Decorating family scoops £80m sale

A FAMILY-owned chain of decorators’ merchants has been sold for more than £80m.

DIY materials firm Grafton Group has bought London-based Leyland SDM, which was founded in 1985 by Andrew Urban, 75.

Leyland has 21 stores in the capital, including in upmarket areas such as Chelsea, Kensington and Notting Hill. The firm also has warehousing and offices in Wembley, where it is based.

Until the takeover, it was still entirely owned by the Urban family, according to filings with Companies House. The founder’s 40-year-old son, also called Andrew, was listed as the company’s proprietor most recently. He and his father have since resigned as directors.

The business reported sales of £47.8m in the year to December 31, according to Grafton, up about 5.3pc on the previous year. It had earnings of £7.3m over the same period and assets worth £10m.

The Urban family could not be reached for comment yesterday.