| Type | Privately held company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Building materials |
| Founded | 1899 |
| Headquarters | Leicester, England, UK |
| Key people | Peter Warry (Chairman) Gavin Slark (CEO) Roddy Murray (Finance Director) |
| Revenue | £1,340.6 million (2009)[1] |
| Operating income | £64.4 million (2009)[1] |
| Net income | £41.0 million (2009)[1] |
| Owner(s) | Travis Perkins |
| Employees | 4,800 |
| Website | www.bssgroup.com |
The BSS Group plc is a British specialist distributor of heating, ventilation, plumbing, tools, pipeline, industrial supplies and mechanical services equipment based in Leicester. Formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange and a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index, the firm was acquired by Travis Perkins in December 2010.
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The company was founded in the East Midlands 1899 as British Steam Specialties.[2] It bought UBM Cadel (a leading plumbing distributor) in 1999, rebranded as PTS (Plumbing Trade Supplies).[3] It went on to buy Pegler & Louden (a valve distributor) in 2003, A. Warren & Sons (an industrial products distributor) in 2005, Spendlove C. Jebb (a Northern Ireland-based distributor), Price Tools in 2006, Buck & Hickman (an industrial tools distributor) in 2007, Birchwood Products (a building products business) in 2008,[4] and Direct Heating Spares, in 2009.[5] The group's latest acquisition is UGS Ltd, a privately owned underground drainage merchants, purchased in February 2010. The BSS board accepted an indicative £553 million takeover offer from Travis Perkins on 28 May 2010,[6] an acquisition which was completed on 14 December 2010 as BSS Group shares were delisted from the London Stock Exchange.[7]
The Industrial Division, encompassing BSS Industrial, BSS Ireland, (Cork and Dublin) and Warrens, is a market leader in the UK supply of distribution pipeline, process, heating and mechanical services equipment. Its customers range from large national contractors to local independents. BSS Industrial is further divided into six specialist brands[8]: AMS Pumps; Austin Stroud (Stainless & Carbon Steel); BSS Drainage; Havelock Controls (HVAC); Manor Plastics; and Pegler & Louden (Industrial Valves).
The Domestic Division, made up of Plumbing Trade Supplies (PTS) and F & P Wholesale, supplies a comprehensive range of bathroom, heating and plumbing products to a variety of customers, both public and private sector, from large national contractors to the sole trading plumber and heating engineer through its extensive branch network. Spendlove C Jebb is a part of PTS trading in Northern Ireland.
The Specialist Division, comprising Buck & Hickman and Birchwood Price Tools (formed from an amalgamation of Birchwood Products and Price Tools in April 2009), supplies a range of power tools, hand tools, maintenance and health and safety products to three principal market sectors, the manufacturing industry, wholesale and trade customers.