Latest triple acquisition to give Grant & Stone a £250m combined turnover

Grant & Stone Group has completed the acquisitions of RGB Building Supplies (founded in 1850), Buildit Gloster and Total Plumbing Supplies.

The new enlarged group will have 74 branches stretching from West London to Cornwall, over 1,000 employees and combined revenues approaching £250m.

Grant & Stone’s stated objective has been to develop its builders’ merchant business through a combination of acquisitions, new site development and organic growth with Cairngorm Capital’s backing.

High Wycombe based Grant & Stone itself has 44 branches stretching from London to the South West and achieved revenues of £140m in 2020.

New acquisition Rawle Gammon & Baker Holdings Limited, trading as RGB Building Supplies, has 22 branches serving customers across Somerset, Devon and Cornwall.

The second new addition is Buildit Gloster Limited, a three branch builders’ merchant providing a broad range of building materials to trade and retail customers across Gloucestershire and Wiltshire.

Lastly, Total Plumbing Supplies Limited, a five branch plumbers’ merchant headquartered in Devon, supplies trade and retail customers across Dorset, Wiltshire, Somerset and Devon.

The expansion follows recent takeovers of Buckinghamshire-based 3Counties (in September, 2020) and CRS Building Supplies, a 12 branch builders’ merchant in Somerset, (in January, 2021).

Grant & Stone has grown in the past 15 months from 29 branches in the Thames Valley to 74 branches across the breadth of the south of England.

Alex Bayliss, managing director at Cairngorm Capital, said he was delighted with the acquisition of these “three excellent merchant businesses”.

“It has been a tremendous experience to work with Cairngorm Capital over the last 15 months and to implement our growth strategy,” said Nick House, Grant & Stone’s group chief executive said.

“Grant & Stone is at a really exciting point in its development and we are fortunate to benefit from strong investor support, exceptional products, first-rate employees and a well-deserved reputation for superior service. We welcome RGB’s CEO Kevin Fenlon to our Group Board and are excited about the opportunities that these acquisitions bring.”

RGB employs over 300 people and in 2020 achieved revenues of £70m.

Cairngorm Capital said its portfolio companies had performed well throughout the pandemic, having experienced strong growth since last summer. The firm continues to seek further bolt-ons and new platforms across a range of sectors, including building materials and fire protection.