Travis Perkins sells plumbing & heating distribution business for £325m

Builders’ merchant Travis Perkins has sold its plumbing & heating distribution business to an affiliate of alternative investment firm H.I.G. Capital for £325m in cash.

The company said that alongside the recent demerger of Wickes, this sale represents the completion of its portfolio actions as outlined at the Capital Markets Day in December 2018.

The transaction is due to complete within the next three months and once that happens, Travis Perkins intends to return the net proceeds to shareholders through a combination of a 35p a share dividend and a share buyback programme.

Chief executive Nick Roberts said: "Today marks another important step on our journey to becoming a simplified Group, focused on our market leading trade businesses. A significant amount of work has gone into improving the P&H business over the last few years and I am sure that the business will continue to make excellent progress under the ownership of H.I.G.

"Looking forward, the group has a bright future as the leading provider of building products in the UK and we look forward to setting out our plans later in the summer to continue to drive growth."