Grafton Group shares fell 2% after the builders’ merchants said it had sold its well-known plumbing supplies firm Plumbase in Britain for a net £60.7m (€68.3m), deal analysts said was consistent with it getting out of low-profit yielding and competitive businesses.

Dublin-based Grafton Group said its Plumbase and Buildbase merchanting businesses in the UK increased turnover by 4% to €1.46bn last year, despite a decline in the overall market.

GRAFTON Group delivered strong results in line with market expectations last year. It was a two-sided story, however, with the Irish division delivering exceptional results while performance in the British market was flat.

Building firm Grafton plc has added two new companies to the group with the acquisition of The Telford Group Limited in Ireland and Plumbline Supplies Limited in Scotland for a total cost of €40m.