Lords issues trading update

Lords builders merchants has issued its trading update for the year ended 31 December 2025.

For Financial year 2025, group revenue increased by 8.3% to £473 million (FY24: £437 million), an increase of 0.7% on a like-for-like (‘LFL’) basis. Merchanting revenue was up 6.0% to £227 million, reflecting contributions from three new branch openings and LFL sales increasing by 3.1%, and Plumbing and Heating revenue was resilient at £220 million (FY24: £222 million), with a significant 57% increase in renewables revenues.

Following the Successful acquisition of CMO, the online only builders’ merchant; CMO continued to build revenues, delivering £26 million since acquisition in June 2025.

Adjusted EBITDA expected to be in line with current market consensus, and year-end net debt was £14.5 million, a reduction of 55% compared to the position, as at 31 December 2024; when facility headroom was £60.5 million.

Lords CEO Shanker Patel said: “We continue to focus on customer service excellence, highly engaged colleagues and specialist brands and are excited by the opportunity CMO provides to leverage off our branch network and supply chain relationships.”

“We remain focused on controlling our costs and improving working capital. We reduced net debt significantly by £17.9 million in the year as we optimised our capital allocation and reduced working capital. Whilst the market remains subdued entering 2026, we believe the Group is well positioned to benefit from operational leverage as volumes improve, complimented by selective organic and acquisitive initiatives.”