Trailblazers is published as a supplement to Builders Merchants Journal
Builders Merchants Journal Datateam Business Media, London Road, Maidstone, Kent ME15 8LY Tel: 01622 687031 Fax 01622 757646
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net
EDITORIAL Editor-in-Chief: Fiona Russell Horne 01622 699101
frussell-horne@datateam.co.uk
Assistant Editor: Catrin Jones 01622 699186
cjones@datateam.co.uk
Designer: Richard Seymour
ADVERTISEMENTS Advertising Manager: Dawn Tucker 01622 699148
mobile 07934 731232
dtucker@datateam.co.uk
North & midlands sales: David Harman 01772 462596
david.harman@talktalk.net
Publisher: Paul Ryder
01622 699105
pryder@datateam.co.uk CIRCULATION
ABC audited average circulation July 2018-June 2019: 7803
SUBSCRIPTIONS
UK one year: £97 UK, two years: £164 Outside UK: one year £113/$204; two years: £196/$353
© Datateam Business Media Ltd 2020. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photo-copying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system without the express prior written consent of the publisher. The title Builders Merchants Journal is registered at Stationers’ Hall.
TRAILBLAZERS A word from the editor...
THE LAST FEW YEARS have been pretty good for the builders merchants industry according to our figures. In most cases, our tables refer to the 2018 financial year, due to wide variation in company year-ends and the lag in when figures are reported to Companies House. So they reflect much of the aftermath of the Brexit referendum but not really the over-whelming political and economic uncertainty that put the brakes on much of 2019. Still, despite those caveats and everything that has happened to the
UK economy in the past three years - specifically the effect this has had on confidence within the construction sector - merchants are still doing what they do best and reaping the rewards.
It’s not one of the most glamorous industries, but it is an extremely effective one, run by highly skilled people who know exactly what they are doing. The structure of the industry has continued to change, most notably with the increasing dominance of private equity. In the last 12 months this has seen both Chandlers and Grant & Stone move into the Cairngorm Capital family, Huws Gray Ridgeons continue to dip into Inflexion’s purse to fund its expansion ambitions and Plumbase join UK Plumbing Supplies, alongside HPS and GB Willbond among others. This happened too late to be reflected in our figure compilations for 2020, but will be included next year. The BMJ Index, which is calculated by multiplying sales growth, operating margin, and stockturn shows that, with the vast majority of companies showing a positive Index score, it’s clear the merchant industry is in good shape to deal with whatever the future holds. And as we are publishing all this at the time when the industry has just started to face the Coronavirus unknown, that’s going to be really, really important.
Fiona Russell Horne Editor-in-Chief
14 .
16. CONTENTS
4-11. 12.
13. Financial Tables
Alsford Timber AW Champion Beatsons AW Lumb
Beesley & Fildes Beggs & Partners
Bradford & Sons Boys & Boden Browns
Builder Depot C&W Berry
18. Carvers (Wolverhampton) Covers
20.
21. 22.
24.
Crossling CRS
EH Smith Elliott Bros Frank Key
Grant & Stone Grafton
Howarth Timber Haldane Group HPS
26. Huws Gray inc Ridgeons James Burrell
27. 28. 30. 31. 32.
James Hargreaves John A Stephens John Nicholls
Joseph Parr JT Atkinson JT Dove
Kellaway Group Kent Blaxill Lawsons LBS
Lords
Markovitz MKM
MP Moran Myers Group BMJ is proud to be a member of:
33. National Timber Group (inc.) Rembrand
34.
35. 36. 37.
38. 39.
April 2020 A supplement to builders merchants journal
MGM Timber Nicholls & Clarke RGB
Parkers & Chandlers Saint-Gobain
Robert Price & Sons Sydenhams
Walter Tipper Travis Perkins
Williams Wolseley
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