Charco Acquires Colourwash

HODDESDON, England, March 30, 2010 - CP Hart's parent company, Charco 2010 Ltd, has just acquired the 6
Colourwash showrooms in Wimbledon, Fulham, Notting Hill, Chiswick, Primrose
Hill and Muswell Hill, as well as Colourwash's Contracts division. The deal
went through after midnight on Friday March 26th, led by Kevin Ohle for
Charco and by Gary Lake for Colourwash.

Charco has not acquired all of Colourwash's interests. Certain parts of
the business are staying with its management, including the Ealing and
Chamberlayne Road showrooms.

Chairman Richard Reynolds is delighted by the purchase: "Colourwash
brings us circa GBP8 million of additional sales; showrooms in parts of
London that were top of CP Hart's list for new locations; and an established
and very successful team of trained bathroom professionals in Colourwash -
sales staff in the showrooms, but also administration and operations teams in
Wimbledon. We are convinced that the acquisition will enable more rapid
expansion than either company could achieve on its own. It's an important
step in our ambition to build a national presence for CP Hart".

That's not to say CP Hart has been standing still - it has recently
announced that in July this years it will be opening a new 3000 sq ft
showroom in Tunbridge Wells - its first new showroom since 2000. "And CP Hart
MD, Paul Rowland, has more in the pipeline" says Reynolds.

Colourwash and CP Hart will be run as two separate companies. In terms of
management: Richard Reynolds will be chairman; fellow Charco director, Kevin
Ohle will be Colourwash managing director; and there will be some
involvement, of course, from CP Hart managers to achieve the expected
benefits of having a larger business.

"It's great news that Colourwash founder, David Jones, having led the MBO
of the rest of Colourwash, has agreed to stay on with the Colourwash business
in a non executive role" comments MD Ohle, adding "We have a clear plan of
action for Colourwash under our ownership, which will be refined with the
Colourwash team during the next few weeks. We really do believe that both
companies can learn a lot from each other."

Gary Lake, Colourwash's majority shareholder commented "it was a very
difficult decision for me to sell the business. It has great people and a
great reputation with its customers. However, when I first sat down with
Kevin and Richard, it was obvious that a combined group, with sales in excess
of GBP25 million, would be an exciting proposition and that Colourwash would
benefit from being part of the enlarged group. I have retained a shareholding
in the Far East sourcing operation, which will remain a major supplier to
Colourwash. Through this I will be able to share the benefits of Colourwash's
growth, but I am also going back to my roots as a supplier to the bathroom
retail sector. I am delighted with that opportunity".

Reynolds and Ohle first met at management consultants McKinsey in the
1980's, leaving in 1988 to lead a management buy-in of Halifax based kitchen
group Gower. Along the way they made a number of acquisitions and disposals,
including bespoke kitchen manufacturer and retailer Smallbone of Devizes.
Both of these businesses were sold in 2003, Gower to Swedish kitchen group
Nobia, and Smallbone to its founder. They acquired CP Hart in 2008.

Is this the end of their acquisition trail? "Certainly not" says Reynolds
"of course we need to bed in Colourwash - but we are actively seeking
partners in cities and towns where CP Hart does not have representation. We
would much rather add an established business to our family than start with
fresh air".

Given the depth of the recession and the gloomy outlook for UK Inc. this
may seem a surprising time to be expanding. Reynolds remains upbeat: "The
Colourwash acquisition has been funded from our own resources and experience
has shown that the top end of the bathroom market is holding up pretty well.
2010 won't be easy - we'll just have to win a larger share of the cake: but
it's still a pretty big cake!"

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