Clarkes of Walsham

What Clarkes of Walsham does

Clarkes of Walsham is a private UK builders and agricultural merchants business founded in 1908, headquartered at Walsham-le-Willows in Suffolk, East Anglia. It supplies building materials, construction consumables, fencing, garden and landscaping products, agricultural and equestrian supplies, country clothing, and tools through two physical locations — the main yard and country store in Walsham-le-Willows and the Jimmy's Farm country store in Wherstead, Ipswich — together with an aggregates collection site at Summer Road, Walsham Le Willows. The product catalogue spans 20+ categories including bricks, blocks and lintels; cement and aggregates; civils and drainage; guttering; insulation; timber and sheet materials; roofing; paving; plaster; Kee Klamp rail components; fencing and gates; plumbing; storage tanks; lawn and plant care; garden hand tools; tools and workwear; decorating supplies; shotgun cartridges; and country clothing, supplemented by bespoke joinery and professional carpentry services.

Underlying technology is a conventional e-commerce platform with trade and retail pricing tiers, click-and-collect, and free regional delivery within East Anglia on orders over £150. There is no proprietary software, API surface, or AI/ML capability disclosed; product taxonomy, quoting, and order management appear to follow standard merchant-platform conventions.

The business model is product resale: revenue is generated from one-time sales of physical goods at unit prices ranging from under £1 for small fixings to over £300 for bulk decorative aggregates, with separate inclusive-of-VAT retail and exclusive-of-VAT trade price lists. The go-to-market is sales-led, combining a walk-in yard/country store trade counter with a digital storefront and a dedicated trade account programme offering exclusive pricing and faster checkout. Customer segments are split between trade professionals (builders, contractors, farmers — primary) and general consumers/DIY purchasers (secondary), both served within the same East Anglia geographic footprint. No revenue, headcount figure, or growth disclosure is provided in the available data.

Name

Clarkes of Walsham

Legal name

Clarkes of Walsham Limited

Website

https://clarkesofwalsham.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1908

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Clarkes of Walsham is a long-established Suffolk-based builders and agricultural merchants supplying building materials, fencing, garden, equestrian, and country-store products to trade professionals and consumers across East Anglia via two retail sites and an e-commerce platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Builders Merchants and Agricultural Supplies

NAICS

Building Material and Supplies Dealers (4441), Building Material and Garden Equipment and Supplies Dealers (444), Lawn and Garden Equipment and Supplies Retailers (4442)

SIC

Wholesale-Lumber & Other Construction Materials (5030), Wholesale-Lumber, Plywood, Millwork & Wood Panels (5031)

akta.pro primary industry

Aggregates & Dimension Stone Trading (Sand & Gravel, Crushed Stone, Limestone, Granite, Marble) (IMAKAJAG)

Keywords

• Building materials supply
• Agricultural merchants
• Fencing supplies
• Garden landscaping products
• Timber hardware

Headquarters

HQ city

Walsham Le Willows

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Product Sales: Revenue generated from direct sales of building materials, construction supplies, fencing, garden products, tools, agricultural supplies, and related merchandise through both physical retail locations and online e-commerce platform. Products are sold at both retail and trade pricing tiers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Clarkes of Walsham is a regional builders' and agricultural merchant selling building construction materials, fencing, garden and landscaping supplies, tools, plumbing, timber, agricultural and equestrian products, country clothing and shotgun cartridges. The company operates two physical stores in Suffolk alongside an e-commerce storefront with click-and-collect and East Anglia delivery, and offers trade accounts, bespoke joinery, carpentry services, and a loose aggregates collection site.

Product overview

Clarkes of Walsham is a builders and agricultural merchants company operating in East Anglia, Suffolk, UK. The company operates as a single unified retail operation offering a diverse portfolio of building materials, agricultural supplies, and related services. The product portfolio is organized into two main categories: Building & Construction (encompassing bricks, blocks, lintels, cement, aggregates, civils, drainage, guttering, hardware, insulation, Kee Klamp, paving, plaster, roofing, sheet materials, and timber) and Garden & Agricultural Supplies (including fencing, gates, garden landscaping, livestock/pet feed, tools, and country clothing). Additional services include bespoke joinery and carpentry. The company serves both trade professionals and general public through physical store locations and an e-commerce platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Clarkes Aggregate Centre: Loose aggregates collection site located at Summer Road, Walsham Le Willows.

Products and services

• Bricks, Block & Lintels Construction materials including bricks, blocks, lintels, cement, aggregates, and steel reinforcement for building projects.
• Cement & Aggregates Cement products including Portland cement, mortar mix, post-fix concrete, and hydraulic lime for construction applications.
• Civils & Drainage Civil engineering and drainage products including land drainage coils, underground pipes, manhole covers, and soakaway crates.
• Guttering & Drainage Guttering systems including cast iron classical guttering, rainwater downpipes, and soil pipes for roof drainage.
• Hardware Construction hardware including door equipment, ironmongery, joist hangers, screws, nails, fixings, and masonry ties.
• Insulation Building insulation materials including cavity insulation, insulation boards, and loft/roof insulation products.
• Timber Timber products including batten, graded timber, oak posts, sawn softwood, planed timber, and timber cladding.
• Roofing Roofing materials including bitumen sheets, metal roofing, cement fibre, PVC sheets, flashing, and roofing felt.
• Plumbing Plumbing supplies including copper pipes, MDPE water pipe, fittings, toilet fittings, and water softeners.
• Fencing Fencing materials including fence panels, posts, wire fencing, chestnut fencing, electric fencing, and trellis panels.
• Gates Galvanised metal gates and timber gates including field gates, cattleyard gates, and garden gates.
• Garden & Landscaping Garden and landscaping products including barbecues, garden buildings, sheds, summerhouses, furniture, and landscaping materials.
• Livestock, Pet & Feed Livestock, pet feed and equestrian supplies including animal bedding, feeders, troughs, and hayracks.
• Tools & Workwear Power tools including Makita and Sealey brands, plus hand tools, site equipment, ladders, and wheelbarrows.
• Decorating & Interiors Decorating supplies including paint, rollers, brushes, sealants, adhesives, and interior mouldings.
• Country Clothing Rural and country clothing for countryside activities.
• Shotgun Cartridges Shotgun cartridges for sporting and clay pigeon shooting.
• Bespoke Joinery Custom joinery services including artisan projects, custom cabinetry, doors, oak structures, and gates.
• Carpentry Services Professional carpentry services for construction and renovation projects.
• Clarkes Loose Aggregates Loose aggregate collection service from the Summer Road Aggregate Site in Walsham Le Willows.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Buildbase (NFU): UK builders merchant owned by NFU, supplying heavyside materials, landscaping, and drainage to trade and retail. Highly comparable builders-merchant positioning and product breadth.
• Huws Gray: One of the largest independent builders merchants in the UK with branches, a civils/drainage center, and merchanting breadth comparable to Clarkes' product range. Acquisitive regional consolidator, making it a closely matching peer.
• MKM Building Supplies: Regional UK builders merchant with a network of branches, trade accounts, and an aggregate-and-building-materials focus. Highly comparable operating model to Clarkes, scaled across multiple English regions.
• Travis Perkins: UK's largest builders merchant operating trade and retail channels with branches, e-commerce, and delivery across the country. Direct competitor to Clarkes across timber, building materials, and trade accounts, though at materially larger scale.
• Jewson: Major UK builders merchant (Saint-Gobain-owned) supplying building materials, timber, and landscaping products to trade and DIY customers via branches and online. Closely comparable product mix and dual trade/retail go-to-market.
• Selco Builders Warehouse: Trade-only builders merchant with branches across the UK supplying heavy-side and light-side building materials to trade professionals. Comparable trade-account model and product categories to Clarkes.
• Mole Valley Farmers: Farmer-owned agricultural and rural supplies retailer selling feed, fencing, equestrian, tools, and country clothing. Direct peer to the agricultural and country-store half of Clarkes' offering, with overlapping product mix and customer base.
• Bradfords Building Supplies: Regional builders merchant serving the South West and Wales with branches, e-commerce, and trade-account offerings. Mirrors Clarkes' traditional builders-merchant-with-yard-plus-online model.

Regional players

• Wynnstay Group: Wales-based agricultural and rural supplies retailer offering feed, farm supplies, and country stores. Comparable product mix to Clarkes' agricultural and country-store lines, but focused on a different UK geography.

Broad incumbents

• Wickes: National DIY and trade retailer selling building materials, kitchen, bathroom, and timber via stores and online. Larger and more retail-skewed than Clarkes but overlaps materially on core building materials and DIY supply.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/clarkesofwalsham
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/clarkes-of-walsham-ltd
• Instagraminstagram.com/clarkesofwalsham
• Xx.com/clarkeswalsham

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Clarkes of Walsham