Edmundson Electrical

Edmundson Electrical Ltd is a privately held electrical distribution company headquartered in Knutsford, Cheshire, incorporated in 1991.[1] It is the largest electrical distributor in the United Kingdom[2] and serves both to the trade and to the public from over 300 locations.[3] The company also serves Ireland through a subsidiary, EWL Electric Ltd,[4] as well as through mainland Europe via its sister company, Vink Holdings.

Edmundson Electrical Ltd

Type	Private
Industry	Electrical supplies
Headquarters	Knutsford, Cheshire, United Kingdom
Area served	United Kingdom Ireland
Key people	D. T. McNair
Revenue	£1,268.4 million (2015)
Operating income	£71.5 million (2015)
Owner	Blackfriars Corporation Marshire Holdings Corp
Parent	Marlowe Holdings Investments Ltd
Divisions	Electric Center Lockwell Electrical Distributors

Edmundson also has significant presence in the Middle East through its associate company, Sentor Electrical,[5][6] which operates in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Ajman and agents in Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman.[7]

Through a number of holding and investment companies, it is directly controlled by the Delaware registered Blackfriars Corporation (now Marshire Holdings Corporation), controlled in turn by the Colburn family as part of their global electrical and prefabricated plastics organisation.[8][9] The company also holds a Royal Warrant.[10]

History

The company was founded in the early 19th century by Joshua Edmundson, with the company developing into one of the first suppliers of electricity to being a major distributor of electrical equipment. The company serves the United Kingdom through more than 320 branches, supplying a range of electrical items.

Acquisitions have accelerated the company's growth. The largest of these came in 2011, when the company acquired Electric Center from Wolseley plc for £40.6m.[11][12] This added a further 90 branches to the existing Edmundson network of 250 branches, giving it significant control over the market. The deal was cleared by the Office of Fair Trading in 2012[13] after the company agreed to sell a number of branches to Abbey Cross Trading Ltd.[11]

Prior to being acquired, Electric Center achieved sales of £130m earning profits of £1.5m.[14] The company has also expanded through several smaller acquisitions, including Cable Management Centre (2008),[15] Western Electrical for £3.2m (2014),[16] and Lockwell Electrical £8.8m (2015)[17][18] as well as Bennett & Fountain, Walsall, GA Nicholas and Specialist Lamp Distributors.[19]

According to a filing with Companies House, in October 2016, Marlow Investments Ltd changed the name to Plumbing And Heating Investments Ltd.[20][21] In the end of 2016, the company acquired East Anglia's leading plumbing wholesaler, Plumbcity Ltd[22][23] parent of Gallery Bathrooms Ltd, Plumbclick Ltd and Plumbclick.co.uk Ltd.

In the financial year of 2015, Plumbcity recorded revenues of £26 million. In the same month the company acquired the leading plumbers merchant in the South of England, Heating Plumbing Supplies Group Ltd[24] and its subsidiary Heating Plumbing Supplies Ltd.[24] The transaction significantly expanded the groups influence, with over 30 branches gained and revenue of more than £53 million in 2015, and adding to the pre existing presence through the East Midlands based merchant, G.B Willbond Limited.[25]

During the 2016 financial year the group acquired Cheshire Electrical Supplies Ltd, Novoplast Kunstoffen, Deutsche ADP and Oak Electrical Ltd[26] for a combined total of £83.8 million.[27]

Financial information

For 2017, total group revenue exceeded £1.8 billion.

Year	2017	2016	2015	2014	2013	2012	2011	2010
Revenue (in millions £)	1263.9	1235.6	1268.4	1159.1	1093.4	1116.7	1023.0	851.7
Operating Profit (in millions £)	62.4	59.9	71.5	65.3	56.9	63.8	55.8	54.0
As a % of revenue	4.9	4.7	5.9	5.6	5.2	5.7	5.5	6.3

Illustration of the company's structure and ownership

Marlowe Holdings Ltd

Marlowe Holdings Investments Ltd Edmundson Electrical Ltd (Acq 1979)[28]     Electric Centre (Acq 2013)[12][13]     Sentor Electrical WLL         The British Central Electrical Company Ltd     Electrical And Radio Distributors Ltd     Specialist Instrument Services Ltd     Specialist Lamp Distributors Ltd     G A Nicholas Ltd     Bennett & Fountain Ltd     Lockwell Electrical Distributors Ltd[18]     Knutsford Properties Ltd     Edmundson Export Ltd     Cable Management Centre[29][30]   EWL Electric[31]   GEC Ireland Ltd (1998)     Irwin Electrical (2005)     Eastern Electrical LimLtdited (2008)       Ryness Ltd (Acq 2011) [32][33]     Tradesparky Ltd   Zylo Ltd   Hexstone Ltd     Icon Fasteners Ltd     Jaton Ltd     JCP Fixings Ltd     Owlett Jaton Ltd     Righton Fasteners Ltd     Stainless Threaded Fasteners Ltd       G B Willbond Ltd (Acq 2016)[34]   Fullrich Ltd     Spittal Tiles (Acq 2008)[34]     Western Electrical Holding Ltd   Cornwall Electrical Wholesalers Ltd[35]     Western Electrical Wholesale Ltd     Plymouth Electrical Wholesalers Ltd[36]     Exeter Electrical Wholesalers Ltd     Kippington Road Ltd Eletricenter Ltd   Edmundson Distribution Ltd[37]       Plumbing And Heating Investments Ltd Plumbcity Ltd   Gallery Bathrooms Ltd     Plumbclick Ltd     Plumbclick.co.uk Ltd     Heating Plumbing Supplies Group Ltd   Heating Plumbing Supplies Ltd         Vink Holdings Ltd

See also

• Wolseley plc
• Wolseley UK

References

1. "Edmundson Electrical Limited - Company Information - Endole".
2. BPVA. "Vikram Solar collaborates with UK's largest electrical wholesaler Edmundson Electrical, British Photovoltaic Association (BPVA)".
3. "Home - Sentor Electrical".
4. "About Us :: EWL".
5. "Sentor Electrical WLL Profile - Zawya".
6. "Quick Chat: Sentor Electrical Middle East".
7. "Sentor Electrical - United Arab Emirates - Voltimum UK".
8. "Colburn family".
9. "Keith W. Colburn - SourceWatch".
10. "Edmundson Electrical Ltd - Royal Warrant Holders Association".
11. Ltd, Insider Media. "Edmundson's Electric Center deal set for OFT clearance".
12. News, Manchester Evening (12 July 2011). "Edmundson Electrical agrees to buy Electric Center from Wolseley UK".
13. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/556dd352e5274a121800000f/EdmundsonElectrical_FTD.pdf
14. "Wolseley sells Electric Center to Edmundson".
15. "Cable Management Centre acquired by Edmundson Electrical - www.bcms.co.uk".
16. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/539b1103ed915d106c00000e/Edmundson-Western_Electric..pdf
17. "News :: Lockwell Electrical".
18. "Marlowe Holdings Investments / Lockwell Electrical Distributors merger inquiry Competition and Markets Authority case - GOV.UK".
19. "Procurement For Housing - Edmundson Electrical".
20. "PLUMBING AND HEATING INVESTMENTS LIMITED - Filing history (free information from Companies House)".
21. "Plumbing And Heating Investments Limited - Company Information - Endole".
22. "PLUMBCITY LIMITED - Filing history (free information from Companies House)".
23. "About - Plumbcity".
24. "HEATING PLUMBING SUPPLIES LIMITED - Filing history (free information from Companies House)".
25. "Heating Plumbing Supplies Group Ltd sale completes".
26. "Oak Electrical Distributors To Join Electric Center :: Electric Center". www.electric-center.co.uk. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
27. "2016 Financial Accounts". Companies House.
28. "Norbain acquired by Newbury Investments (UK) Ltd - IFSEC Global". 2 July 2012.
29. "Cable Management Centre acquired by Edmundson Electrical - www.bcmscorp.com".
30. "CMC Cardiff".
31. "Eastern Electrical wholesaler sold to rival in €20m takeover deal - Independent.ie".
32. "Ryness sold to Marlowe Holdings".
33. "Mergers & Acquisitions 2011 - Company News Summary".
34. "History of Willbond - Plumbing Supplies".
35. "CORNWALL ELECTRICAL WHOLESALERS LIMITED - Filing history (free information from Companies House)".
36. "PLYMOUTH ELECTRICAL WHOLESALERS LIMITED - Filing history (free information from Companies House)".
37. "EDMUNDSON DISTRIBUTION LIMITED - Filing history (free information from Companies House)".

External links

• Documents and clippings about Edmundson Electrical in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW