Huayi Buys 125-Year-Old British Brand FRANCIS

TL;DR: A Chinese bathroom manufacturer just bought a 125-year-old British brand. Huayi Plumbing — a massive operation with 12 factories in China and one in Vietnam — completed its acquisition of FRANCIS, a UK-based brand founded in 1899. This isn’t a flashy headline grab. It’s a methodical play: buy the factory first, then buy the brand. Here’s how they did it and why it matters.

Buy the Factory, Then Buy the Brand

Here’s the part that’s actually interesting. Huayi didn’t just write a check for FRANCIS out of nowhere. They’ve been working this deal for years.

Back in October 2020, Huayi acquired Komapu (Jiangmen) Pipeline & Heating Equipment Co. — a wholly-owned Chinese manufacturing facility that belonged to FRANCIS’s parent company, the UK-based PEGLER HOLDINGS LIMITED. They took over operations the following month.

At the time, FRANCIS’s brand assets were already being managed through that same factory. So Huayi effectively bought the production line first, kept making the products, and then — five years later — completed the full brand acquisition.

Smart move. You secure the manufacturing capability, learn the operations, and then take the brand. No surprises, no culture clash. Just execution.

FRANCIS itself has been around since 1899. That’s 125 years of history — mostly in high-end hospitality and residential bathroom solutions. Think luxury hotels, premium apartments, that kind of space.

Now Huayi owns both the factory and the brand. The Komapu facility becomes the core entity holding FRANCIS’s brand rights and full production assets.

The Bigger Picture: Huayi’s Global Push

This isn’t Huayi’s first international move. In December 2025, the company opened its first overseas factory — the Vietnam Dali plant. That facility runs on a “China R&D + Vietnam Manufacturing + Global Distribution” model. Full supply chain, from casting to finished product.

Between the 12 domestic factories and the new Vietnam plant, Huayi now has 600,000 square meters of production space and cranks out 10 million units per year.

They’ve also stacked up a serious list of international certifications: cUPC (North America), NSF61/372 (US drinking water standards), WaterMark (Australia), and WaterSense (US water efficiency). Products ship to over 100 countries.

And on the customer side? They’re already supplying big names like Huazhu Group, Greenland Group, and Sunac China — plus international hotels like InterContinental Guangzhou and Sheraton Zhuhai.

What This Actually Means

A Chinese manufacturer now owns a century-old European premium brand. That’s the headline.

Five years ago, Huayi bought the factory that made FRANCIS products. Now they own the name, the history, and the market position that comes with it. They’ve moved from “contract manufacturer” to “brand owner” — and they did it without the usual drama of a cross-border culture clash.

Is this a one-off? Probably not. The bathroom industry has been consolidating for years, and Chinese manufacturers have the scale, the supply chains, and now the capital to start buying up European heritage brands. FRANCIS is the latest example. It won’t be the last.