BUILDING products supplier Wolseley UK has agreed to sell two of its businesses to Saint-Gobain in deals amounting to more than £300 million.

Wolseley, which employs 380 people in Ripon, said the move fitted with its ambition to focus its efforts and investment on businesses that are of sufficient scale and which are equipped to compete successfully for market leadership.

It has agreed to sell the £360 million-turnover Build Center business, which employs about 1,600 people across 155 branches, to Saint-Gobain business Jewson in a deal worth £145 million deal, subject to regulatory review by the European Commission.

Saint-Gobain and Wolseley have also entered exclusive negotiations for the acquisition of Brossette, Wolseley’s French business, which distributes plumbing, heating and sanitary products in France, for £163.9 million. The deals follow the sale of its Electric Center business to Edmundson Electrical earlier this month.

Wolseley said it would be will be reviewing the support services activities provided to its businesses as a result of the intended sales, but said it remained committed to staying in its Ripon office site.

Steve Ashmore, managing director of Wolseley UK, said: “I truly believe that selling these businesses sets them free to realise their full potential. Equally importantly, it enables Wolseley UK to provide our remaining businesses with the level of investment and dedication needed to achieve the aim of becoming the best merchant in all our chosen markets.”