Regulatory News

‘Strong growth in Merchanting and continued strategic progress’

Lords (AIM:LORD), a leading distributor of building materials in the UK, today announces its unaudited Interim Results for the six months ended 30 June 2025 (‘H1 2025’ or the ‘Period’).

H1 2025 Highlights

• Group revenue up 8.4% to £232.1m (H1 2024: £214.2m) and like-for-like¹ revenue up 7.0%


•  Merchanting division continues to grow with revenue up 12.6% to £117.7m (H1 2024: £104.6m) and divisional Adjusted EBITDA² up 8.6% to £8.2m
• Plumbing and Heating ('P&H') grew revenue by 2.4% to £112.2m (H1 2024: £109.6m) and delivered divisional Adjusted EBITDA² of £3.9m (H1 2024: £4.2m, before the benefit of £0.8m from CHMM³ which subsequently reversed in H2 2024)
• Acquisition of the UK's largest online-only retailer of construction products, Construction Materials Online (‘CMO’), in June 2025 for a cash consideration of £1.8m


• Completed sale and leaseback of four trading sites in April 2025 for gross proceeds of £13.1m to provide additional liquidity to leverage growth opportunities as the market recovers


• Strategic progress continues with three new Merchanting branches opened in 2025 to date


• Group Adjusted EBITDA² in line with pre-CHMM³ H1 2024 at £12.1m (H1 2024: £12.6m)


• Net debt reduced by £15.4m to £20.9m (30 June 2024: £36.3m) since June 2024


• Interim dividend maintained at 0.32 pence per share (H1 2024: 0.32 pence per share)

Percentages are based on underlying, not rounded, figures.

¹ Like-for-like sales is a measure of growth in sales, adjusted for new, divested and acquired locations such that the periods over which the sales are being compared are consistent.

² Adjusted EBITDA is EBITDA (defined as earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation and impairment charges) inclusive of property gains and losses but excluding exceptional items, and share-based payments.

³ CHMM is the Clean Heat Market Mechanism which was introduced in January 2024 and subsequently withdrawn which resulted in a benefit of £0.8m to Adjusted EBITDA in H1 2024 which reversed in H2 2024.

⁴ Net debt excluding leases.

⁵Company compiled consensus expectations of Adjusted EBITDA for the year ended 31 December 2025 as at the date of this announcement show an average of £24.8m and a range between £24.7m and £25.1m.

Shanker Patel, Chief Executive Officer of Lords, commented: 

“The Group has demonstrated strong revenue growth in the first half of 2025 as we continue to increase market share, despite a highly competitive RMI market in the South-East and the recent UK interest rate reductions not yet boosting consumer confidence.

“The strategic acquisition of the leading online-only retailer, CMO, the opening of three additional Merchanting branches and the strengthening of the Group’s balance sheet through £13.1m of property disposals during the period ensure that the Group is well-positioned for a future recovery in the market. Ahead of this, we will continue to focus on operational excellence, customer service, and working capital management. Additionally, we will carefully consider further opportunities to increase the Group’s market share both organically and through selective, value-added acquisitions.

“Whilst trading in the second half of 2025 to date has not seen any sustained improvement in the RMI market, and with the seasonally significant trading period ahead, performance continues in line with market expectations⁵ for full year Group Adjusted EBITDA.”

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Notes to editors:

Lords is a specialist distributor of building, plumbing, heating and DIY goods. The Group principally sells to local tradesmen, small to medium sized plumbing and heating merchants, construction companies and retails directly to the general public.  The Group operates through the following three divisions:

• Merchanting: supplies building materials and DIY goods through its network of merchant businesses and online platform capabilities. It operates both in the ‘light side’ (Building Materials and Timber) and ‘heavy side’ (Civils and Landscaping), through 32 locations in the UK.


• Plumbing and Heating: a specialist distributor in the UK of plumbing and heating products to a UK network of independent merchants, installers and the general public. The division offers its customers an attractive proposition through a multi-channel offering, operating in 16 locations enabling nationwide next-day delivery service.


• Digital: CMO Superstores provides an online route to market from nine specialist websites for construction and plumbing & heating customers.

Lords was established 40 years ago as a family business with its first retail unit in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire.  Since then, the Group has grown to a business operating from 48 sites.