Heating and plumbing products supplier Wolseley said it would close 80 UK branches and a distribution centre, leading to up to 800 job losses, as it looks to streamline its UK business, which has been facing tough competition.

The company said the steps would take two or three years to implement, resulting in restructuring charges of about £100 million (€115 million) and expected annualised cost savings of £25 million to £30 million.

Wolseley said its end markets remained mixed with some uncertainty in the economic outlook, after reporting a record trading profit of £917 million for the year ended July 31st, up 7 per cent from a year earlier. – (Reuters)