Housing Down, Hit Plumb Center

Wolseley, owner of plumb center and parts center has reported a 77% drop in profits, mostly as a result of the slowdown in the housing market in the US and in the UK.

The company reported that pre-tax profits for the year to 31st July have dropped to £145 million compared with £634 million for the previous year. The company added that conditions in many of its key markets are likely to worsen still.

The company has seen a remarkable slowdown in its operations in the UK and the US, where the housing markets have taken a tumble last year.

During this financial year, the company has announced that it would make 7,100 job cuts with an additional set of 600 cuts in the next financial year.

The company said that it had no plans to raise more funds or go to their bankers for loan covenants renegotiation. However, it admitted that these are practical options if conditions remain difficult.

Wolseley is the world's largest distributor of heating and plumbing products. It is also a leading supplier of builders' products to the trade. The company supplies a wide range of traders from plumbers and heating engineers to builders and construction professionals. It has a stable of brands such as Plumb Centre, Pipe Centre, Parts Centre, Drain Centre (most of which target plumbers and heating engineers), as well as Build Centre, Climate Centre (for builders and air conditioning professionals).

In terms of interest for plumbers and heating engineers, the Plumb Centre unit has around 550 outlets all around the UK. The counters hold a stock for many products aimed at plumbers and heating engineers, including central heating systems (boilers, radiators and cylinders), bathrooms, showers and drainage.

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This page has been written with contributions from qualified plumbers from Buckinghamshire and heating engineers from Shepherds Bush. Several of the company's experienced plumbers from Berkshire have worked on similar issues as well as some of our plumbing and heating engineers from Hampstead and our Greenwich Gas Safe engineers.

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