THE MONTH Grafton update shows turnover growth


Grafton Group plc saw turnover increase by 8.7%, according to a trading update for the year ended 31 December 2018.


The update, issued in advance of the announcement of the group’s Final Results for 2018 on 28 February 2019, shows group revenue for 2018 was £2.95bn, an increase of 8.7% from £2.72 billion in 2017. Revenue growth in constant currency was 8.4 per cent and average daily like-for-like revenue increased by 4.3 per cent. As expected, the rate of growth was lower in November and


Supreme Concrete’s Investment programmes


Supreme Concrete, owned by Ibstock plc, is continuing its programme of investment across its manufacturing facilities The work is being carried out at its Bedford, Barnwell and Evesham plants.


Mark Yates, production director at Supreme, says the investment is proof of the company’s commitment to its staff, their welfare and their professional development.


“There has never been a more positive and exciting time to be a part of Supreme Concrete. Companies like ours can only grow and succeed in our market if we really invest in our people: it is our team that makes our business. The investment at these key sites makes us more efficient; and allows us to demonstrate an even greater commitment to developing the skills within our team.”


December following above trend growth in September and October. The merchanting operations in the UK saw revenue increase by 7.7%; the Irish businesses fared slightly better with an increase of 8.4%.


As part of the overall strategy to improve returns, the Group disposed of two small non-core UK businesses which contributed revenue of £40.0 million and EBITA of circa £1.4 million in 2018. Gavin Slark, chief executive officer of Grafton Group plc said: “We are pleased with the strong


performance over the year, with contributions from both organic growth and the Leyland SDM acquisition. The Group continues to benefit from its exposure to multiple geographies and its diverse customer base.


The Group’s cash generative businesses, strong balance sheet and low level of net debt support our development strategy for the year ahead.”


Grafton trades from around 675 branches and has over 12,500 employees, working under brands including: Selco, Buildbase, Plumbase, Leyland SDM, MacBlair and CPI EuroMix in the UK; Chadwicks, Heiton Buckley and Woodie’s in Ireland; Isero and Gunters en Meuser in the Netherlands and YouBuild and MPRO in Belgium.


Jewson plan for Cheltenham branch


Approval has been given for a new branch of builders merchant chain Jewson in Cheltenham. Planners have given the OK for an industrial unit on Kingsditch Trading Estate in Cheltenham, to be demolished, according to Pipeline Gloucester.


Jewson’s parent company Saint Gobain Building Distribution


submitted the application in October 2018 for the unit, which was originally a Spirax Sarco manufacturing facility.


The proposed scheme includes the ‘formation of sales counter, ancillary offices and warehouse’ as well as the change of use to a builder’s merchant, crating up to 15 jobs once fully operational.


Heatrae Sadia to leave Norwich for Preston


Heatrae Sadia is to close its factory in Norwich, leading to the loss of up to 200 jobs.


The move is part of parent company Baxi Heating UK’s proposals to reorganise its UK operations and would see the Heatrae Sadia operation move to the Baxi facilities in Preston. A spokesperson from Baxi Heating UK said that the group’s intention is to grow its market positions across all brands and that it is important that the business prepares for the many challenges and opportunities of the heating market.


“We have now successfully launched a new generation of compact boilers that use stainless


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and electric water heaters for our Heatrae Sadia and Megaflo brands, from our smaller Norwich site, to Preston.”


steel heat exchangers. This, and the strategic decision to outsource aluminium heat exchangers used in some older boiler types, has led us to take the decision to close the Preston foundry in 2019. “The closure of the foundry will create additional space at the Preston site, and we are therefore proposing to transfer the production of water cylinders


The proposed closure of the Norwich site would also result in the consolidation of R&D activity at Preston and the transfer of other support activities to other Baxi Heating UK locations.


The group will also consolidate its sales organisations from next month, into two areas of focus: residential and commercial. The Heatrae Sadia sales force, currently reporting into Norwich, will be integrated into the existing residential and commercial teams that report into Warwick and Wokingham respectively.


www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net February 2019


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