NEWSROUND


Travis Perkins marks March improvement as Wickes merger completes


Travis Perkins’ sales improved throughout January and February 2021, with a marked uplift in March, a report on the first quarter’s trading for 2021 has shown.


Thanks to pent-up demand and continued high levels of housing transactions fuelling higher RMI spend, like-for-like sales in the Merchanting segment were up by 6.3%. In contrast, the new build housing and commercial sectors remain subdued.


Toolstation’s like-for-like growth continued, driven by its digitally enabled and convenient sales proposition and plans remains on track to open 60 new branches in the UK in 2021.


The Plumbing & Heating business saw two year like-for-like sales up 9.1%. Similarly, to the Merchanting business, P&H has seen strength in its smaller, RMI focused customer base with the large contract segment slower to recover. The demerger of Wickes has completed after it was backed by the shareholders of Travis Perkins last month.


The demerger plans were originally unveiled by Travis Perkins in December 2018 but put on hold in March 2020 when the Covid pandemic took hold.


With the group, and Wickes in particular, having demonstrated resilience in unprecedented market conditions through 2020, the board took the decision to recommence the Wickes demerger process this March. Wickes like-for- like sales performance continued to be strong at 19.7% in Q1, 25.6% ahead on a two-year basis.


4


Grafton eyes up mainland merchanting disposal


Grafton, the Irish builders merchanting group is reviewing its mainland UK merchanting interests in a process that it says “may or may not result in the sale of some or all of these businesses.”


The group has brought in the merchant bank Rothschild to conduct a review of its merchant businesses Buildbase, Civils & Lintels, PDM Buildbase, the Timber Group import operation, its bathrooms distributor and NDI, a supplier of wall and ceiling materials.


It has given no indication of why it might want to sell the operations or how large a part of the group they constitute. Analysts believe that the Grafton businesses under review could account for aggregated sales of about £1 billion, as much as 40 per cent of the group’s £2.5 billion annual revenues.


Mind Coach to appear at BMF Conference


Psychologist and sports- performance coach Jamil Qureshi, author The Mind Coach, is to speak at the BMF All Industry Conference


2021 taking place in November. Qureshi has worked with some of the world’s top individuals and teams in sport and business. His presentation will share practical insights into the psychology of attaining high performance. As one of the most influential figures in British sports coaching, Qureshi has helped six individuals to achieve world number one rankings in their fields and worked with three Premier League clubs, F1 teams, England’s 2009 Ashes-winning cricket team, and was the first official team psychologist to work with golf’s European Ryder Cup team, which went on to win by a record- equalling margin.


The sold-out, dual-centre BMF All Industry Conference is due to take place in Harrogate and York from 4 to 7 November 2021.


BMF and IoBM merger goes ahead


Three years after it was first proposed, the merger between builders merchants organisa- tions the Institute of Builders’ Merchants and the Builders Merchants Federation has gone through. The Institute will be separately managed and operate as a brand within the BMF. Members approved the move that will give the Institute access to wider resources and personnel, whilst retaining its own manage- ment body, at the IoBM AGM/ SGM held on 27 April. The assets, activities and membership of the IoBM will be


transferred to the BMF, with the Institute managed by a new man- agement committee comprising the CEO and membership services director of the BMF, the Chair and Vice Chair of BMF Young Mer- chants and two existing Institute Board Members.


All Institute Members will maintain their current membership grade upon transfer, subject to the payment of annual subscriptions. IoBM Membership grades will be aligned with BMF training, other accredited courses and qualifications including relevant in-company training. Membership


will be available to all individu- als employed within the builders merchants industry. The IoBM Charity Trust provides grants to support the Institute and for training purposes and will continue to operate under the existing Trustees; the BMF will nominate two additional Trustees. Dave Saunders, President of the IoBM, said: “The Institute and the BMF have a common ethos around training, professionalism and certification within the indus- try and I am delighted that we have agreed a joint way ahead. brand.”


www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net May 2021


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