Regulatory News

Lords, a leading distributor of building materials in the UK, announces that it has acquired the business and assets of the Malton Road, London W10 branch of Nu-line Builders Merchants Limited ("Nu-Line") for a consideration of £0.6 million (the "Transaction").

Nu-Line, established in 1965, is an independent builders merchant specialising in the supply of general building materials including timber, paint, electrical, ironmongery and plumbing categories.  Nu-line currently operates from two locations, Westbourne Park Road and Malton Road in the Notting Hill area of West London with the former being retained by Nu-line Builders Merchants Limited.

Under the Transaction, Lords will be assigned the Malton Road property leases and will take on circa 25 of Nu-Line's current employees (the "Malton Branch").  The Group intends to relocate a number of product categories to the Malton Branch from the Nu-line Westbourne Park Road, which is ceasing to trade ahead of being sold for redevelopment by the vendor.  The transaction offers synergies for the Malton Branch and the wider Merchanting division across product range, acquired customers and digital presence.  It also further enhances Lords' strong London presence.

The consideration and an additional £0.2 million of year one capital expenditure will be financed from the Group's existing cash resources.

For the year to 31 March 2021, the Malton Branch in its acquired form, achieved revenues of £5.8 million and an EBITDA of £0.2 million, and would be expected to generate revenues of £8.0 million and EBITDA of £0.8 million under Lords' ownership in FY 2022.

Shanker Patel, Chief Executive Officer of Lords, said: "We are delighted to announce our first acquisition since our successful IPO in July.  Nu-Line has a long heritage and a very strong customer base which will continue to be served in West London by Lords Builders Merchants.  We welcome our 25 new colleagues to the Group and look forward to integrating them into our strong, familial culture.  As a result of the acquisition, Lords Builders Merchants will further consolidate its position as a clear local leader in West London."

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Notes to editors:

Lords is a specialist distributor of building, plumbing, heating and DIY goods.  The Group principally sells to local tradesmen, small to medium sized plumbing and heating merchants, construction companies and retails directly to the general public.

The Group operates through the following two divisions:

• Merchanting: supplies building materials and DIY goods through its network of merchant businesses and online platform capabilities.  It operates both in the 'light side' (building materials and timber) and 'heavy side' (civils and landscaping), through 24 locations in the UK.

• Heating and Plumbing: a specialist distributor in the UK of heating and plumbing products to a UK network of independent merchants, installers and the general public.  The division offers its customers an attractive proposition through a multi-channel offering.  The division operates over nine locations enabling nationwide next day delivery service.

Lords was established over 35 years ago as a family business with its first retail unit in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire.  Since then, the Group has grown to a business operating from 33 sites with a combined turnover in excess of £288 million.  Lords aims to become a £500 million turnover building materials distributor group by 2024 as it grows its national presence.

Lords was admitted to trading on AIM in July 2021 with the ticker LORD.L.  For additional information please visit www.lordsgrouptradingplc.co.uk.