Wolseley Pulls Plug on Irish Arm
Plumbing and central heating supplier Wolseley agreed to sell its Irish unit for €26.5 million to concentrate on its core business in Britain. The firm, which trades as Plumb Center and Build Center in the UK, offloaded loss-making Wolseley Ireland Holding Limited to private buyer WIBHM. The unit operates as Heat Merchants, Brookes and Tubs & Tiles in Ireland, and has 67 branches and about 650 staff. It had losses of €34 million last year. The disposal was expected after Wolseley said in September that it would restructure and focus on Britain, the US and Scandinavia.

