NEWSROUND


Inter-Line acquires Morris & McGann


Lords buys Advance Roofing Supplies


Lords Group Trading plc, the builders merchant group, has acquired roofing merchant Advance Roofing Supplies Limited.


Established in 1994,


Devon independent builders merchant Inter-Line Building Supplies Ltd has acquired local builders merchant Morris & McGinn Ltd, a family-run independent, based in Teignmouth and Dawlish, Devon, specialising in heating and decorating products.


Morris & McGinn will continue to operate independently as a reliable and independent local brand, joining the National Buying Group as an associate.


Neil Robinson, financial director at Inter-Line, said: “We are thrilled to have taken on Morris & McGinn as an associate of Inter-Line. We will work closely with Ross and his colleagues to ensure the businesses move forward together, whilst retaining our separate local reputations as reliable and supportive independent merchants.”


Advance Roofing Supplies is an independent supplier of roofing materials, specialising in pitched and flat roofing sales to local and national customers. Currently operating from two locations, Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire and Long Marston in Hertfordshire, Advance Roofing Supplies will further strengthen the Lords Group’s Merchanting division,


increasing product range, and expanding the customer base. The plan is, in due course, to expand the Advance Roofing Supplies brand via implants into relevant merchanting locations, starting with the Beaconsfield site which itself is currently undergoing an extensive


redevelopment to enable extended product range and capacity.


Shanker Patel, CEO of Lords, said: “The acquisition of Advance Roofing Supplies further strengthens our service capabilities to existing customers and will offer significant synergies with our Merchanting division. We are delighted to bring Advance Roofing Supplies into the Group, and welcome their 15 employees to our team, as we continue to focus on serving our customers with a wider range of products and services.”


Grafton reports strong end of year trade IBMG takes on Dougfield Plumbers


Grafton Group plc saw positive second half revenue trends carry on to the year end, according to a trading update, which also highlighted the group’s financial strength thanks to the divestment of the Traditional Merchanting business in Great Britain to Huws Gray. While supply chain pressures eased, price inflation continued to boost revenue growthparticularly in the UK and Ireland. Group total revenue from continuing operations, increased by 25.7% to £2.11 bn in 2021 from £1.68 bn in 2020 and by 28.4% from £1.64 bn in 2019. Selco saw average daily like-for-like revenue growth of 2.2% in the final two months of the year measured against exceptional growth of 18.1% in the same period in the previous year. Selco opened its 72nd branch in Rochester in December, and one in Canning Town in November.


Chief executive officer Gavin Slark said: “The overall outlook remains positive and we look to the future with confidence given the strength of our businesses, strong balance sheet and good pipeline of investment opportunities.”


Traffic bosses strip merchants of HGV licences


Two builders merchants in the West Midlands have had their HGV licences revoked by the Traffic Commissioner.


M K Builders Merchants, which held a restricted operator’s licence, was found to have a very poor maintenance record and almost no understanding of the rules. The company had given assurances that it would improve compliance after a DVSA investigation had reported problems in 2019. However, no effective action was taken and Nick Denton, the Traffic Commissioner, revoked


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the company’s licence, and disqualified the company and its director from holding a licence for 12 months.


HRA Builders Merchant, had already started to operate goods vehicles before its application for a standard national licence had been granted in September 2021, failed to respond to requests for an explanation and failed to appear at the public inquiry. The company’s licence was therefore revoked and the directors and the company were disqualified indefinitely from holding such a licence in the future.


Denton said that M K Builders Merchant might be able to survive using third party haulage or smaller vehicles. “But if it cannot, then this will be a merited outcome for non-compliance on this scale and over such a period of time.” Of HRA Builders Merchants, he said: “The operator is not of good repute. It has operated vehicles without authority to do so. Its failure to respond to a request for simple tachograph information and to appear at inquiry show that it is not interested in engaging with the regulatory process.”


Supplies


The Independent Builders Merchant Group (IBMG) has announced that it has acquired Dougfield Plumbers Supplies Limited (Dougfield), expanding its network of specialist plumbing and heating merchants into Wales and across the South West. Established in 1993, Dougfield Plumbers Supplies is an independent plumbers merchant supplying trade and retail customers across South Wales and the Southwest.


Headquartered in Stroud, Gloucestershire, its 10 branches are located in Swansea, Glamorgan, Gloucestershire, Devon and Cornwall, all of them stocking an extensive range of plumbing, heating and bathroom products.


Following its recent merger with Grant & Stone, this acquisition continues IBMG’s strategy of developing its divisions through a combination of acquisition, new site development and organic growth.


It will extend the IBMG’s specialist plumbing, and heating offering into Wales and across the Southwest, providing a strong platform for further growth.


www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net January 2022


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