TP sells off Tile Giant
Builders and plumbers merchant group Travis Perkins has agreed a deal to sell its Tile Giant subsidiary to Coverings Ltd, led by entrepreneurs Andrew Thirkill and Adrian Hinchliffe.
Travis Perkins plc bought Tile Giant in 2007, since when it has grown from 29 to 82 retail stores, and turnover in excess of £50m. Post-acquisition, Tile Giant will operate under its own autonomy continuing to pursue its individual strategy for growth. The existing senior leadership team and managing director James Heese will remain in place.
Andrew Thirkill, of Coverings Ltd, said: “These have been turbulent times for the tile industry, but we firmly believe in what Tile Giant has created with Travis Perkins, with its core proposition of delivering high quality, commercially competitive tiles and accessories to the UK retail market.”
SIG slips to six-month loss
Distributor SIG posted a first-half pre-tax loss of £125.4m for the first half of 2020, compared with a £2.3m profit for the same period in 2019. Turnover, at £840m, was down from £1,113m.
A new management team is now in place with a new growth strategy and losses in the second half of the year, are likely to be “at a lower rate.”
The slump due to the Covid-19 pandemic also caused underlying operating losses of £43.2m and
impairment charges of £42.8m. CEO Steve Francis, said that trading was better than anticipated in March to May, compared to initial estimates of the Covid-19 impact, and the Board now expects full year sales to be moderately higher than estimated in May. “Group sales in July and August were encouraging although down year on year, and market share losses during 2019, particularly in the UK distribution business, will take time to recover,” he said.
Ferguson returns to full-year dividends
Ferguson — US-based parent of UK plumbers merchant Wolseley UK — saw sales fall 0.9% for the year to 31 July to $21.8bn (£17bn). Despite this, the plumbing giant is to resume paying a year-end dividend to shareholders.
Pre-tax profit fell 4.8 per cent to $1.26bn (£980m) from $1.3bn (£1.01bn) in 2019.
The group said it remained “cautious on the outlook for the year” ahead and that there was a ‘significant business impact’ during the second half of the year which saw it reduce headcount by 2,100 over the year across the US,
Canada and the UK, and close 94 branches.
The plan is to continue with the demerger of Wolesley as a new company on the FTSE 250 with a fresh board line-up and estimated value of £600m.
However, Ferguson cautioned that the timing of the demerger remains uncertain amid market turbulence during the pandemic. Kevin Murphy, group chief executive, said: “While we remain cautious on the outlook for the year, the business is in good shape and well prepared to address any further market disruption.”
October 2020
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net
Naylor Industries, the Barnsley- based clay, concrete and plastic pipes specialist, has celebrated its 130th anniversary.
The company, founded in the West Yorkshire village of Denby Dale as a clay pipe manufacturer by George Wilfred Naylor in 1890, remains in fourth generation family hands under CEO Edward Naylor. It retains a Yorkshire focus today - hree of its five factories are in the Barnsley area.
More recently, Naylor has acquired manufacturing sites in Fife and the West Midlands. Recent decades have seen the business diversify, launching a range of plastic and concrete products and carrying out a multi- million pound programme of investment in its manufacturing capabilities. Its Yorkshire Flowerpots business is now the UK’s largest manufacturer of terracotta garden pots. Naylor is an active exporter, having sold its products into 65 international markets.
Business turnover exceeds £55m and the company employs some 400 people.
Most recently, Naylor has been developing the next generation of the business with an active apprentice programme and a management trainee initiative, involving sponsorship of degree level studies.
Naylor said: “We’re very proud of our history as very few businesses make it through to the fourth generation. But we’re always very keen to look forward as well as back, and our emphasis on innovation and diversification has been key to growing the business. “We’re hoping that this - and the development of apprentices and other young people in the business - provide firm foundations for another 130 years of growth.”
Superglass has been named Company of the Year by Scottish Engineering, for its excellence in innovation and investment. Ken Munro, CEO of Superglass and its parent company, TN International for Western Europe & North America said: “We are very proud to win such a prestigious award. It is recognition of the strategic, commercial and engineering accomplishments that have put the Superglass business in such a strong position. It is also a great marker on a continuing journey towards further growth, enabled by the product range and logistics capability that come from being part of TN International.”
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Middlesbrough-based independent builders’ merchant Atkinson Northern, parent company of JT Atkinson, saw turnover for the year to 31 December 2019 rise to £91m, up from £84.2m in 2018. Pre-tax profit also increased to £7.7m, up from £5.9m.
The business closed all 28 of its branches from 24 March 2020 to 14 April as a result of the Covid-19 lockdown, although all are now trading once again.
Managing director Edwin Atkinson said: “We are doing our best to follow government advice, whilst balancing the safety of our staff and serving our customers to allow them to continue to operate their own businesses.”
Superglass takes top Scottish engineering award
Naylor Industries
Atkinson pushes up
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