 | |
| 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.
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]
The company owns the Buildbase, Woodie's DIY, Civils and Lintels, Selco and Jacksons brands. [17] It also has a number of businesses that trade exclusively online. [18]
Bewley's is an Irish hot beverage company, located in Dublin and founded in 1840, which operates internationally. Its primary business operations are the production of tea and coffee, and the operations of cafés. Bewley's has operations in Ireland, the UK and the United States; in the Boston area under the Rebecca's Cafe name and in California as Java City.
CRH plc is an international group of diversified building materials businesses whose headquarters is in Dublin, Ireland. It manufactures and supplies a wide range of products for the construction industry. The group was formed through a 1970 merger of two leading Irish public companies, Cement Limited and Roadstone Limited (1949). CRH's primary listings are on the London Stock Exchange and on Euronext Dublin, but from 25 September 2023 its primary listing will be on the New York Stock Exchange.
GlenDimplex is an Irish based consumer electrical goods firm headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. The company is privately held, with manufacturing and development centres in the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom, China and many other locations around the world.
Persimmon plc is a British housebuilding company, headquartered in York, England. The company is named after a horse which won the 1896 Derby and St. Leger for the Prince of Wales. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.
Travis Perkins plc is a British builders' merchant and home improvement retailer with head offices based in Northampton. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange, and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. Through its Toolstation subsidiary, the group also has operations in mainland Europe.
Brown Thomas & Company Limited is a chain of five upmarket department stores in Ireland, located in Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick and Dundrum. Together with Dublin's Arnotts department store, it is owned by UK-based Selfridges, which in turn is owned by Thai Conglomerate Central Group and Austria's Signa Holding.
Studio, is a British home shopping business and is a wholly owned subsidy of the Frasers Group. Studio was founded in 1962 under the name "Fine Art Developments".
Jewson is one of the largest chains of British general builders' merchants, selling to small and medium building contractors. The chain comprises around 500 branches located all across Great Britain. Jewson is part of Denmark's STARK Group.
Elementis plc is one of the UK's largest speciality chemicals and personal care businesses, with extensive operations in the United States, Europe and Asia. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
American Standard Brands is a North American manufacturer of plumbing fixtures, based in Piscataway, New Jersey, United States. It is principally owned by the Lixil Group, with Bain Capital Partners holding a minority stake. The company was formed as American Standard Americas from the North American operations of the kitchen and bathroom division of the American Standard Companies during a breakup of the company in 2007. Crane Plumbing and Eljer were merged into the company in 2008 creating American Standard Brands.
Leekes is a Welsh based retailer of home furnishings, home improvement goods and related items. The company was established in the Rhondda in 1897 and has six department stores in South Wales, South West England and the Midlands. The company also owns the Vale Resort in the Vale of Glamorgan and the adjacent Hensol Castle, a conference and wedding venue.
Buildbase is a builders’ merchants in the United Kingdom, and is approaching two hundred branches nationwide. Buildbase is part of Huws Gray having been bought from Grafton Group plc in a deal that saw Grafton sell its merchanting business in the UK. It is a member of the Builders Merchants Federation (BMF).
Huws Gray is a British builders merchants chain based in the town of Llangefni, Anglesey, Wales. Following the acquisition of the Buildbase, PDM Scotland and Civils and Lintels brands, the Huws Gray Group has 249 branches across England, Wales and Scotland as of 2023.
Plumbworld is a specialist bathroom retailer based in the market town of Evesham in the United Kingdom. The company was founded by the current CEO James Hickman in 1999 and operates exclusively online. It was owned by the Grafton Group between 2006 and 2019, now back under the control of the original founder after a management buyout.
Bristan is a popular brand of plumbing products in the United Kingdom, mainly found in bathroom fittings. It is also the name of the parent company, Bristan Group.
The Jaquar Group, established in 1960, is a bathroom and lighting company, offering faucets, showers, shower enclosures, sanitary ware, flushing systems, wellness products, concealed cisterns, water heaters, and varied lighting products.
Woodie's is an Irish DIY and home improvement retailing company. Founded in 1987 in Walkinstown, Dublin and opening the first store in the same year, it is a part of Grafton Group plc. Woodie's is a nationwide company, having over thirty stores in Ireland. It operationally merged with Atlantic Homecare, the consumer division of Heiton Group that was acquired by Grafton Group in 2005, with all Atlantic Homecare stores eventually being rebranded as Woodie's after Atlantic Homecare entered examinership in 2012
Edmundson Electrical Ltd is a privately held electrical distribution company headquartered in Knutsford, Cheshire, incorporated in 1991. It is the largest electrical distributor in the United Kingdom and serves both to the trade and to the public from over 300 locations. The company also serves Ireland through a subsidiary, EWL Electric Ltd, as well as through mainland Europe via its sister company, Vink Holdings.
National Timber Group (NTG) is one of the largest independent timber distribution and processing groups in the UK. The group has 60 processing and branch/distribution sites across the UK providing nationwide coverage, and employs at least 1450 people.
Independent Timber Merchants or the Independent Timber Merchants Society is a New Zealand co-operative of independent building supplies and hardware retailers. Its stores sell a range of products to both tradespeople and consumers, including building supplies, power tools, kitchens and paint.