Wolseley, a distributor of products to the building trade, has sold retail chain Bathstore to private equity firm Endless. The £15m disposal is part of Wolseleys strategy to focus on core operations. In 2011 Wolseley incurred a £29m write-down to reflect the reduced value of Bathstore on its books. Wolseley recorded turnover of £13.2bn in 2011.

Travis Perkins is to open a new store in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, creating 30 new jobs. The store is part of a £5million trade park being developed by Deeley Properties.

Quarry firm Lafarge could move its head office out of Leicestershire as part of a £1.8 billion merger with Tarmac, of Wolverhampton. Lafarge employs 450 people in Syston, Leicestershire, and 100 at its quarry in Mountsorrel. Lafarge will sell a cement plant in Hope, Derbyshire, as part of the merger. Richard Halderthay is head of communications at Lafarge.