Saint-Gobain reports that it has entered into “binding agreements” for the sale of its Graham Plumbers’ Merchant business in the UK.
Operating from around 130 branches and with c.840 employees, the business generated a turnover of approximately £220million (€260m) in 2020. The majority of the Graham branches, as well as the Graham brand name and website name will be divested to UK Plumbing Supplies, and a smaller number of branches will be divested to Wolseley.
A statement from Saint-Gobain noted: “The transactions are expected to be completed over the coming weeks and are part of Saint-Gobain’s continued portfolio optimisation strategy to enhance the Group’s growth and profitability profile.”
Graham can trace its origins back to 1936 in Glasgow when the business commenced trading as Thomas Graham & Son. The merchant’s website says: “Ever since then we have been providing the nation with plumbing, heating, bathroom and more recently smart technology solutions. We highly value our customer relationships and pride ourselves on our friendly, local businesses.
“Our staff have expert product and industry knowledge, so you can always rely on us for a high-quality service. We have many branches spread throughout the UK, meaning our merchants will always hold valuable local knowledge to meet your needs.”
The sale is a latest in a long line of major deals in the merchant sector to have taken place over recent weeks and months, including Travis Perkins plc’s disposal of its Plumbing & Heating business to an affliliate of private equity firm H.I.G. Capital and significant acquisitions made by merchant firms such as Huws Gray – most notably, the acuisition of Grafton’s Traditional Merchant Business – and Grant & Stone.
