Gains for Travis Perkins in retail business

The consumer division of Travis Perkins, a building supplies group which includes Wickes, the British DIY chain, as well as the Tile Giant and Toolstation sales channels, grew its sales by 2.4 per cent to GBP 1.180 bn in 2013. The increase in like-for-like terms amounts to 1.0 per cent. Wickes had 229 stores at the end of the year 2013, following six openings and one closure. The expectation is for some seven stores to be added this year. Tile Giant had 108 outlets at the cutoff date, and Toolstation numbered 152.