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Grafton Group sells building materials and tools to tradespeople and retail customers through its network of local merchant branches across several European countries.
Grafton Group is a building materials distributor — the kind of company a plumber, electrician, or builder visits in the morning before heading to a job site. Its branches stock the unglamorous essentials: timber, cement, bricks, plumbing supplies, tools, and paint. Walk into one of its merchant outlets and you'll find a trade counter, a yard full of heavy materials, and staff who know their customers by name. That everyday relationship is the business.
The company runs three main segments. Its UK merchanting business, largely operating under the Selco Builders Warehouse brand, is the biggest piece — Selco's format is distinctive: a warehouse-style store where tradespeople can buy everything under one roof at trade prices, often with extended opening hours. In Ireland, Grafton operates through the Chadwicks and Heiton Buckley brands, with a long history in the Irish market. Its Netherlands business, primarily the Isero and Gunters en Meuser brands, serves professional tradespeople there. There's also a smaller manufacturing operation in the UK that makes things like mortar and doors, plus a retail division in Ireland that sells to the general public. Why do customers choose Grafton over competitors? Mostly convenience and reliability. A tradesperson needs materials on-site fast, at a fair price, with credit terms that work. Big national rivals like Travis Perkins and Kingfisher (which owns B&Q and Screwfix) compete hard in the UK, while independent merchants offer local service. Grafton's scale gives it buying power with suppliers, and its branch network means a customer is rarely far from a depot. The business is cyclical — it rises and falls with construction activity and housing markets — which makes it sensitive to interest rates and consumer confidence.
Grafton has been reshaping its portfolio in recent years. It sold its traditional UK merchanting business (the builders' merchant chain formerly known as Buildbase) to Huws Gray in 2021, and more recently agreed to sell its UK traditional merchanting operations to focus on Selco and its other core markets. The company has also returned cash to shareholders through dividends and buybacks. Like most distributors, its margins are thin, so volume and cost discipline matter enormously. It's a steady, unflashy business that makes money by being the reliable place tradespeople go when they need materials — and by keeping its branches well-run and well-stocked.
Saved answer · last researched 15 Nov 2026