Alteri Investors Acquires Magnet, Gower and CIE

• The acquisition restores independent ownership and positions Magnet, Gower and CIE to accelerate investment and expansion

Magnet, Gower and CIE are now back under domestic ownership thanks to an acquisition by Alteri Investors, which promises to secure their long-term future. 

With a strong heritage and decades of category expertise, these trusted brands are now set to benefit from renewed focus and investment, securing their long-term future and accelerating growth as part of their three-year plan. 

Magnet, which manufactures most of its kitchens at its site in Darlington in the North East, had been part of the Swedish Nobia Group for more than 20 years. As Nobia strengthens its focus on its core Nordic markets, Alteri’s acquisition will give the UK business the dedicated focus and backing needed to accelerate its next phase of growth.  

Alteri, a UK-headquartered private equity firm specialising in retail and consumer businesses with strong brands, has a proven track record of supporting companies for the long term. Their current portfolio includes well-known names such as Bensons for Beds as well as CBR Fashion and the Baby Walz Group in Germany. Its experience supporting vertically integrated retailers with UK manufacturing operations makes Alteri a natural partner for the kitchen specialist as it continues to invest across retail, trade and production. 

Sophie Rose, CEO, Magnet, said: “Alteri’s investment is a real vote of confidence in our business, our people and our direction. As the UK’s number one specialist kitchen provider, we’ve made significant progress across our retail, trade and B2B divisions, and it’s fantastic to have a partner who recognises the strength and potential of these.   

“From the momentum we’re seeing in our smaller-format showrooms to the scale and stability of our B2B operations, we’ve built a strong platform for growth. With Alteri’s resources and expertise, we can now accelerate that progress and take our three-year plan even further.” 

Arnold Vos, Investment Partner at Alteri Investors, said: “We are very excited to support a specialist kitchen provider with such strong heritage and a clear plan for growth. The business has shown resilience in a challenging market and has built solid foundations for the next phase. Its broad capability across the kitchen sector and ability to deliver at scale stand out. We see meaningful opportunity ahead and look forward to supporting the team as they execute their plans.”  

The business is focused on strengthening partnerships and expanding its B2B footprint, building on strong momentum with social housing providers, construction partners and developers. With a healthy pipeline already in place, Alteri sees significant opportunity to accelerate this growth, particularly within the social housing and contracts market, where the business is well-positioned to scale its market-leading service proposition.  

This builds on a period of resilient performance despite ongoing consumer caution and continued softness in the residential property market, with like-for-like consumer sales up 5%, average order values up more than 12%, B2B pipeline up 34% year-on-year and a return to profitability last quarter. 

A press release from Nobia follows:

Nobia strengthens focus on core Nordic markets – divests UK operations

As a next step in the strategic market focus initiated in 2024, Nobia continues to consolidate around its core Nordic markets and has entered into an agreement to divest its UK operations to funds managed by Alteri Partners LLP (the “Buyer”). The divestment sharpens Nobia’s focus on markets where the Company has strong brands, clear market positions, structurally higher margins and a production footprint centred around Nobia Park.

The transaction includes all Nobia UK legal entities including the brands Magnet, Gower, Commodore and CIE.

“We are committed to increasing the focus on our core Nordic markets, centred around the new factory, Nobia Park, Sweden, and our recognised brands with strong market positions and structurally higher margins. Therefore, we have decided to divest the UK operations, giving Nobia the best preconditions for strong profitable growth going forward”, says Kristoffer Ljungfelt, President and CEO of Nobia.

The rationale for the divestment aligns with Nobia’s strategic focus, and historical performance in its Nordic operations, which have consistently demonstrated structurally higher operating margins. By concentrating the Group around its core Nordic markets, Nobia aims to strengthen its margin profile and operational focus.

Region UK reported net sales of SEK 4,363m and an operating profit of SEK -108m on a rolling twelve-month basis as of 30 September 2025. At the time of closing, no purchase price will be due. As part of the share transaction, the Buyer assumes, besides the net assets, the obligations related to the leased retail network amounting to a gross liability of SEK 746m according to IFRS16*. The transaction may result in a consideration related to the Buyer's future performance and successful turnaround related to the UK operations. Nobia will retain the defined benefit pension plan reported in the UK which is recognised at a net asset value of SEK 80m*.

As a result of the decision to divest the UK operations, the related assets and liabilities will be reclassified as assets held for sale and the income statement of Region UK will be recognised as profit/loss from discontinued operations in Nobia’s Year-end report 2025. The assets and liabilities will be recognised at the fair value less sale costs in the balance sheet and result in a preliminary impairment of approximately SEK 750m. The impairment is non-cash in nature and reflects an accounting remeasurement following the classification of the UK operations as asset held for sale. 

The transaction is expected to be completed during the first half of 2026 and is subject to customary regulatory approvals and closing conditions.

The fourth quarter of 2025 will include items affecting comparability amounting to approximately SEK 100m, primarily related to the divestment of Region UK and further cost reduction initiatives to ensure that the organisational structure is aligned with the needs of the business going forward. The restructuring initiatives are expected to generate a run rate saving of approximately SEK 80m from the third quarter of 2026.

Nobia excluding the UK  

Nobia, excluding the UK, generated net sales of SEK 5.6bn in 2025-09LTM and achieved an average EBIT margin (excluding items affecting comparability) of 8.6 per cent during the period 2015 – 2025-09LTM. The financial information below illustrates the historical earnings profile of the operations, excluding the UK.

Nobia, excluding the UK, proforma: 

Source : Magnet Kitchens; Nobia

Image : Magnet Kitchens

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