Builders Merchants Journal – BMJ Publishing to Builders Merchants and the UK merchanting industry for more than 95 years
Lords, the builders and plumbers merchant group, delivered a ‘resilient’ performance in 2025, posting year-end revenues slightly down at £436.7m (2023: £462.6m). Operating profits were down 37% at £10.4m, for the year ending December 31 2024.
Like-for-like revenue in the merchanting division was 3.6% lower than in 2023; recovering strongly in the second half with revenue growth of 2.3% against the year before. The Specialist businesses A.W. Lumb and Advance Roofing in particular had strong years. Plumbing and Heating revenue fell 10.2% in line with boiler volumes in the UK market, being affected by the changes to the Clean Heat Market Mechanism, though the group also saw strong growth in renewable products sales, up 99% to £5.5 million, supported by the acquisition of Ultimate Renewables Supplies in October 2024.
Developments during the year included changes to the senior team with Stuart Kilpatrick joining as CFO and Steve Durdant-Hollamby as Merchanting COO, while Neil Lake heads up P&H, having joined the Group in 2022.
Other changes include complete refurbishments of the Alloway Timber and expansion of the capacity of two A.W. Lumb branches, as well as relocation of a Condell branch from the site it shared with Lords in Kings Langley, to Hemel Hempstead, giving both businesses more room to grow.
At the beginning of this year, the Group opened a new branch in Maidstone for its George Lines specialist division, with further openings planned. A.W. Lumb also opened a new branch in Mansfield in April 2025, and a new Lords branch opened in Bicester this week.
Shanker Patel, Chief Executive Officer of Lords, said: “Against a challenging market backdrop in 2024, Lords delivered a resilient performance. We continue to focus on what is within our control: managing costs, driving efficiencies, reducing debt and pragmatically supporting strategic initiatives to deliver organic and acquisitive growth. “Whilst the strength and timing of the anticipated recovery in the UK construction market remains uncertain, the medium-term market drivers are positive. The recent property transaction has strengthened our balance sheet and Lords is well positioned to invest in organic growth and selective acquisitions. A strong start to FY25 gives the Board confidence of delivering an improved financial performance for the full year.”
Non-executive chairman Gary King said: “We are confident that we are in a strong position to gain from the recovery when it comes. Our strategy of investing in organic growth while consolidating the sector through selective acquisitions remains the right one, and we are aware of the opportunities that the last couple of difficult years will present going forward. With only 1% of the RMI market, there is significant potential for Lords to grow.”
