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Wolseley name to be scrapped after 130 years

Plumbing firm Wolseley has announced plans to rename itself Ferguson: Wolseley
Plumbing firm Wolseley has announced plans to rename itself Ferguson: Wolseley

The Wolseley name is to disappear from the stock market after 130 years, the blue-chip heating and plumbing firm announced on Tuesday.

Wolseley began life as a London-listed company in 1887, when Frank Wolseley raised cash for a revolutionary sheep-shearing machine, selling its car-making business more than a century ago and moving into heating and plumbing in the Sixties.

But earlier the firm announced plans to rename itself Ferguson, reflecting the dominance of a US business which now provides nearly 70% of group revenues 35 years after it first entered into the market.

The firm will also report in dollars from August, and is selling its Nordic arm.

Chief executive John Martin said there were no plans to move the listing from London.

“We are very happy with our listing in London, we have a really good share register with some good long-only shareholders.”

In the six months to January 31 the group made trading profits of £515 million, up 25% on last year, in a performance dominated by the US.

Like-for-like sales since then are up 5.5% in the US and 4.5% across the group.