Sales

at the owner of plumbing firm Wolseley sprung a leak last month. Heating giant Ferguson said growth slowed in September after a strong year. “It is too early to attribute it to anything in particular,” boss John Martin said.

Around 90% of Ferguson’s business is in the US, which had a bumper year.

However, its UK arm saw sales drop 5.3% last year and group profits fell 16% to £915million.