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U.K. (FTSE) Trade Distributors Industry Analysis

UpdatedApr 05, 2026
DataAggregated Company Financials
Companies21
  • 7D3.5%
  • 3M3.6%
  • 1Y7.1%
  • YTD4.1%

Over the last 7 days, the Trade Distributors industry has risen 3.5%, driven by gains from Diploma of 6.5%. This takes the industry's 12 month performance to a gain of 7.1%. As for the next few years, earnings are expected to grow by 13% per annum.

Industry Valuation and Performance

Has the U.K. Trade Distributors Industry valuation changed over the past few years?

DateMarket CapRevenueEarningsPEAbsolute PEPS
Sun, 05 Apr 2026UK£27.1bUK£31.8bUK£932.2m15.8x29.1x0.9x
Tue, 03 Mar 2026UK£50.4bUK£39.6bUK£2.1b16.7x23.8x1.3x
Thu, 29 Jan 2026UK£47.7bUK£39.4bUK£2.1b14.7x22.7x1.2x
Sat, 27 Dec 2025UK£47.9bUK£39.6bUK£2.2b13.9x22.1x1.2x
Mon, 24 Nov 2025UK£45.5bUK£39.8bUK£2.3b14.2x20.2x1.1x
Wed, 22 Oct 2025UK£49.6bUK£39.6bUK£2.2b15x22.5x1.3x
Fri, 19 Sep 2025UK£50.1bUK£39.6bUK£2.3b14.8x21.6x1.3x
Sun, 17 Aug 2025UK£50.0bUK£39.3bUK£2.4b14.4x21.3x1.3x
Tue, 15 Jul 2025UK£47.0bUK£39.4bUK£2.4b14x19.8x1.2x
Thu, 12 Jun 2025UK£45.7bUK£39.4bUK£2.4b12.7x19.4x1.2x
Sat, 10 May 2025UK£43.7bUK£39.5bUK£2.3b13.1x18.6x1.1x
Mon, 07 Apr 2025UK£42.0bUK£39.8bUK£2.4b13x17.5x1.1x
Wed, 05 Mar 2025UK£46.7bUK£40.1bUK£2.4b12.3x19.1x1.2x
Fri, 31 Jan 2025UK£53.0bUK£40.1bUK£2.5b13.9x21.5x1.3x
Sun, 29 Dec 2024UK£51.6bUK£40.1bUK£2.5b13.2x20.7x1.3x
Tue, 26 Nov 2024UK£59.4bUK£39.5bUK£2.5b12.5x23.7x1.5x
Thu, 24 Oct 2024UK£58.0bUK£39.2bUK£2.5b14.2x23.4x1.5x
Sat, 21 Sep 2024UK£58.1bUK£38.9bUK£2.4b16.2x24x1.5x
Mon, 19 Aug 2024UK£54.6bUK£39.3bUK£2.6b16.1x21.4x1.4x
Wed, 17 Jul 2024UK£57.1bUK£39.9bUK£3.0b14x18.9x1.4x
Fri, 14 Jun 2024UK£56.8bUK£39.9bUK£3.1b13.1x18.6x1.4x
Sun, 12 May 2024UK£58.6bUK£40.1bUK£3.2b13.8x18.4x1.5x
Tue, 09 Apr 2024UK£55.4bUK£40.0bUK£3.2b13.4x17.4x1.4x
Thu, 07 Mar 2024UK£53.1bUK£39.9bUK£3.2b12.4x16.6x1.3x
Sat, 03 Feb 2024UK£54.4bUK£40.5bUK£3.5b11.3x15.7x1.3x
Mon, 01 Jan 2024UK£55.2bUK£40.4bUK£3.5b11.1x16x1.4x
Wed, 29 Nov 2023UK£48.1bUK£39.7bUK£3.0b10.8x16.1x1.2x
Fri, 27 Oct 2023UK£45.5bUK£40.0bUK£3.1b9.9x14.6x1.1x
Sun, 24 Sep 2023UK£49.6bUK£39.9bUK£3.1b11.8x15.9x1.2x
Tue, 22 Aug 2023UK£49.6bUK£38.9bUK£3.1b11.1x16.2x1.3x
Thu, 20 Jul 2023UK£51.1bUK£38.8bUK£3.1b10.8x16.5x1.3x
Sat, 17 Jun 2023UK£52.3bUK£38.9bUK£3.2b10.8x16.3x1.3x
Mon, 15 May 2023UK£50.0bUK£38.5bUK£3.2b10.2x15.8x1.3x
Wed, 12 Apr 2023UK£48.0bUK£38.5bUK£3.2b13x15.2x1.2x
Price to Earnings Ratio

15.2x


Total Market Cap: UK£48.0bTotal Earnings: UK£3.2bTotal Revenue: UK£38.5bTotal Market Cap vs Earnings and Revenue0%0%0%
U.K. Trade Distributors Industry Price to Earnings3Y Average 19.3x202420252026
Current Industry PE
  • Investors are optimistic on the British Trade Distributors industry, and appear confident in long term growth rates.
  • The industry is trading at a PE ratio of 29.1x which is higher than its 3-year average PE of 19.3x.
  • The 3-year average PS ratio of 1.3x is higher than the industry's current PS ratio of 0.85x.
Past Earnings Growth
  • The earnings for companies in the Trade Distributors industry have declined 33% per year over the last three years,
  • Revenues have also declined 6.2% per year.
  • This means overall sales from these companies are declining and profits are subsequently falling as well.

Industry Trends

Which industries have driven the changes within the U.K. Industrials industry?

GB Market4.54%
Industrials6.08%
Trade Distributors3.53%
Trade Companies and Distributors3.53%
Industry PEThere are no additional sub-industries under this industry.
Forecasted GrowthThere are no additional sub-industries under this industry.

Top Stock Gainers and Losers

Which companies have driven the market over the last 7 days?

CompanyLast Price7D1YValuation
DPLM DiplomaUK£62.256.5%
+UK£509.6m		67.3%PE45.1x
BNZL BunzlUK£22.544.2%
+UK£288.9m		-25.1%PE15.8x
HWDN Howden Joinery GroupUK£7.992.5%
+UK£105.1m		17.4%PE16.1x
BRCK BRCK GroupUK£0.5229.4%
+UK£38.4m		-6.4%PE15.8x
AT. Ashtead Technology HoldingsUK£4.325.8%
+UK£18.9m		-7.1%PE10.8x

Latest News

SDY
UK£0.19
Speedy Hire
7D
-5.1%
1Y
6.8%
HWDN
UK£7.99
Howden Joinery Group
7D
2.5%
1Y
17.4%
DPLM
UK£62.25
Diploma
7D
6.5%
1Y
67.3%

DPLM: 2026 Guidance And Bank Revisions Will Support Premium P/E View

The analyst price target for Diploma has moved higher to £66.56. This change is supported by recent target upgrades from multiple banks and updated assumptions around modestly higher revenue growth, profit margins, and a slightly lower future P/E multiple.
BRCK
UK£0.52
BRCK Group
7D
29.4%
1Y
-6.4%
AT.
UK£4.32
Ashtead Technology Holdings
7D
5.8%
1Y
-7.1%

Ashtead Technology Holdings' (LON:AT.) Shareholders May Want To Dig Deeper Than Statutory Profit

Mar 28
Ashtead Technology Holdings' (LON:AT.) Shareholders May Want To Dig Deeper Than Statutory Profit
FLO
UK£0.43
Flowtech Fluidpower
7D
-5.1%
1Y
-22.4%
SHI
UK£0.085
SIG
7D
-2.6%
1Y
-30.2%
RS1
UK£5.60
RS Group
7D
-1.0%
1Y
9.7%

RS1: Reliability Solutions And Overweight Rating Will Support 2026 Upside Potential

Analysts have trimmed the RS Group price target to £7.70 from £7.90, reflecting slightly updated fair value and P/E assumptions. They still indicate an outlook they view as supportive for the shares.
BNZL
UK£22.54
Bunzl
7D
4.2%
1Y
-25.1%

BNZL: Share Buybacks And Steady Dividends Will Underpin Post Downgrade Recovery

Analysts have trimmed their Bunzl price target slightly to reflect a fair value of £24.82. This is supported by small adjustments to long term revenue growth, profit margin assumptions and the future P/E multiple, following a recent downgrade highlighted in Street research.
MACF
UK£0.66
Macfarlane Group
7D
5.4%
1Y
-31.5%

MACF: Stable Assumptions And Slightly Higher P/E Will Support Future Upside

Macfarlane Group's analyst price target has been left broadly unchanged at around £0.91. Analysts point to only marginal tweaks to assumptions for discount rate, revenue growth, profit margin and forward P/E that do not materially alter their view of fair value.
PRO
UK£0.047
ProService Building Services Marketplace
7D
-8.1%
1Y
-28.4%
AVAP
UK£1.27
Avation
7D
2.6%
1Y
-4.0%
ASY
UK£4.64
Andrews Sykes Group
7D
-4.3%
1Y
-7.9%
VP.
UK£4.46
Vp
7D
1.4%
1Y
-12.5%
LORD
UK£0.17
Lords Group Trading
7D
-10.4%
1Y
-32.4%

Lords Group Trading's (LON:LORD) Returns On Capital Not Reflecting Well On The Business

Jan 28
Lords Group Trading's (LON:LORD) Returns On Capital Not Reflecting Well On The Business