West London-based Lords Builders Merchants has acquired Kings Langley Building Supplies.

KLBS operates from three sites in the home counties – Kings Langley, Aylesbury and Watford – and has been owned by Jim Rance and his wife Marie since 1978. The acquisition allows Lords to expand beyond West London and adds three great branches to its existing sites.

Both busineses are members of the H&B Buying Group, and this is Lords' fourth takeover of a fellow H&B member.

Tim Holton, Lords Acquisitions & Integrations Director, said: “KLBS is a great addition to the Lords Group as it has fantastic locations which are ideally suited to our network. We will be investing in these branches to bring them in line with our existing branch offering and a five-year investment plan is being created.

“Working with Jim Rance on the transaction over the last few months has brought out the synergies between the two companies, especially in relation to customer and staff loyalty. We are committed to maintaining KLBS’s reputation while modernising its premises and increasing the range of services and products available to customers.

“We wish to acknowledge the assistance of Collins M&A Consultants, who were lead advisers to KLBS and provided a professional service throughout the sale and purchase process.”

With this latest acquisition, Lords will operate from six large heavyside branches, a George Lines civils branch and two branches under the Hevey Building Supplies brand. The Lords Group has a target of becoming a top ten merchant within the next five years and will be continuing to seek further acquisitions.