Grafton Group upbeat on Ireland amid UK uncertainty

Builders merchanting business, Grafton Group has expressed confidence in its Irish operations continuing to grow, amid concern over its core UK business in the aftermath of Britain’s decision to leave the EU.

The Dublin-headquartered group yesterday reported first half revenues of £1.23bn (€1.5bn), up 13.3% year-on-year in sterling terms, and ahead 11.7% on a constant currency basis. Growth was seen across the board – in merchanting and retail; and geographically except for its Belgian operations, where sales fell by over 13%.

However, while the UK merchanting division – which dominates Grafton’s revenues – saw 8.2% sales growth in the six months to the end of June; the second quarter of the year saw its sales growth slow to 1.6% compared to 5.3% growth in the first quarter of the year.