Jackson Building Centres
Deal Summary
Catalyst advised on the sale of Jackson Building Centres to Grafton Group plc in a deal valued at nearly £100 million.
Jackson Building Centres offers a full mixed merchant product range servicing customers from retail (via its kitchen and bathroom showrooms) through to one man builders and plumbers, medium-sized building and plumbing contractors, independent housebuilders, and national housebuilders and main contractors.
Three generations of the Jackson family had been involved with the business since it was founded as a hardware store by Eric Jackson in 1946. Following an investment by the private equity firm 3i plc in the late 1960s, and a move into supplying building materials, the company secured a dominant position in the East Midlands. At the time of the deal Jackson Building Centres was the largest independent builders merchant in the UK with sales of £130 million and a workforce of 1,000 people.
What difference did we make?
Jackson Building Centres was a long-standing family business, with the shareholder base comprising executives in the business, family members, both inside and outside the business, as well as a private equity investor. As a result, there were a range of objectives amongst the shareholders and agreeing a common position became one of the most challenging problems to completing a deal.
Catalyst reported to the shareholders and the board on their options for maximising shareholder value and it was agreed that the business would be marketed for sale. Catalyst then completed an exercise of preparing the business for sale which included updating the business’s management accounts, monthly reporting information and corporate governance.
Catalyst then marketed the business to a very limited number of strategic buyers and as a result of this very tailored approach and the work we completed in preparing the business for sale, Jackson Building Centres was sold within one month of agreeing heads, at a double digit EBIT multiple and with no commercial warranties or indemnities.
