Grafton Group
 | |
| Company type | Public limited company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Building materials |
| Founded | 1902 |
| Headquarters | Dublin, Ireland |
Key people | Michael Roney (Chairman) Eric Born (CEO) |
| Revenue |  € 2,319.2 million (2023)[1] |
 € 183.1 million (2023)[1] | |
| € 148.7 million (2023)[1] | |
| Website | graftonplc.com |
Grafton Group plc is a builders merchants business based in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange, and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
History
[edit]The company was established by William Chadwick as Chadwicks (Dublin) Ltd in 1902.[2] It subsequently became Concrete Products of Ireland.[3] It was the subject of an initial public offering in 1965 and building materials company Marley subsequently took a 51% stake.[3] Michael Chadwick bought out Marley and renamed the business Grafton Group in 1987.[3]
In March 1998, it bought British Dredging, a United Kingdom builders merchants.[4] In February 2003, it bought Jackson Building Centres, another British builders merchants, based in Lincolnshire.[3]
In October 2003, it also bought Plumbline, Scotland's largest independent plumbers merchants.[5] In June 2004, it bought Heiton Group, Ireland’s largest independent plumbers merchants.[6] In December 2006, it then bought Plumbworld, one of the United Kingdom’s largest online bathroom retailers.[7]
In August 2013, it bought Wearside builders' merchant Thompsons,[8] in October 2013, it bought Binje Ackermans, a Brussels based merchanting operation,[9] and in December 2013, Grafton Group opened ten showrooms, and launched a brand new website called Bohen, which focuses on the bathroom, kitchen and bedroom industry.[10]
Then in September 2014, it bought Direct Builders Merchants, a general merchanting business based in Kent[11] and in December 2014, it bought Crescent Building Supplies, a builders' merchant based in Ruislip.[12] In March 2015, it bought TG Lynes, a distributor of mechanical engineering products,[13] in January 2016, it bought T Brewer, a timber distributor based in London,[14] and in March 2016, it bought Allsand Supplies, a general builders' merchant located in Kent.[15]
In January 2022 the company announced the completion of the sale of its merchanting business in the UK to Huws Gray for £520m. Businesses sold include Buildbase, Civils & Lintels, PDM Buildbase, The Timber Group, Bathroom Distribution Group, Frontline and NDI Brands.[16]
Operations
[edit]The company currently owns four physical "bricks and mortar" businesses, Woodie's DIY, Civils and Lintels, Selco and Jacksons brands.[17] It also has a number of businesses that trade exclusively online.[18]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Annual Results 2023" (PDF). Grafton Group. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
- ^ Michael Chadwick: Grafton Group Archived 2013-03-03 at the Wayback Machine Business & Finance, 2010
- ^ a b c d Beating the Budget blues The Independent, 10 December 2011
- ^ "Grafton is tracking British Dredging". www.independent.ie. 10 March 1998.
- ^ "Plumbline duo cash in as Grafton enters Scotland". www.scotsman.com. 7 October 2003.
- ^ Grafton boosted by Heiton buy Construction News, 13 September 2005
- ^ Plumbworld appoint new deputy Managing Director Archived 2013-10-18 at the Wayback Machine Journalism, 13 August 2012
- ^ Robert Gibson (29 August 2013). "Thompsons merchants acquired for £3.8m by Grafton group". journallive. Archived from the original on 20 April 2016. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
- ^ "Grafton Group acquires Binje Ackermans for €20.5m". Independent.ie. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
- ^ "Campaign unveiled to launch new kitchen, bedroom and bathroom brand Bohen". Archived from the original on 1 January 2014. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
- ^ "Grafton Group Buys Kent-Based Direct Builders... - Morningstar". MorningstarUK. Retrieved 9 April 2016.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Will Ackermann (4 December 2014). "Ruislip-based builders' merchants bought out by multi-billion pound firm". getwestlondon. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
- ^ "Grafton Group acquires TG Lynes". Retrieved 9 April 2016.
- ^ "Grafton Group acquires London timber firm T Brewer". The Irish Times. 5 January 2016. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
- ^ "Grafton Group acquires Allsand Supplies". Retrieved 9 April 2016.
- ^ "Grafton Group completes sale of traditional merchanting business in Britain". independent.
- ^ Grafton group suffers from bad weather Builders Merchant Journal, 6 May 2010
- ^ Grafton Merchanting buys online merchant Archived 18 August 2017 at the Wayback Machine Builder's Merchant News, 30 June 2010