Wolseley UK

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Wolseley UK (formerly Wolseley Centers) is the holding company for several well-known United Kingdom builders merchants, including Bathstore, Plumb Center and Build Center. Wolseley UK is the country's largest supplier of building materials, with trade customers (plumbers and builders) accounting for the largest proportion of its sales. It does, however, have retail showrooms around the UK which are open to the general public.

[edit] History

The company's headquarters used to be in Ripon, Yorkshire and was the city's largest employer. Relations with the city were not always cordial - the company initially blocked plans for a road bypass which threatened to limit its plans for expansion, and every so often letters appear in the local paper, the Ripon Gazette bemoaning the 'American' spelling of the word Center. However, the spelling is an affectation conceived to be distinctive, rather than because it has any specific meaning.

In July 2004, the company announced that its head office was to be relocated to Leamington Spa, Warwickshire. This was a blow to the city of Ripon which had just lost its higher education college. A regional office including the central human resources and information technology functions remains in the city.

The trading name of Plumb Center was acquired in the 1980s and extended to include Build Center, Drain Center, and Hire Center. The company later acquired several other UK companies (e.g. Broughton-Crangrove) and significant operations in France, Austria and Italy.

In 2004, the company undertook a rebranding exercise and its main outlets are now known as Plumb Center , Build Center, Pipe Center , Parts Center, Drain Center , Climate Center and Hire Center. Since 2004, Wolseley UK has continued to expand through the acquisition of companies including ENCON and the highly successful Bathstore business, which was acquired by Wolseley Plc in 2003.

With parent company Wolseley Plc's ownership of similar operations in North America, Wolseley UK is a major part of probably the largest network of builders merchants in the world. This gives it advantages over competitors in terms of pricing and stock. Wolseley UK is no longer involved in manufacturing, instead it focuses on distributing and selling bought-in products.