What Leyland SDM does

Leyland SDM is a London-based independent decorating and DIY retail chain founded in 1985, operating 36 physical stores across the capital plus an e-commerce website. The company serves three primary customer segments — DIY homeowners undertaking home improvement, trade professionals (painters, decorators, contractors) needing ongoing supply, and property managers handling maintenance and facilities work. Stores are open seven days a week and are distributed across most major London neighbourhoods, from Acton and Ealing in the west to Hackney and Mile End in the east, and from Cricklewood and Finchley Road in the north to Streatham and Tooting in the south.

The company's core product offering centres on paint and decorating supplies — interior and exterior paints, designer paints (Farrow & Ball), specialist coatings, decorating tools, wallpaper, and woodcare — complemented by fillers, silicones and sealants, building and hardware, electrical and lighting, plumbing and heating, tools and workwear, gardening, household and cleaning, and timber and sheet materials. Brand partnerships with Dulux Trade (with in-store colour mixing), Farrow & Ball, Leyland Trade, and its own private-label SDM Coatings underpin the range. The technology layer is a standard retail e-commerce platform with store locator, Click & Collect across all 36 sites, next working day UK delivery, and trade account services; no proprietary AI, data, or platform technology is disclosed.

Commercially, Leyland SDM generates revenue through one-time product sales both in-store and online, with pricing spanning budget items at £2.99-9.99, mid-range paints and tools at £10-50, and premium designer paints at £35.50-100 and premium woodcare up to £160. Its go-to-market is omnichannel: physical retail for impulse, trade, and colour-matching use cases, plus e-commerce with UK-wide delivery and Click & Collect for convenience-led purchases. Marketing is lightweight — Instagram, monthly email newsletter with a £10 first-order incentive, a CSR-focused blog, and brand-led promotional events.

Name

Leyland SDM

Legal name

Leyland SDM

Website

https://leylandsdm.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Leyland SDM is a London-based independent decorating and DIY retailer operating 36 stores across the city alongside an e-commerce website. It serves DIY homeowners, professional decorators, and property managers with paints, decorating tools, building materials, and related home improvement supplies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Retail Product Sales: Brick-and-mortar and e-commerce sales of decorating and DIY products including paints, tools, building materials, and hardware. Revenue generated through one-time product transactions both in-store and online.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Leyland SDM is a London-based decorating and DIY retail specialist operating 36 physical stores across the city alongside an e-commerce website. The company sells paints (interior, exterior, designer, trade, and specialist coatings), decorating tools, building materials, hardware, electrical, plumbing, gardening, and timber products to both DIY homeowners and trade professionals, with Click & Collect, next-day UK delivery, in-store colour mixing, and dedicated trade accounts.

Product overview

Leyland SDM operates as a physical and online decorating and DIY retailer offering a comprehensive range of home improvement products across 36 stores in London. The product portfolio centers on paint and decorating supplies (interior/exterior paints, designer paints from Farrow & Ball, specialist coatings, decorating tools, woodcare, wallpaper), complemented by building materials (fillers, silicones, sealants, adhesives), hardware (metalwork, tiling supplies), electrical supplies, gardening products, household items, plumbing/heating, tools and workwear, and timber/sheet materials. Key brand partnerships include Dulux Trade (with in-store colour mixing), Farrow & Ball, Leyland Trade (own brand), and other trade brands like Zinsser, Ronseal, Hamilton, and Seagull. The business also offers trade accounts, paint colour mixing services, and click & collect.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SDM Coatings: Private label brand for decorators caulk, masonry filler, and silicone products sold exclusively through Leyland SDM stores.
• SDM

Products and services

• Paint & Decorating Supplies Core product category encompassing interior paints, exterior paints, designer paints, specialist coatings, decorating tools, surface preparation products, wallpaper, woodcare, and spray paint. Available across all 36 London stores and online for DIY consumers and trade professionals.
• Fillers, Putty & Caulk Building materials including decorators caulk, wall fillers, surface fillers, masonry fillers, and glazing putty for interior and exterior applications. Available across the retail store network and online.
• Silicones, Sealants & Adhesives Sealing and bonding products including multi-purpose silicones, construction adhesives, wood adhesives, tile adhesives, frame sealants, and sanitary sealants. Sold in-store and online.
• Building & Hardware General building supplies including applicating tools, ladders and platforms, metalwork and profiles, tiling and flooring materials, building materials, hardware, and security products. Sold across the 36 London stores and online.
• Electrical & Lighting Electrical supplies including cable and cable management, domestic electrical products, lighting fixtures, and wiring accessories. Available in-store and online.
• Gardening & Landscaping Outdoor products including garden tools, hose, and accessories for gardening and landscaping projects. Sold in-store and online.
• Household & Cleaning Home essentials including cleaning accessories, kitchen hardware and cabinetry, pest control products, waste management, buckets, cleaning products, hardware and fittings, and signs. Available in-store and online.
• Plumbing & Heating Plumbing supplies including general plumbing products, drainage and guttering, heating solutions, and ventilation equipment. Available in-store and online.
• Tools & Workwear Tools and safety equipment including power tools, handtools, power tool accessories, safety and workwear apparel, and tool storage solutions. Available in-store and online.
• Timber & Sheet Materials Wood materials including mouldings (skirting, architraves in various woods), sheet materials (chipboard, MDF, plywood, OSB, melamine), timber (PSE, sawn and treated timber), and wall panelling. Available in-store and online.
• Dulux Trade Range Professional-grade paints from Dulux featuring trade vinyl matt, trade diamond matt, trade quick dry satinwood, trade weathershield exterior products, with colour mixing available in-store. Targeted at trade professionals and serious DIY consumers.
• Farrow & Ball Designer Paints Premium designer paint brand including Estate Emulsion, Estate Eggshell, Modern Emulsion, and other high-end finishes priced £35.50-£100. Targeted at premium DIY consumers, designers, and trade professionals working on high-end projects.
• Trade Account Service Dedicated trade account program for professional decorators, contractors, and trade businesses. Provides access to trade-grade products, bulk purchasing, paint colour mixing service, and ongoing supply for contract work.
• In-Store Paint Colour Mixing Custom paint colour mixing service available in all 36 London stores, enabling customers to obtain bespoke paint colours matched to specifications. Available to DIY consumers and trade professionals.
• Click & Collect Click & Collect service allowing customers to order online and collect in-store from any of the 36 London locations. Available seven days a week.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• DuluxcoreOthersKey brand partnership for Dulux Trade range. Stores offer Dulux trade paints with colour mixing available in-store. Featured brand in promotional events and trade weeks.
• Farrow & BallcoreOthersPremium designer paint brand stocked in stores. Offers estate emulsion, estate eggshell, and modern emulsion finishes at price points from £35.50-£100.
• Leyland TradecoreOthersHouse brand paint products including vinyl matt, acrylic eggshell, primer undercoat, and hardwearing finishes. Core range of trade-quality paints.
• Age UK WandsworthminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCharitable partnership involving donation of paint and decorating materials to support charity facilities. Community engagement initiative.
• Barnardo's Building Hope AcademyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerEmployability skills partnership offering work experience opportunities for unemployed teenagers at Leyland stores in Streatham and Dulwich.
• Hackney FoodbankminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCharitable donations of masonry paint and rollers to support foodbank's new warehouse facilities.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Toolstation: UK trade tools and hardware supplier owned by Travis Perkins. Comparable to Leyland SDM for trade customers needing tools, hardware, and accessories, with a strong Click & Collect model and trade account pricing.
• Brewers Decorator Centres: UK's largest specialist decorator merchant with national branch network. Most direct comparable to Leyland SDM on the decorating-focused side, offering trade accounts, colour mixing, and premium brand partnerships.
• Screwfix: UK trade-focused retailer (Kingfisher subsidiary) serving builders, tradespeople, and serious DIYers. Direct comparable for Leyland SDM's trade segment, with strong product depth, click & collect, and trade account programs.
• Wickes: UK-based DIY and home improvement retailer with stores across the country. Directly comparable as a multi-category DIY merchant serving both trade and consumer segments with paint, decorating, building materials, and kitchens/bathrooms.
• Dulux Decorator Centres: Decorator-focused merchant network owned by AkzoNobel, stocking Dulux and complementary trade brands. Direct peer for the trade paint and decorating segment with strong Dulux alignment.

Broad incumbents

• Kingfisher plc: Parent of B&Q, Screwfix, and Castorama. Publicly listed home improvement group providing the most direct comparability for unit economics, retail format performance, and trade/consumer split benchmarks relevant to Leyland SDM.
• Homebase: UK home and garden improvement retailer offering paints, decorating, kitchens, and gardens. Wider assortment and larger format than Leyland SDM, but competes for the same DIY customer in many London catchment areas.
• B&Q: The UK's largest home improvement and garden retailer, owned by Kingfisher. Overlaps with Leyland SDM across paints, decorating, building materials, and DIY, but operates at much larger national scale with broader categories.
• Travis Perkins: UK's largest builder's merchant serving trade and retail across timber, building materials, plumbing, and landscaping. Comparable on the timber/building materials side, with much larger scale and broader trade depth.

Regional players

• Howdens Joinery: UK trade-only kitchen and joinery supplier with depot model. Comparable as a trade-focused multi-outlet UK retailer with depot-based distribution, though focused on kitchens rather than decorating. Useful benchmark for trade account economics.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/leylandsdm
• Xx.com/leylandsdmtweet
• Facebookfacebook.com/LeylandSDM
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/leyland-sdm

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Leyland SDM