Grafton closes sale of traditional merchanting business in Britain

Building materials company Grafton Group completed the divestment of its traditional merchanting business in Britain at the end of last year, bringing to a close the transaction that started in July 2021.

The company agreed in July to sell the business, which includes Buildbase, Civils & Lintels, PDM Buildbase, the Timber Group, Bathroom Distribution Group, Frontline and NDI, to Huws Gray for £520 million (€613 million).

Grafton Group said it expected the sale would close in early 2022, with estimates of the end of February.

The move came following an announcement earlier in the year that the group was undertaking a strategic review of its business.

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In a note to clients, stockbroker Davy said Grafton could now concentrate on deploying the £520 million in disposal proceeds. “It is clear that the group has considerable optionality in this regard,” Davy said.

Grafton will continue to develop its Selco Builders Warehouse branch network and its other specialist distribution and manufacturing businesses in Britain.