Grafton Group gets ready to expand in Europe

Gavin Slark, the drum-bashing chief executive of building materials supplier Grafton Group, was in bullish mood after presenting stellar annual results, with pre-tax profits up more than 50 per cent.

Slark, a no-nonsense north of England type, indicated that the company was still contemplating further European expansion beyond Belgium, but he was deliberately light on detail. Germany would seem a possibility. “We’ve got one or two European markets in mind for expansion, if we can find the right market entry point . . . But we are not about to suddenly go into six or seven different European territories,” he said.

Slark said the upcoming UK election could be a “speed bump” for growth, although he declined to have a bash at calling the result: “I just want to see a clear winner.”

I bet he feels a similar sentiment for his beloved Sunderland football club, which has won just a single league game this year, and that against fellow strugglers Burnley.

If Sunderland get relegated in May, I wouldn’t like to be Slark’s drumkit . . .