with the proof that past acquisitions returned, so the next move is priced and sequenced against the £75m of fundable capacity Stark can deploy from cash and conservative debt.

Data backing: ma_target (growth initiatives · diligence) · deal_economics (acquired brands · value multiple) · comp_ma (competitor deals) · covenant_qtr (fundable capacity)

Live initiatives

4 High fit · £46m rev

Pipeline revenue

£46m

across the funnel

Fundable capacity

£75m

Q2 (act) · 2.5x to ceiling

Avg entry mult

1.9x

blended ask (acquisitions)

Initiatives fit High

4/7

thesis-aligned

Avg integ-risk

34/100

lower is easier

Sourced → LOI

Growth-initiative funnel

Advance the £18m in Diligence→LOI; 7 of 7 initiatives sit inside the £75m of fundable capacity.

Sourced

£11m

Contacted

£17m

Diligence

£4m

IOI

£8m

LOI

£6m

Move: the funnel narrows correctly — one LOI (£6m) and one IOI (£8m) carry the near-term close. Keep filling the top: 2 Sourced initiatives need a first-contact owner this quarter to protect throughput.

Diligence triage

Live initiative board

Every initiative, LOI first. Read repeat-designer mix up, account concentration and integration-risk down — those gate the investment.

Target	BU · Region	Revenue	EBITDA %	Stage	Entry ×	Invest	Value ×	Repeat %	Acct conc %	Integ-risk	Owner	Status detail
Fort Street Studio (silk-rug atelier) — DONE Acquired Nov 20, 2025 — painterly hand-knotted silk rugs; India/Nepal/Thailand.	Custom Rugs · US West	£6m	17%	LOI	6x	£6m	2.6x	40%	30%	55	Chad Stark	Closed Nov 2025; integration underway (35%)
Charleston rug showroom — DONE Opened May 2026 (Charleston Design District, Navy Yard, 1,340 sq ft).	Custom Rugs · US Southeast	£8m	16%	IOI	0x	£1m	0x	60%	12%	25	Greg Rosenblatt	Open & ramping; ahead of footfall plan
Stark × Missoni rug collection Signature designer collaboration — extends bespoke rug range & brand reach.	Custom Rugs · New York / Northeast	£4m	22%	Diligence	0x	£1m	0x	55%	10%	20	Ashley Stark Kenner	Collection in market; reorders building
Candidate heritage-brand acquisition Tuck-in heritage textile/wallcovering house to deepen the portfolio.	Fabrics & Textiles · UK & Europe	£12m	14%	Contacted	7x	£16m	2.4x	62%	20%	45	Chad Stark	NDA signed; early conversations
Wholesale collection launch Wholesale line broadens reach beyond pure to-the-trade.	Fabrics & Textiles · New York / Northeast	£5m	18%	Contacted	0x	£1m	0x	50%	18%	30	Drew Olson	Pilot underway; pricing transparency move
E-commerce-to-trade platform Digital specification & ordering for designer accounts.	Carpet & Broadloom · New York / Northeast	£6m	16%	Sourced	0x	£2m	0x	60%	14%	38	VP, Technology & Systems	Roadmap defined; PIM dependency
Future showroom — Dallas / Texas Next showroom market after Charleston; growing design hub.	Carpet & Broadloom · US Midwest	£5m	15%	Sourced	0x	£1m	0x	58%	12%	28	Greg Rosenblatt	Site search; lease economics under review

Absorb in the right order

Sequence by integration risk

Easiest to absorb first. Clean, repeat-heavy tuck-ins go now; concentrated, complex deals get hard diligence and a retention gate.

Stark × Missoni rug collectionrisk 20/100 · 55% repeat · 10% conc

Mid-pack — 55% repeat mix, 20/100 risk; sequence after the clean tuck-ins.

Charleston rug showroom — DONErisk 25/100 · 60% repeat · 12% conc

Do first — low integration risk and 60% repeat-designer mix; absorb quickly and bank the repeat revenue.

Future showroom — Dallas / Texasrisk 28/100 · 58% repeat · 12% conc

Mid-pack — 58% repeat mix, 28/100 risk; sequence after the clean tuck-ins.

Wholesale collection launchrisk 30/100 · 50% repeat · 18% conc

Mid-pack — 50% repeat mix, 30/100 risk; sequence after the clean tuck-ins.

E-commerce-to-trade platformrisk 38/100 · 60% repeat · 14% conc

Mid-pack — 60% repeat mix, 38/100 risk; sequence after the clean tuck-ins.

Candidate heritage-brand acquisitionrisk 45/100 · 62% repeat · 20% conc

Mid-pack — 62% repeat mix, 45/100 risk; sequence after the clean tuck-ins.

Fort Street Studio (silk-rug atelier) — DONErisk 55/100 · 40% repeat · 30% conc

Diligence hard — 55/100 risk and 30% account concentration; gate close on a retention plan.

Integration priority: close and absorb the top of this list first — low risk plus high repeat-designer mix banks value fast and keeps the PMO unblocked before the heavier, concentration-risk deals enter the 100-day plan.

Proof the thesis works

Are past acquisitions returning?

Avg illustrative value multiple 2.6x across the 6 acquired brands; 78% of value banked. Lagging: none.

Brand	Acquired	Invest	Entry ×	Value plan	Value real	Value × (illus.)	Payback	IRR %
Fort Street Studio	2025	£6m	6x	£1m	£0m	1.3x	5.2y	10%
Ashley Stark Home	2021	£7m	7x	£1m	£1m	1.6x	4.6y	12%
Hinson & Grey Watkins	2017	£6m	5x	£1m	£1m	2.4x	3.8y	15%
Scalamandré / House of Scalamandré	2017	£24m	6x	£3m	£3m	2.3x	4y	16%
Stark Studio Rugs	2014	£9m	5.5x	£1m	£1m	3.2x	3.4y	19%
Old World Weavers	1992	£8m	4x	£1m	£1m	4.5x	3y	18%

Read: the heritage acquisitions (Old World Weavers, Stark Studio Rugs) returned the strongest illustrative multiples at sub-3.5-year payback — the model works when integration value lands. The newest brands (Ashley Stark Home, Fort Street Studio) are still early — hold their integration plans before they fully compound.

What competitors are paying

Competitive M&A — read-through

Houses consolidating the same heritage textile, rug and furnishings brands set the clearing price for Stark's targets.

Date	Acquirer	Target	Value	Vertical	Note
2025-11-20	The Stark Group	Fort Street Studio	£6m	Custom Rugs	Our own latest acquisition — painterly hand-knotted silk rugs; included for context.
2024-06-01	Pierre Frey	Heritage textile houses (multiple)	£60m	Fabrics & Textiles	Pierre Frey's acquisitive build-out of heritage French textile brands; competes for the same archives.
2014-01-01	MillerKnoll	Holly Hunt	£95m	Furniture, Hides & Lighting	Contract-furniture giant bought luxury to-the-trade Holly Hunt — scale entering the design channel.
2011-01-01	Kravet	Brunschwig & Fils	£40m	Fabrics & Textiles	Kravet consolidated Brunschwig & Fils — long-running to-the-trade roll-up; read-through on fabric multiples.

So what: Kravet, Pierre Frey and MillerKnoll are buying up heritage to-the-trade brands and bidding for the same archives — hold entry discipline near our 1.9x average and lead with repeat-designer-dense brands where Stark can pay up and still hit the return target.