The south east hardware independent Poores of Acton has been bought by independent builder's merchant Lawsons.
Poores, which trades from two branches in Acton, west London, and Chorleywood, Hertfordshire, is a family business dating back nearly 200 years. Lawsons is the largest independent supplier of timber, building and fencing materials in London and the south east.

Lawsons' procurement and marketing director Mike Hillier told diyweek.net that the company would not be making any changes in the foreseeable future to the Chorleywood branch.

"It's in a high street location and they are a very different business model to a traditional Lawsons branch," he said. "It's a very nice branch and we would like it to continue to trade in its current format.

"The Acton branch is more of a DIY centre and has a gas distribution business, and at some stage over the next year we will look to incorporate the products that Lawsons sell into that location. We believe we can add a lot of value to the Acton branch."

He added: "Lawsons as a business will continue to grow going forward, and this is just an opportunity to do exactly that and learn from what Poores do."

Read more in the November 29-December 6 issue of DIY Week.