NEWSROUND Grafton reports successful half year
Grafton Group has posted adjusted operating profits of £142.4m in continuing operations for the half year ended June 30 2021. The Group’s continuing distribution business in the UK now comprises Selco, MacBlair in Northern Ireland and the TG Lynes and Leyland SDM specialist distributors which trade in and around London, the Traditional Merchanting Business in Great Britain having been sold to Huws Gray earlier this year.
The businesses fully recovered from the impact of the lockdown in the first half of last year and average daily like-for-like revenue in the first half 2021 was 16.7% (to
BMCO growth continues
Lincolnshire-based Independent builders merchant, Builders Merchant Company Ltd (BMCO) has outgrown its head office in Scunthorpe and relocated the administration and contract sales function to a new head office in Humberston, Cleethorpes. Jane Thomson, finance director said: “I’m so pleased to have a head office that reflects the image of the company and allows us the potential growth we are looking for. We now have the space to fully integrate the Purchase Ledger. Price Book, Credit Control and Stock Management under the same roof. She added that the pandemic has shown the speed at which the industry has moved in terms of stock availability and price movements. “It became apparent that with our expanding business, we had to look after the back office functions, thus, ensuring the many rapid changes were implemented to the front lines sales immediately. “Not only did we need to keep our pricing up to date but work heavily on the inter company distribution of material, ensuring we had the right stock in the right place, at the right price.”
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£414m) ahead of the first half of 2019. There was a strong advance in operating profit in the continuing business, up 448% on the previous year to £55m and operating profit margin of 13.3% was up from 10.2% in 2019.
Selco, which accounted for almost 75% of UK distribution revenue in the half year, saw average daily like-for-like revenue increase by 74.4% on the same period in 2020. This follows a decline in total revenue of 30.7% in the first half of 2020, compared to the first half of 2019, as all branches were closed temporarily, because of the pandemic. There was significant pressure
remained open to support those parts of the construction sector that were permitted to continue operating from early January to mid-April when a phased re- opening of the construction sector including house building got under way.
on the supply chain because of shortages of core materials at various stages during the half year and in turn supply chain pressures contributed to significant price inflation of around 7.5% compared to the first half of last year. In Ireland, Chadwicks branches
Lords Builders Merchants acquire Nu-Line Builders Merchants
Lords Builders Merchants has made its first post- listing acquisition, by buying independent builder’s merchant Nu-Line Builders Merchants in Ladbroke Grove, West London.
Established in 1965, Nu-Line specialises in the supply of general building materials. Lords will take on around 25 of Nu-Line’s employees. The new branch will offer
a full merchant stock range including bricks, blocks, landscaping, timber, sheet materials, as well as plumbing and heating, architectural ironmongery, bathroom showroom, decorating centre, and timber cutting services. Branch manager Kevin Beecher, and his team will continue to support both old and new customers in the W10 area.
BMF responds on delay to UKCA product marking changes
The Builders Merchants Federation has given a guarded welcome to the Government’s announcement postponing planned changes to product marking rules following the UK’s departure from the European Union but warns that more action is needed. Changes were due to come into force on 1 January 2022 that would require products that had previously had CE markings,
change to the new United Kingdom Conformity Assessed (UKCA)
mark.The Government has announced that CE marked products will be allowed to be sold in the UK for a further 12 months. John Newcomb, BMF Chief Executive said: “The Government’s decision to postpone planned changes to product marking rules for 12 months is good news and gives welcome breathing
Shanker Patel, CEO, said: “We are delighted to announce our first acquisition as a listed business. Nu-Line has a long heritage and a very strong customer base. With our locations in W2 and NW10, Lords Builders Merchants will be a clear local leader in West London.”
space. It allows more time to rectify complex technical issues so that British and European manufacturers can work towards gaining UKCA Marking, but further action is needed.
“There are currently not enough approved companies or qualified people to conduct the huge number of assessments and certifications required, and the extension does nothing to nurture what limited testing capacity and capability there is. We would like to see more support for a home testing market”
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net September 2021
Gavin Slark, Chief Executive Officer, said: “The results for the half year highlight the success of our strategy and the exceptional management teams and colleagues across the Group. The overall outlook for the Grafton businesses is positive given the strength of our current market positions, geographic diversity, strong balance sheet and investment pipeline.”
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