Investing IdeasBrowse All StocksMarkets
Have your own idea? Try our Stock Screener
Header cover image

U.K. (FTSE) Trade Companies and Distributors Industry Analysis

UpdatedJul 04, 2026
DataAggregated Company Financials
Companies21
  • 7D0.7%
  • 3M12.2%
  • 1Y14.4%
  • YTDn/a

The Trade Companies and Distributors industry has been flat over the last week, but Howden Joinery Group has lost 3.1%. As for the the longer term, the industry is up 14% over the past 12 months. Looking forward, earnings are forecast to grow by 13% annually.

Industry Valuation and Performance

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

DateMarket CapRevenueEarningsPEAbsolute PEPS
Sun, 05 Jul 2026UK£30.3bUK£31.9bUK£911.5m15.4x33.3x1x
Tue, 02 Jun 2026UK£28.6bUK£31.9bUK£939.9m15.5x30.4x0.9x
Thu, 30 Apr 2026UK£28.3bUK£31.7bUK£932.4m14.8x30.4x0.9x
Sat, 28 Mar 2026UK£26.2bUK£31.8bUK£932.2m15.1x28.1x0.8x
Mon, 23 Feb 2026UK£49.1bUK£39.6bUK£2.1b14.7x23.2x1.2x
Wed, 21 Jan 2026UK£47.0bUK£39.6bUK£2.1b14.1x22.2x1.2x
Fri, 19 Dec 2025UK£49.2bUK£39.7bUK£2.2b14.1x22.6x1.2x
Sun, 16 Nov 2025UK£46.0bUK£39.7bUK£2.2b14.5x20.7x1.2x
Tue, 14 Oct 2025UK£49.1bUK£39.6bUK£2.2b15.6x22.2x1.2x
Thu, 11 Sep 2025UK£50.6bUK£39.5bUK£2.3b15.1x21.8x1.3x
Sat, 09 Aug 2025UK£49.0bUK£39.4bUK£2.4b14.4x20.8x1.2x
Mon, 07 Jul 2025UK£47.2bUK£39.3bUK£2.4b14.2x20.1x1.2x
Wed, 04 Jun 2025UK£45.0bUK£39.4bUK£2.4b12.9x19.1x1.1x
Fri, 02 May 2025UK£42.4bUK£39.5bUK£2.4b13.8x18x1.1x
Sun, 30 Mar 2025UK£45.1bUK£39.9bUK£2.4b14.2x18.7x1.1x
Tue, 25 Feb 2025UK£50.9bUK£40.0bUK£2.4b12.7x20.8x1.3x
Thu, 23 Jan 2025UK£54.1bUK£40.2bUK£2.5b13.6x21.9x1.3x
Sat, 21 Dec 2024UK£51.9bUK£40.1bUK£2.5b13.2x20.8x1.3x
Mon, 18 Nov 2024UK£58.2bUK£39.4bUK£2.5b13.6x23.3x1.5x
Wed, 16 Oct 2024UK£57.8bUK£39.1bUK£2.5b14.3x23.4x1.5x
Fri, 13 Sep 2024UK£56.3bUK£39.0bUK£2.4b15.8x23x1.4x
Sun, 11 Aug 2024UK£53.8bUK£39.5bUK£2.6b15.8x20.9x1.4x
Tue, 09 Jul 2024UK£54.2bUK£40.0bUK£3.0b14x17.9x1.4x
Thu, 06 Jun 2024UK£55.9bUK£39.9bUK£3.1b13.6x18.1x1.4x
Sat, 04 May 2024UK£56.3bUK£40.1bUK£3.2b13.9x17.7x1.4x
Mon, 01 Apr 2024UK£55.7bUK£40.0bUK£3.2b13.6x17.5x1.4x
Wed, 28 Feb 2024UK£54.7bUK£40.0bUK£3.5b11x15.6x1.4x
Fri, 26 Jan 2024UK£53.3bUK£40.4bUK£3.5b11.3x15.4x1.3x
Sun, 24 Dec 2023UK£55.0bUK£40.3bUK£3.4b11.1x16.2x1.4x
Tue, 21 Nov 2023UK£47.6bUK£39.7bUK£3.0b11x15.7x1.2x
Thu, 19 Oct 2023UK£46.7bUK£40.0bUK£3.1b10.2x15x1.2x
Sat, 16 Sep 2023UK£49.8bUK£39.8bUK£3.1b11.3x16x1.3x
Mon, 14 Aug 2023UK£51.9bUK£39.0bUK£3.1b11.2x17x1.3x
Wed, 12 Jul 2023UK£49.6bUK£38.9bUK£3.2b10.3x15.6x1.3x
Price to Earnings Ratio

15.6x


Total Market Cap: UK£49.6bTotal Earnings: UK£3.2bTotal Revenue: UK£38.9bTotal Market Cap vs Earnings and Revenue0%0%0%
U.K. Trade Companies and Distributors Industry Price to Earnings3Y Average 20.6x202420252026
Current Industry PE
  • Investors are optimistic on the British Trading Companies and Distributors industry, and appear confident in long term growth rates.
  • The industry is trading at a PE ratio of 33.3x which is higher than its 3-year average PE of 20.6x.
  • The 3-year average PS ratio of 1.2x is higher than the industry's current PS ratio of 0.95x.
Past Earnings Growth
  • The earnings for companies in the Trading Companies and Distributors industry have declined 34% per year over the last three years,
  • Revenues have also declined 6.4% per year.
  • This means overall sales from these companies are declining and profits are subsequently falling as well.

Industry Comparison

How does U.K. Trade Companies and Distributors compare with similar industries?

GB Market1.61%
Industrials4.22%
Trade Distributors0.73%
Trade Companies and Distributors0.73%
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
BNZL BunzlUK£26.902.0%
+UK£173.3m		15.0%PE18.8x
DPLM DiplomaUK£72.001.5%
+UK£140.8m		48.7%PE51x
RS1 RS GroupUK£6.274.5%
+UK£125.1m		7.8%PE17.9x
LTHM James LathamUK£10.804.9%
+UK£13.9m		-5.7%PE16.2x
BMT Braime GroupUK£14.5026.1%
+UK£4.3m		56.8%PE7.7x

Latest News

LTHM
UK£10.80
James Latham
7D
4.9%
1Y
-5.7%
BMT
UK£14.50
Braime Group
7D
26.1%
1Y
56.8%
DPLM
UK£72.00
Diploma
7D
1.5%
1Y
48.7%
VP.
UK£4.80
Vp
7D
-3.0%
1Y
-20.0%
TPK
UK£5.65
Travis Perkins
7D
-1.8%
1Y
-5.0%
Narrative Update • Jun 30

TPK: Rebased P/E Assumptions And Dividend Strength Will Support Future Upside

Analysts have trimmed their price targets for Travis Perkins, with recent research indicating cuts of £50 to £55 per share. This reflects updated views on revenue growth, margins and appropriate P/E levels for the stock.
SDY
UK£0.20
Speedy Hire
7D
-6.1%
1Y
-35.5%
Narrative Update • Jun 29

SDY: Lower Dividend And Margin Reset Will Support Future Re Rating

Analysts have lowered their implied fair value estimate for Speedy Hire from £0.55 to £0.41, citing updated assumptions for slower revenue growth, slimmer profit margins, and a higher future P/E multiple in their latest price target work. What's in the News for Speedy Hire Speedy Hire proposed a final dividend for the fiscal year ended 31 March 2026 of 0.70 pence per share, with an expected cash cost of about £3.2 million.
BNZL
UK£26.90
Bunzl
7D
2.0%
1Y
15.0%
Narrative Update • Jun 29

BNZL: Updated Guidance And Activist Push Will Shape Future Margin Support

Bunzl's updated analyst price target has been raised to £3,000 from £2,800, with analysts pointing to modest adjustments in fair value estimates, the discount rate, revenue growth, profit margin and future P/E assumptions to support the change. Analyst Commentary Recent research on Bunzl highlights a cluster of higher price targets, with analysts fine tuning their assumptions on fair value, discount rates and future P/E to reflect how they see the company executing over time.
LORD
UK£0.16
Lords Group Trading
7D
6.8%
1Y
-67.5%
Narrative Update • Jun 26

LORD: Dividend Reset Will Support Improved Prospects For Future Returns

Analysts have reduced their fair value estimate for Lords Group Trading to £0.19 from £0.35, reflecting updated assumptions for revenue growth, profit margins, a slightly higher discount rate, and a modestly lower future P/E multiple. What’s in the News for Lords Group Trading Lords Group Trading held its AGM on 18 June 2026, where shareholders approved a final dividend of 0.20 pence per ordinary share for the financial year ended 31 December 2025.
MACF
UK£0.65
Macfarlane Group
7D
-4.0%
1Y
-44.3%
Narrative Update • Jun 24

MACF: Steady Assumptions Will Support Future Upside Potential

Analysts have kept their fair value estimate for Macfarlane Group unchanged at £0.91. The slight tweaks in discount rate, revenue growth, profit margin and future P/E assumptions reflect only minor model refinements rather than a shift in the overall price target view.
GFTU
UK£9.04
Grafton Group
7D
-0.9%
1Y
-9.1%
Narrative Update • Jun 23

GFTU: Dividend Outlook Will Underpin Upside Despite Geopolitical Trading Headwinds

Analysts have adjusted their outlook on Grafton Group with a revised price target of £11.00 compared with the prior £11.50, citing a more challenging trading backdrop in March and April linked to rising geopolitical uncertainty, as well as modest tweaks to discount rate, revenue growth, profit margin and future P/E assumptions. What’s in the News for Grafton Group Grafton Group approved a final dividend of 27.0 pence per ordinary share for the year ended 31 December 2025 at its Annual General Meeting held on 15 May 2026.
BRCK
UK£0.49
BRCK Group
7D
-3.4%
1Y
-23.3%
HWDN
UK£8.33
Howden Joinery Group
7D
-3.1%
1Y
0.2%
Narrative Update • Jun 18

HWDN: Final 2025 Dividend Will Support Bullish Share Price Repricing

Analysts have trimmed their fair value estimate for Howden Joinery Group slightly to £10.02 from £10.05, reflecting updated assumptions around revenue growth, profit margins and the discount rate, while keeping future P/E expectations broadly in line with previous views. What's in the News for Howden Joinery Group Howden Joinery Group shareholders approved a final dividend for 2025 of 16.9 pence per share at the AGM held on 7 May 2026.
RS1
UK£6.27
RS Group
7D
4.5%
1Y
7.8%
Narrative Update • Jun 17

RS1: Downgrades And Weaker Revenue Outlook Will Restrain Future Share Re Rating

RS Group's analyst price target has shifted modestly, moving slightly towards £7.80 per share as analysts weigh lower revenue growth expectations against firmer margin assumptions and adjusted P/E forecasts. Analyst Commentary Recent research on RS Group shows a mix of opinions, but the tone around the stock has leaned cautious as several bearish analysts adjust their views and price targets.
ASY
UK£5.60
Andrews Sykes Group
7D
1.4%
1Y
5.2%
AT.
UK£4.09
Ashtead Technology Holdings
7D
-8.5%
1Y
-7.4%
AVAP
UK£1.37
Avation
7D
0.4%
1Y
-12.7%