Builders' merchant Travis Perkins has axed 400 jobs and closed 19 branches as part of plans to slash £25million in costs.
The group, which owns the Toolstation chain, said it was forced to make "difficult decisions" due to soaring inflation and an expected cooldown in housing and construction.
In its financial results, released today, Travis Perkins revealed it had closed 19 branches in its general merchant and Benchmarx divisions at the end of last year.
As a result, 400 jobs were lost at the closed sites and across central support functions.
Travis Perkins also today reported a 20% fall in pre-tax profits to £245million for 2022.
The company has slashed its investment plans for 2023 and anticipates “lower levels of activity in the UK construction sector in the year ahead”.
The group employs around 20,000 people across the UK, Belgium, France and the Netherlands, and has more than 1,400 branches, according to its website.
Travis Perkins said: "With the expectation of lower levels of activity in the UK construction sector in the year ahead, management implemented a number of cost reduction actions in the fourth quarter of 2022 to ensure that the group's cost base appropriately reflects the trading environment.
"These changes represent an acceleration of plans to modernise the business by exiting smaller branches and continuing to invest in larger, more capable, destination branches which incorporate value-added services such as hire and kitchen showrooms."
Chief executive Nick Roberts added the firm had been forced to make “some difficult decisions in response to the weaker trading environment” in the second half of the year.
He added: "We continue to be watchful of market trends, working closely with our customers and suppliers to stay on the front foot.
"Whilst it is early in the year and macroeconomic uncertainty remains, the combination of our diverse end market exposure, appropriate cost actions and further market share gains driven by continued strategy execution, will enable the group to deliver another resilient trading performance in the year ahead."
The overhaul comes after Travis Perkins launched plans in 2020 to close 165 stores, mainly smaller sites, which saw around 2,500 workers lose their jobs.
It demerged its Wickes retail DIY business in April 2021 and then sold its plumbing and heating business a month later to private equity company HIG Capital for £325million.
