Lawsons has confirmed it has successfully negotiated the extension of its Barclays facilities, continuing its existing thirty-year relationship with the bank.
The facilities have been extended to November 2029 and are of up to £25m, comprising £16m of committed facilities with an additional £9m accordion which the Group will use to continue its journey of both organic growth and strategic acquisition, having completed several successful acquisitions over recent years.
Established in 1921, Lawsons is one of the largest independently owned builders’ merchants in the South East of England with thirty six branches, over 700 staff and a dedicated steel fabrication plant. Group Finance Director Chris Harrison said: “Our people strive for excellence as stewards of the communities we serve and our strong balance sheet creates a stable platform from which to serve the UK Merchant Market, which is worth £27billion to the UK economy each year.
“These new facilities totalling £25 million give Lawsons a strong and secure foundation, leaving us well-positioned to execute our exciting growth strategy in serving the UK Construction sector across the South East over the next five years.”
Jeremy Norris, Group Managing Director, commented: “Despite the challenging market trading conditions of the past twelve months the underlying strength of our Group’s balance sheet means we have extended facilities with the unwavering support of our long term banking partner, Barclays.
“After a prolonged period of growth, we have used the downturn in the market as an opportune moment to improve our customer offering and to consolidate and integrate recent acquisitions, as well as focus upon process and operations so that we are ideally placed to capitalise and grow when trading conditions improve.”
The Lawsons Group now has branches located from Lincolnshire to the South Coast. This includes 19 Lawsons branches and 12 branches of AVS Fencing & Landscaping Supplies in addition to Basingstoke Building Supplies, Briants of Risborough, The Landscape Centre, Oxford Fencing Supplies and Witham Timber.
