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About Us
Overview | History | R & D | Unrivalled Distribution
Armour Group plc (“Armour”, formerly Armour Trust plc) has been a public company listed on the London Stock Exchange since 1971. Since its listing it has been involved in a variety of businesses ranging from confectionery, personal care, property and electronics for the automotive aftermarket.
In the recent years the Group has been transformed through a series of acquisitions and disposals into a highly successful and focused consumer electronics group designing, manufacturing and distributing products for the home and in-car entertainment markets.
The Group has two operating divisions, Armour Automotive and Armour Home, employing over 300 people across seven operating sites in the UK and Sweden.
AUTOMOTIVE DIVISION
Armour Automotive, which is based in Bordon in Hampshire, was formed in January 2000 by merging Radiomobile, Armour’s then existing car audio business, into the newly acquired (August 1999) Autoleads, a designer and manufacturer of cables and interconnects for the in-car entertainment market. In March 2003 the division acquired Continental Technologies & Investments Ltd (“CTI”), which designs and manufactures GPS and GSM aerials for the automotive and marine markets.
Armour Automotive, through its strong brand portfolio, is recognised as the market leader in the UK for the supply of audio and video products and accessories to the in-car entertainment and communications market. It supplies both retail and non-retail customers including Halfords, Sony, BMW, Motorworld, Hyundai, VDO Siemens and Vodafone.
HOME DIVISION
On 31 October 2003 Armour acquired Veda Products Limited, QED Audio Products Limited, Goldring Products Limited and Integrated Media Installations Limited to form Armour Home Electronics. All four of these companies were involved in the design, manufacture and supply of high end products and services for the specialist hi-fi, home theatre and entertainment market.
In 2004 the division was expanded by two further acquisitions, Hi-End Limited, a specialist company providing design integration and installation services for home theatre and home automation systems and Myryad Systems Limited, a small specialist hi-fi business that designs and manufactures a range of amplifiers, CD players, FM tuners and DVD players.
In February 2006 the Group acquired Alphason Designs Ltd, the leading home entertainment furniture manufacturer. The acquisition wasundertaken to further strengthen Armour’s position in a growth sector of the audio visual (AV) market driven by the increasing demand for flat screen televisions; to create a comprehensive UK distribution network into the consumers electronics market; and to deliver cost savings through improved sourcing of product. .
On 31 August 2007 the group sold its custom installation services business. Installing home theatre and home entertainment systems to house builders and home owners, the business represented less than 5% of the groups turnover, had been incurring a loss for the last 2 years and not core to the fast growing and highly successful branded product businesses in the home and automotive markets.
As with Armour Automotive, Armour Home is a market leader with a strong brand portfolio and award winning products being supplied into both the retail and non-retail markets. Customers include Sevenoaks Sound and Vision, Audio T, Comet, Argos and Marks & Spencer.
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