Williams & Co is one of the largest independent plumbers' merchants in the South, with branches at Fareham, Portsmouth, Petersfield, Southampton, Gosport, Littlehampton, Bognor, Chichester, Winchester, Worthing, Guildford, Aldershot, Andover, Brighton, Basingstoke, Crawley, Reading, Slough, Croydon, Maidstone, Gillingham, Tunbridge Wells, Crayford, Esher, Eastbourne and the new Branch in Hastings opened on 5th August 2013.

History

Williams and Co was founded in 1972, as a specialist Plumbing and Heating merchant, trading out of a corner shop in Ernest Road, Portsmouth. We became a Private Limited Company in 1984 and the Portsmouth premises have been relocated twice, first to New Road, Portsmouth and more recently to Claybank Road, Portsmouth where we are still trading today.

During the late 1980's and early 1990's, four more branches were added in Fareham (which is also home to our Head Office), Petersfield, Southampton and Gosport. Further expansion saw us open branches in Littlehampton, Bognor, Chichester and Winchester. In 2007 we opened branches in Worthing, Guildford and Aldershot and in February 2008 Andover became the thirteenth branch. Branch number fourteen opened in Brighton in May 2008 and our fifteenth branch opened in Basingstoke in December 2009. In October 2010 we opened our 16th branch in Crawley which was promptly followed by our 17th branch in Reading in November that year. Slough and Croydon were opened early 2011, followed by Maidstone in August 2011, Gillingham in December 2011, Tunbridge Wells in February 2012, Crayford in May 2012, Esher in August 2012 and Eastbourne in March 2013.

The founder, Mick Williams is Executive Chairman and majority shareholder, with Ray Stafford as Managing Director and Rachel Moore as Financial Director. Ann Williams became a non-executive Director in May 2011.

Business Activity

Our main activity is the sale of plumbing, heating and bathroom materials to trades people, housing developers, local authorities, government departments and other Merchants. We are a strictly Trade Only establishment, which means we will only sell our products to bona fide trades people, and not the general public. This is to protect our customers ensuring that they can make a decent margin.

Please click here to see our presentation on the unique way we run our business

Statistics

The company:

    • employs approximately 160 people across its 26 sites
    • turns over approximately £35 million per annum
    • holds an average of £5.5 million worth of stock across 8,000 product lines
    • services over 3,750 customer accounts with 1,000`s more regular cash customers

Major Customers

The company is pleased to include in its customer list:

     • Hyde-Martlett Ltd
     • Portsmouth University
     • Portsmouth City Council
     • Southampton City Council
     • Highbury College
     • Eastleigh College
     • Drum Housing Association
     • Fareham Borough Council
     • Ministry of Defence

© Williams & Co 2011