Grafton Group plc dispose of Plumbase
Grafton Group plc, the
international builders merchanting and DIY Group, has sold Plumbase, its specialist UK plumbing and heating business, to Plumbing and Heating Investments Limited, owner of a HPS, PlumbCity and GB Willbond, for an enterprise value of £66.75 million. After allowing for adjustments for debt-like items and working capital, net cash proceeds of £60.7m were received on completion.
The disposal of Plumbase is in line with the Group’s strategy of orientating towards higher returning businesses with good long-term growth prospects. Plumbase generated sales of £257.8 million and operating profit of £6.0 million for the year ended 31 December 2018. Gavin Slark, Chief Executive Officer of Grafton Group plc commented,“The sale of Plumbase to PHIL secures future opportunities for Plumbase, its employees and other stakeholders as part of an enlarged specialist plumbing and heating business. This transaction represents a very positive outcome for Grafton and enables us to continue to focus our capital and resources on attractive growth opportunities that generate appropriate returns for our shareholders.”
John Nicholls Holdings continues to expand
Nicholls Building & Timber Merchants has opened a new Distribution Centre on the outskirts of Witney, Oxfordshire. The centre will relieve pressure on the existing Nicholls Building & Timber branch in Kidlington, by allowing branch staff to focus on servicing customers, whilst maximising the efficiency of deliveries via the Distribution Centre.
Andrew Nicholls chief executive
said “Our Kidlington branch had reached capacity, so the distribution centre has enabled us to move our delivery fleet out of the branch. We will continue to expand the fleet of vehicles based at the Distribution Centre over the course of the next six months with two additional vehicles”. The company has also opened a new branch and bathroom showroom of J&Bs, its Dorset based plumbing & heating merchant in Ringwood, Hampshire. J&Bs was acquired by the Nicholls Group in 2014 and Ringwood is the seventh plumbing & heating branch and fifth Bathroom Showroom for J&Bs.
Hultofors buys Clic in USA
The Hultofors Group which owns Snickers Wrkwear, has acquired CLC.
The leading brand in the USA since 1983, CLC is North America’s premier designer, developer and marketer of ‘work gear’ for professional tradesmen and women. It’s a product range that includes softside tool carriers, nail bags, tool pouches plus personal protective equipment. Custom LeatherCraft, or CLC as the brand is known in the USA – and as the Kuny’s Leather brand in Canada - prides itself on developing high quality ‘work gear’ that combines innovative design and functionality as well as great value for money. Peter Dumigan, managing director of the Hultafors Group
UK says, “We are delighted with this acquisition given that the CLC ‘work gear’ range complements the Snickers Workwear, Hellberg Safety, Hultafors Tools, Solid Gear and Toe Guard safety footwear product portfolios perfectly “. “We will now be able to offer the discerning tradesman and woman an even more extensive range of top quality premium brand products, ideally suited to the work they do on site “
Wolseley profits rise as it plans to demerge from US
Wolseley parent company Ferguson Plc posted a 7% rise in full-year profit, benefiting from better margins and cost cuts.
The company said trading profit has risen to $1.60 billion in the year ended July 31 from $1.49 billion a year earlier. A 1 per cent increase in Wolseley UK’s revenues to £1.7 billion helped it to boost trading profits to £54 million in the financial year to the end of July, from £51 million in the previous 12 months. Profit margins rose from 2.9 per cent to 3.1 per cent, although executives conceded that those had some way to recover to historic industry levels and to achieve
anywhere near the margins of 8.2 per cent recorded in the US.
Operating profits in
Wolseley UK, however, were nearer £9 million after one- off items connected with its continuing restructuring and the £9 million cost of bringing the company’s domicile back from Switzerland to London.
Kerridge Commercial Systems buys MAM Software Kerridge Commercial Systems (KCS) has agreed
the acquisition of MAM Software Group, Inc, the global provider of on-premise and cloud- based business management solutions for the automotive parts, tyre and vertical distribution industries.
The all-cash transaction is approximately $154.2 million.
“This all-cash transaction provides MAM
Software’s stockholders with a premium over the pre-announcement market price of their shares, and we believe it will allow our team to increase our focus on long-term success that will benefit customers, employees and partners. Together with KCS, we can offer a broader portfolio of solutions to our customers globally,” said Mike Jamieson, MAM Software CEO.
October 2019
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net
“We have long believed that a partnership between MAM Software and KCS would create a range of significant strategic opportunities,” said Ian Bendelow, CEO of Kerridge Commercial Systems.
“We look forward to joining with the MAM team as we invest further in the business to accelerate MAM Software’s growth and bring greater value to its customer base.”
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