HIG buys Travis Perkins' P&H in £325m deal

The deal is expected to complete in the next three months, according to a statement.

Travis Perkins announced in October 2019 that it would put its divestment of its P&H business on hold amid market uncertainty. The firm subsequently sold the wholesale arm of the P&H business to Newbury Investments for £46m in January 2020. It announced in June 2020 that it intended to restructure its P&H business, reducing branch numbers by around 190 and group headcount by around 2,500. Most recently, Travis Perkins announced its demerger from Wickes in April 2021, which it had originally paused at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.

Travis Perkins' recent divestments are part of the firm's plan to focus on its advantaged trade businesses, which it announced in October 2018.

HIG is investing in P&H via its LBO Middle-Market strategy, according to a statement. The GP registered HIG Middle Market I in February 2020 with a target of almost €2bn in February 2020, according to Unquote Data. The fund was on the road as of September 2020. The GP generally targets businesses valued at around $50m-1bn operating in niche market sectors.

HIG's previous investments in specialised retailers and distributors include UK-based consumer electronics business Kondor, which HIG sold via a trade sale to DCC Technology in 2018. The GP said in a statement that it intends to use this experience to support P&H's future development.

Company
Headquartered in Northampton, P&H is a plumbing and heating products distributor. The company operates via its City Plumbing Supplies (CPS) and Plumbing Trade Solutions (PTS) trading brands. P&H serves both commercial and construction trade customers, as well as residential and consumer clients. The company has 3,000 employees and 350 branches in the UK and Ireland. It also distributes its products online via sites including Underfloor Heating Store, Direct Heating Spares, PlumbNation, and National Shower Spares.

According to its financial statement issued in March 2021, Travis Perkins' P&H division posted revenues of £1.069bn, compared with £1.465bn in 2019. The report noted that P&H was the most significantly impacted of all its divisions in 2020, since the coronavirus lockdowns over the course of the year meant that customers restricted their activities to only essential maintenance.

People
HIG Capital – Markus Noe-Nordberg (managing director, head of HIG Middle Market LBO); Tobias Borkowski (principal).
Travis Perkins – Nick Perkins (CEO).
Travis Perkins Plumbing & Heating – Dave Evans (CEO).

Advisers
Equity – Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom (legal).
Vendor – Morgan Stanley (corporate finance); Linklaters (legal).

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