Grafton Group chief: Brexit not long-term worry

Grafton Group chief Gavin Slark has said there is nothing in the business’ half-year financial results “suggesting we have medium-term issues”, adding that management sees the uncertainty around Brexit being a short-term threat.

The Dublin-headquartered builders merchanting business, which derives the bulk of its revenues from its UK operations, yesterday reported double-digit revenue and profit growth for the first six months of the year.

However, the group’s own growth targets were missed due to the underperformance of its core UK merchanting business.