Crofton Reaps KBP Reward
Few entrepreneurs will begrudge John Crofton his reward after he recently sold Kildare Builders Providers (KBP) to Brooks Group. The venture was established in 2006 by Crofton and Conleth McCarthy, with the latter’s Finn McCarthy & Son Ltd funding the venture and owning 75% of the equity. The timing for the startup was unlucky, and the company suffered from the property crash fallout. BBP’s 2016 accounts filing stated “the company is insolvent at the balance sheet date”.
In June 2016, McCarthy exited the business and during the year KBP restructured its bank loans, bank overdraft and inter-company loans. The inter-company write-off to Finn McCarthy & Son Ltd was €520,000 and bank debt of €367,000 was written off. The result was
shareholders’ funds improving from a deficit of €1.5m in December 2015 to a deficit of €100,000 a year later.
Prior to the Brooks sale, Crofton (65) had steered KBP back to rude health. The business booked a net profit of €220,000 in 2021 and net worth at year-end was €546,000. Period-end trade debtors were €440,000, balance sheet cash was €705,000 and total liabilities amounted to €1.1m.
Another substantial 2022 deal in the same sector was private equityowned Wolseley Group’s acquisition of Heat Merchants, Tubs & Tiles, Hevac Group, and multiple related companies. Heat Merchants, which focuses on the heating and plumbing sector, has 31 branches and a warehouse and distribution hub in Athlone. Tubs & Tiles is the largest tile and bathroom retailer in Ireland, with 12 showrooms. Hevac specialises in heating systems to the commercial, industrial, and residential sectors.
Washglade Ltd, the operating company for Heat Merchants and Tubs & Tiles, had turnover of €94m in 2021 and reported an operating profit of €7.6m. Net worth in December 2021 was €32m, including balance sheet cash of €20m. Washglade was owned by Seamus English (54) and members of his family.