Our strategy and business model

Our strategy

Our objective is to become a leading European Distributor of building material and construction related products. Our primary focus is on European markets that offer long term structural growth due to shortage of new buildings and improvement needs of the existing built environment.

We aim to develop strong brands in each market segment with leading, defendable market positions or unique selling propositions that enables them to outperform the market.

We will continue to strengthen our positions in existing countries through organic development and selective acquisitions. In addition, Grafton will enter attractive new European countries by acquiring leading local distribution platforms, in fragmented market segments, enabling us to build strong, competitive positions through further organic development and bolt-on acquisitions. We will continue to focus on both, general and specialist distributors of building materials.

We operate an efficient and effective decentralised operating model, supported by strategic, governance and subject matter expertise at Group level.

Our strategy is supported by:

Supportive organisational structure and management

Group expertise and economies of scale.

Actively working with and supporting Business Unit management teams on growth agenda and strategy.

Cost synergies created by leveraging infrastructure and processes in established countries.

Applying Group best practices across different areas such as HR, IT, procurement, merchandising and sustainability.

Allocating capital for further development.

Excellence in service

Focusing on delivering excellent service for our customers who are primarily SMEs, small installers and independent builders.

Differentiated business models with competitive advantage.

Offering energy efficient products and sustainable product solutions.

Investing in our online trading capability and improving our branch network.

High profile and convenient locations.

Strong financial base

Delivering sustainable long-term returns for shareholders.

Generating strong cash flow from operations.

Maintaining a strong balance sheet.

Maintaining a disciplined approach to allocation of capital.

Ethics and integrity

Commitment to the highest standards of ethics and integrity.

Respect for our customers and colleagues.

Sharing best practice and guidance on ethics, integrity and sustainability.

We add value by:

Focusing on markets with structural long-term growth drivers, such as housing shortage and the need to improve the existing housing stock
Continuing to strengthen our market positions in existing geographies organically and via acquisitions
Driving service excellence for our customers through our differentiated distribution models
Acquiring new distribution platforms in fragmented European markets with structural growth drivers and developing market leading positions through organic development and bolt-on acquisitions
Applying and sharing best practices across the Group to drive commercial excellence and operational efficiencies
Allocating capital to continually improve our business

What drives our success

Ambition
Our ambition to grow while maintaining a disciplined approach to capital allocation.

Innovation
Investing in solutions to continually improve our offering to our customers.

Sustainability
Operating our business to address environmental and social challenges and opportunities.

Engagement
Building strong and trusting relationships with our stakeholders.

Financial strength
A strong financial base to fund ongoing development and acquisition activity.

Creating value for all our stakeholders

37.0 p

Dividend per share (2024)

469

Branches and factories across our operations (2024)

c. 10000

Colleagues across our businesses (2024)

>£ 1.2 m

Donated to charities and good causes in 2024