Hancock & Brown

What Hancock & Brown does

Hancock & Brown is a builders' merchants and timber supplier based in Swansea, South Wales, operating under the trading name H & B. Founded in 1978 and apparently owner-operated by Bob Hancock, the company sells a comprehensive range of building materials across seventeen product categories — including building products (bricks, blocks, cement, aggregates, insulation), timber and joinery, sheet materials, fasteners, landscaping, decking, fencing, drainage, roofing and UPVC, Velux windows, paints, ironmongery, electrical, tools and workwear, composite products, and woodburning stoves. Its primary customer segments are trade professionals (builders, contractors, and tradespeople) undertaking construction and renovation projects, with DIY consumers as a secondary segment. The company operates two dedicated sub-brands: Stove Depot (woodburning and multifuel stoves) and Composite Products (cladding and decking).

The business runs a direct-to-consumer e-commerce storefront built on the nopCommerce platform (implemented by GenetiQ Software), complemented by a physical branch in Swansea and a sawmill service for custom timber cutting. Delivery is restricted to specific South Wales postcodes (SA1-SA18 and CF31-CF36), with crane vehicle capability for heavy bulk items. Trade credit accounts are offered to regular business customers, and prices are displayed both inclusive and exclusive of VAT. There is no subscription model, no public pricing tiers, and revenue is generated entirely through unit-pricing retail sales.

Hancock & Brown is a privately held, independent company with no disclosed institutional investment, parent company, funding rounds, acquisitions, or partnerships. The company appears to be a regionally focused, traditional builders' merchant that has added digital retail and sub-brand category extensions to a long-standing local trade counter business. No certifications, regulatory actions, patents, trademarks, awards, or external recognitions are documented in the available source material.

Name

Hancock & Brown

Legal name

Hancock & Brown

Website

https://hancockandbrown.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1978

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Hancock & Brown is a Swansea, South Wales-based builders' merchant selling timber, building materials, and related products via an nopCommerce e-commerce platform and physical branch to trade professionals and DIY consumers across defined South Wales postcodes. Founded 1978, owner-operated.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Builders Merchants

NAICS

Building Material and Supplies Dealers (4441), Lumber, Plywood, Millwork, and Wood Panel Merchant Wholesalers (42331), Building Material and Garden Equipment and Supplies Dealers (444), Cut Stock, Resawing Lumber, and Planing (321912)

SIC

Wholesale-Lumber, Plywood, Millwork & Wood Panels (5031), Retail-Building Materials, Hardware, Garden Supply (5200), Wholesale-Lumber & Other Construction Materials (5030), Sawmills & Planting Mills, General (2421)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYIMAMAIAD

Engineered Wood Products Distribution (LVL, I-joists, Glulam, CLT)

Industrials, Manufacturing & Construction/Paper & Forest Products/Forest Products Distribution & Trading

SECONDARYIMAMABAE

Planing Mills & Lumber Surfacing

Industrials, Manufacturing & Construction/Paper & Forest Products/Sawmills & Wood Processing

SECONDARYCRAIADAG

Lawn & Garden Equipment Retail (Mowers, Trimmers, Snow Blowers)

Consumer Products & Retail/Home & Furniture Retail/Home Improvement & Hardware Retail

SECONDARYCRAIAEAG

Concrete, Cement & Aggregates Retail (Bagged Mix, Sand, Gravel)

Consumer Products & Retail/Home & Furniture Retail/Building Materials & Lumber Retail

Keywords

• Builders merchants
• Timber supplies
• Building materials
• DIY supplies
• Construction materials

Headquarters

HQ city

Swansea

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Retail Product Sales: Revenue generated through direct sales of building materials, timber, and related construction products to trade professionals and DIY consumers via e-commerce website and physical branch locations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Hancock & Brown is a builders merchants and timber supplier selling building products, timber, sheet materials, landscaping, decking, fencing, roofing, paints, tools, hardware, and related construction supplies. Products are sold through an e-commerce website and a physical trade counter in Swansea, with local delivery to South Wales postcodes. The company also operates a sawmill service for custom timber cutting and offers trade credit accounts for repeat business customers.

Product overview

Hancock & Brown is a builders' merchant and timber supplier based in Swansea, South Wales operating under the brand H&B. The business offers a comprehensive, multi-category product portfolio organized as a single unified e-commerce storefront built on nopCommerce. The core offering spans seventeen distinct product categories: Building Products (bricks, blocks, lintels, aggregates, cement, plaster, insulation, sealants), Timber & Joinery (structural timber, planed timber, mouldings, cladding, staircases, flooring), Sheet Materials (plywood, particle board, plasterboard, construction boards), Screws/Nails/Hardware, Landscaping & Gardening (paving, artificial grass, decorative chippings), Decking (timber and composite), Fencing (panels, Durapost, featheredge), Turf/Topsoil/Bark, Drainage Products, Roofing & UPVC (guttering, fascia, corrugated roofing, rubber roofing), Velux Windows, Paints & Preservers, Ironmongery, Electrical Supplies, Tools & Workwear, Composite Products (cladding, decking), and Stove Depot (stoves, pipes, accessories). Customers can purchase products through the website and arrange delivery within specific postcode areas (SA1-SA18 and CF31-CF36). The company also offers credit accounts and a sawmill service for custom timber requirements.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Stove Depot: Woodburning and multifuel stoves, stove pipes, fittings, chimney liners, and fireside accessories
• Composite Products

Products and services

• Building Products

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 highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Jewson: Major UK builders' merchant with hundreds of branches offering timber, bricks, blocks, landscaping, and roofing alongside hire services. Directly comparable product catalog and customer base to Hancock & Brown but with national presence and dedicated hire business.
• Buildbase: UK builders' merchant with a national network of branches selling heavyside, timber, and landscaping products. Overlaps with Hancock & Brown's product mix and trade customer focus, but operates with far broader geographic reach.
• Travis Perkins: UK's largest builders' merchant operating national branch and delivery networks across timber, building products, and heavyside materials. Comparable to Hancock & Brown in core product mix and trade customer base but operates at vastly greater scale and geographic reach.
• Wickes: UK-focused retailer serving trade professionals and DIY customers with kitchens, joinery, building materials, and landscaping through both stores and online. Overlaps significantly with Hancock & Brown's trade/DIY dual segment but operates at national scale.
• Selco Builders Warehouse: UK trade-only builders' warehouse chain with national branch network supplying timber, building materials, and tools exclusively to trade customers. Comparable trade focus but exclusively B2B and at much larger national scale than Hancock & Brown.

Direct peers

• Bradfords Building Supplies: Regional independent builders' merchant in the South West of England offering timber, building materials, landscaping, and kitchens to trade and DIY. Comparable independent-merchant model with similar product breadth and trade credit offerings to Hancock & Brown.
• Huws Gray: Independent UK builders' merchant group with branches across Wales, the Midlands, and northern England, supplying heavyside, timber, and landscaping products. Strong overlap with Hancock & Brown's timber and heavyside focus and direct presence in the Welsh market.
• Covers Timber & Builders Merchants: South East England independent builders' merchant with timber yards and branches offering heavyside, timber, and landscaping. Closely comparable independent builders' merchant model and product mix to Hancock & Brown, though in a different region.
• MKM Building Supplies: Independent UK builders' merchant with ~120 branches across England, Scotland, and Wales, offering timber, building products, landscaping, and kitchens to trade and DIY. Closest comparability in product mix and trade/DIY segmentation to Hancock & Brown, though with broader geographic coverage.

Others

• Timber & Building Supplies Association (TBS) member independents (e.g., Ranson Timber): UK trade association representing independent timber and builders' merchants; member independents typically share Hancock & Brown's trade-counter, sawmill, and timber-centric business model. Useful as a peer cluster for benchmarking independent regional merchants.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/hancockbrown1

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 Hancock & Brown