SIG hits the roof with latest acquisition paying £3.5m for French distributor

Sheffield-based SIG said the infill acquisition is in line with its strategy of expanding its French roofing business, Lariviere, in the South of France.

The deal will also strengthen its offering in flat roofing, which SIG sees as an attractive segment of the market. Sodimat is being sold by the Sitbon family, who founded the business.

Sodimat made a pre-tax profit of £430,000 last year and had gross assets of £1.1m at the end of last year.

SIG, which is headed up by chief executive Stuart Mitchell, has been on a spending spree over the past year as it strengthens its core operations.

Earlier this month it bought Dutch air conditioning firm Inatherm for up to £6m.

SIG said it would buy the specialist distributor for an up-front cash payment of £3.8m plus a deferred cash consideration of £600,000 payable in January 2016.

It will also pay an earn-out cash consideration of up to £1.6m dependent on the performance of the business over the period to December 2016.

SIG said the infill acquisition will strengthen its position in the mainland European air handling market.

Air handling units are ​used to manage the supply and extraction​ of conditioned air into large spaces such as offices, retail, leisure centres and schools.

SIG reported a 9.4 per cent jump in revenue from continuing operations ​in​ the first four months of ​2014, as a string of small acquisitions mitigated the impact of a strong pound.

SIG, which supplies roofing materials, insulation and interior fittings, said trading in the UK and Ireland, which accounts for slightly less than half of its revenue, continued to be stronger than in mainland Europe.

The company made eight acquisitions last year, mostly in the roofing materials business and most of them in Britain.