£290m: sales expected by Forterra for


the year ending December 31 2020.


Builders Merchants Company Ltd expands in Hull


Independent builders merchant the Builders’ Merchant Company Ltd has moved to a new branch in Hull. The 1.68 acres site, at Unit 2, Amsterdam Road, Sutton Fields Industrial Estate, Hull includes a 30,000 sq ft warehouse. The relocation comes as a result of the company’s growth over the past few years so that it now employs 35 people and turns over more than £9m.The premises includes new, state-of-the-art offices and larger warehousing facilities. This means that the company can now progress with its positive business plans for fur- ther growth and development. Managing director Duncan Thomson says: “This is the begin- ning of an exciting year for us in 2021. We continue to go from strength to strength within the builders’ merchant world.“


OBITUARY John Wilson Grant


The managing director of builders merchants JW Grant in Paisley has


passed away aged 58. In a statement the company


said: “It is with great sadness that we write to inform you that our Managing Director, John Wilson Grant passed away yesterday morning after a short illness.


“John will be sorely missed by his family and friends. He was a loving and caring man who enjoyed spending time with his wife Anne and their five children who adored him. “John will also be missed by the wider Scottish Builders Merchants community where he was well known and respected by all of the leading individuals in the industry.”


2022: the


new date for the live UK Construction Week London


Cowal buys Catherwood Scottish builders merchant Cowal


Building and Plumbing Supplies has bought Catherwood Construction Materials. Cowal, a family-run business with four branches located in key areas along the West Coast of Scotland, will retain the Catherwood name and team, including general manager Kevin Ellis, and continue to invest in the business. In March 2017, Cowal bought Reddance Building Supplies (Dalry) which just prior to the outbreak of Covid-19 was on track to have doubled in size by the end of 2021 with the assistance provided by Cowal and the NBG buying group, of which Cowal are Partners. Stewart Shaw Jr, Director at Cowal Building and Plumbing Supplies, said: “We’re ecstatic to have come to an agreement with Catherwood in such a short timeframe. This is a very exciting time for the group which will see


Bradfords opens new Glastonbury branch


Independent builders merchant group Bradford Building Supplies has opened a new branch in Glas- tonbury, which includes a Sustain- able Home Centre showroom. The in-branch Sustainable Home Centre has been created in collaboration with Renewable Equipment Solutions (RES), a local Somerset provider of sustainable energy efficient heating and venti- lation solutions. Bradfords Building Supplies CEO David Young, said: “The Glastonbury branch is centrally located across our sites on the M5 corridor and gives us the opportu- nity to launch this new offering. “This new Sustainable Home


Centre is Bradfords putting a stake in the ground for the indus- try. We want to reach out to local builders, installers and architects in the community to encourage them to come and talk to us about sustainable construction.”


February 2021 www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net


$15K: the quoted price that


some shipping costs have shot up to


NEWS IN BRIEF


us expand our existing business and welcome on board a highly reputable brand in Catherwood. “It is great that they will now be a part of our family and will benefit from our membership of NBG and its community.


“We welcome Kevin Ellis and his team of Gayle, Bobby, John, Dougie, Mick and Andy to CBPS and look forward to the future, together.”


Ellis said: “We believe the two businesses will complement each other very well and we are looking forward to seeing how the company develops in both the immediate and long-term future.”


Grafton trade exceeds expectations


Both sales and profits were better than expected in the two months to 31 December 2020 at builders merchant chain Grafton Group. Total revenue for the period was ahead by 10.8% at £439.4m. Group revenue for the year


from continuing operations still declined by 6.1% to £2.51 bn thanks to the sharp decline in trading during the second quarter lockdown. UK merchanting sales were ahead by 5.1% for the two months to December 31, but 14.2% down for the whole year. Selco continued to perform strongly with growth in average daily like-for-like revenue acceler- ating to 18.1% in the final two months of the year. Chief Executive Officer Gavin Slark said: “Despite the uncertain- ties related to the pandemic, we believe Grafton is well placed for continuing progress in the year ahead.”


Travis Perkins has been certified as a 2021 Top Employer for the 12th time. The accolade follows a rigorous review of the Group’s HR practices by the Top Employers Institute, a programme which has certified and recognised more than 1600 Top Employers worldwide.


Online builders merchant group CMOStores has bought Ipswich-based Total Tiles. CMO intends to continue its acquisition strategy to expand the group in the coming years, supported by private equity house Key Capital Partners who advised on the transaction. Total Tiles will continue to be led by md Andy Moore.


Continued uncertainty around social and travel restrictions has seen the postponement of UK Construction Week London 2021. The event, due to take place 5-7 May at ExCeL London, will now move to 3-5 May 2022. Nathan Garnett, Director for UK Construction Week said: “With restrictions likely to stay with us for longer than we had anticipated, we feel it would be better for all of our delegates, clients and partners to postpone the May event.“


Builders merchant buying group h&b has developed a partnership with construction intelligence provider Barbour ABI, giving merchant members access to information and intelligence such as up-to- date details of planning applications, project locations and stages in each merchants’ community.


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