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 travis perkins plc lodge way house harlestone road northampton nn5 7ug t elephone 01604 752 424
wwwtravisperkinsplccom
 travis perkins plc  annual report and accounts 2011
 travis perkins plc
t r avis p erkins
the largest 
supplier of 
building 
materials 
in the uk
annual 
report and 
accounts
2011
 travis perkins plc
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general merchanting
travis perkins midlands 
and north west
travis perkins northern
travis perkins south east
travis perkins south west 
and wales
consumer
tile giant
toolstation
wickes
specialist merchanting
benchmarx
ccf
keyline
plumbing and 
heating
birchwood price tools
bss
city plumbing
dhs
fp wholesale
pts
spendlove c jebb
 travis perkins plc
tpcoverartworkindd   2 tpcoverartworkindd   2 10042012   1150 10042012   1150 1
overview reports governance financial statements shareholder information
contents
  overview
 4 financial highlights
 4 operating highlights
 5 financial summary
 6 key performance indicators
 8 our group mission vision and values
 9 who we are
  financial statements
 74 income statements 
 75 statements of comprehensive income 
 76 balance sheets 
 78 consolidated statement of changes in equity 
 79 statement of changes in equity 
 80 cash flow statements 
 81 notes to the financial statements
 122 five year record 
  governance
 46 directors
 48 corporate responsibility statement
 48 committees and professional advisers
 49 corporate governance
 53 audit committee report
 56 directors’ remuneration report
 67 nominations committee report
 68 directors’ report
 72 statement of directors’ responsibilities
 73 independent auditor’s report
  reports
 12 chairman’s statement
 14 chief executive’s review of the year 
 22 strategic delivery overview
 24 deputy chief executive’s review of the year
 29 business model
 30 finance director’s review of the year
 36 statement of principal risks and uncertainties
 38 environment report
 43 health  safety report
direct heating spares
forward looking statements
the review of the businesses contained in the annual report and accounts contains forward looking statements with respect to the financial condition results operations and business 
of the travis perkins plc group these statements and forecasts include risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that occur in the future 
there are a number of factors that could cause actual results or developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward statements 
  shareholder information
 124 notice of annual general meeting
 126 appendix to notice of annual general meeting
 127 notes to notice of annual general meeting
 129 directions to annual general meeting
 130 other shareholder information
 132 warning regarding unsolicited calls and mail 2
sarah pattison at bss national tube distribution centre
“2011 was a good 
year for t ravis 
perkins our 
primary focus 
was integrating 
the former bss 
businesses into the 
group to maximise 
synergies”
robert walker chairman overview
3 4
operating highlights financial highlights
•
  group revenue up 52 at £4779m 
up 6 on a likeforlike basis
•
  adjusted profit before tax up 
37 to £297m
•
 adjusted eps up 21 to 931p
•
  proforma adjusted group operating 
margin maintained at 66
•
  net debt reduced by £191m to £583m 
with adjusted net debt to ebitda of 
13x note 37
•
  total dividend per share up by 33 to 
20p including a final dividend 
of 135p
•
  bss acquisition synergies 
realised in 2011 exceeded 
expectations at £20m
•
  expected synergies for 2012 
increased to £30m
•
 bss integration ahead of schedule
•
  strong likeforlike performance and 
market share gains
•
  toolstation acquisition completed on 
3 january 2012
•
  13 exfocus stores acquired and 
trading ahead of expectations overview
tra vis perkins annual repor t and accounts 2011
5
    2011  2010
    £m  £m
revenue 47791 516 31528
adjusted
operating profi t note 5a 3132 310 2390
profi t before taxation note 5b 2967 369 2167
profi t after taxation note 5b 2190 396 1569
adjusted earnings per ordinary share pence note 12b  931 206 772
 
statutory   
operating profi t  2905 322 2198
profi t before taxation  2696 370 1968
profi t after taxation  2124 503 1413
basic earnings per ordinary share pence 903 297 696
 
total dividend declared 
per ordinary share pence note 13 200p 333 150p
 
 throughout this annual report the term ‘adjusted’ has been used to signify that the effects of the exceptional items amortisation of intangible assets and the associated tax impacts have been excluded 
from the disclosure being made the term ‘proforma’ when used in this annual report signifies that the 2010 comparative has been adjusted to include the effect of bss for the entire year not just the 
post acquisition period details of exceptional items are given in notes 5 10 and 11
financial summary revenue 
£m 
adjusted 
profit before 
taxation £m 
likeforlike
sales growth
 
1800
2167
2967
300
100
200
0
752
772
931
100
50
0
adjusted 
earnings per 
share pence
key performance indicators
10
86
50
60
5
0
5
75
25
09 10 11 09 10 11 09 10 11 09 10 11
29309
31528
47791
5000
3000
2000
1000
4000
0
6 overview
tra vis perkins annual repor t and accounts 2011
7
adjusted 
return on 
capital  
net debt to
ebitda 
employee
retention
free cash flow
£m 
109
122
113
15
5
10
0
2944
2778
2935
300
100
200
0
86
87
100
50
75
25
0
147x
192x
13x
2
1
15
5
0
09 10 11 09 10 11 09 10 11 10 11 8
our group mission vision and values
 our group mission
‘continue to deliver better 
returns by putting in place and 
growing the best businesses with 
outstanding people and operations 
providing comprehensive building 
material solutions to everyone 
creating maintaining repairing or 
improving the built environment
… helping to build britain’
 our group vision
to ensure that anyone in britain 
who wants to access any kind of 
building materials through any 
form of supply channel will have a 
travis perkins group operation as 
their fi rst or fi rst alternative choice
  our gr oup v alues
at travis perkins we
know our customers – we understand their needs beat their expectations treat 
them with respect and know our major customers personally
talk and listen – we say what we mean clearly and honestly we listen carefully we 
respond objectively we explain our decisions
are with you not against you – we seek mutual benefi ts with all stakeholders we 
think about the impact of our actions we search for similarities
know how to do our jobs – not just today but for the next job we equip ourselves 
with the skills needed to perform and be confi dent we can perform
like to deliver – we enjoy being the best we know exactly what each of us is 
expected to achieve we focus on getting results simply
work together – we actively work with each other when something goes wrong the 
fi rst thing we will do is fi x the problem not look for someone to blame
always try to get better – we constructively challenge how we work we look for 
fresh ideas that are different we only have rules where they are necessary because 
we use our common sense
are proud to be here – this is a great company everyone working with us is 
welcome we make work enjoyable for everyone
8 overview
9
tra vis perkins annual repor t and accounts 2011
who we are
travis perkins a major plc is the uk’s largest 
supplier to the building and construction 
market one of the most economically significant 
activities in the uk
the present day company was formed in 
1988 out of a merger between travis and 
arnold plc a company with strong midlands and 
northern based business and sandell perkins 
plc a company with an equivalent strength in 
the south of england
the origins of sandell perkins can be traced 
back over 200 years to 1797 when a carpentry 
company was first established in london travis 
and arnold was initially formed as a partnership 
in 1899 during the early to mid 20th century 
both businesses expanded before eventually 
becoming listed public companies travis and 
arnold was the first to the market in 1964 
followed 22 years later by sandell perkins 
travis perkins plc
group reorganisation
andrew pike
company secretary 
and lawyer
carol kavanagh
group human 
resources director
martin meech
group property 
director
robin proctor
supply chain 
director
norman bell
group development 
director 
in 2011 we operated as three divisions – 
merchanting retail and bss – and it is on that 
basis we report in this year’s annual report 
and financial statements however on 
1 january 2012 we reorganised the business 
into four divisions general merchanting 
specialist merchanting consumer and 
plumbing  heating it is on the new divisional 
structure that we have prepared this section of 
the annual report the general merchanting division of travis 
perkins plc supplies building materials to 
professional building companies contractors and 
tradesman throughout great britain
the core businesses of travis and arnold 
plc and sandell perkins plc formed following 
the merger in 1988 what is now the general 
merchanting business which trades nationally 
through the travis perkins brand and comprises 
four geographically organised individual 
businesses 
joe mescall who has been with the group 
since 1974 leads the general merchanting 
business in his role as divisional chairman 
the managing directors of the four businesses 
are phil gransden travis perkins south east 
kieran griffin travis perkins midlands and north 
west david kelman travis perkins north 
and mark nottingham travis perkins south 
west and wales the customers of the four 
general merchanting businesses are primarily 
professional tradesmen ranging from sole 
traders to national housebuilders whose key 
requirements are product range and availability 
competitive pricing and customer service
the strategy of the general merchanting 
business aims to increase market share through 
implementation of our best practice programme 
ongoing branch network expansion entry 
into new market segments and exploitation of 
multi channel opportunities the best practice 
programme is designed to enhance our overall 
service to trade customers and covers all of 
their key requirements even though all four 
general merchanting businesses are already 
operating to high standards in these areas they 
have stretching targets in place to deliver further 
improvements
network expansion will be concentrated on 
identifying prime locations through brownfield 
openings and small acquisitions in addition 
store projects and framework agreements will 
continue to be expanded with local authorities 
and housing associations 
general merchanting division
phil gransden
md south east
david kelman
md north
mark nottingham
md south west 
and wales
the consumer division comprises three 
businesses wickes a national chain of diy 
retail outlets tile giant a ceramic tile merchant 
acquired in 2007 and toolstation a multichannel 
operator which was acquired by the group on 
3 january 2012 
the chairman of the consumer division is 
jeremy bird who joined wickes 19 years ago 
and has held a number of senior positions in the 
group including that of managing director of 
wickes the new managing director of wickes is 
simon king who joined the company at the end 
of 2011 and has fulfilled various external retail 
roles including chief operating officer of asda
wickes which opened its first store in the uk 
in 1972 at whitefield in manchester was acquired 
by travis perkins in 2005 and the company now 
operates from 221 stores nationwide 
wickes stores are designed to appeal to 
tradesmen who undertake general repairs 
maintenance and improvement projects for 
households and small businesses and to serious 
diy customers who undertake more complete 
diy projects these customers are more 
demanding in terms of service quality and price
the business meets its customers’ 
expectations by offering a focussed range of high 
quality primarily own brand competitively priced 
home improvement products such as timber 
building materials tools and decorative materials 
in addition wickes stores offer a range of 
kitchens and bathrooms which are sold through 
both instore showrooms and 10 standalone 
specialist kitchen and bathroom stores
in 2007 travis perkins acquired its seventh 
brand tile giant in 2008 this business acquired 
and rebranded tile magic a 17 store chain and 
tile it all a 16 store chain in 2009 travis perkins 
acquired tile hq an internet based retailer of 
ceramic and stone tiles the brand is now trading 
from a total of 107 stores under the leadership 
of managing director andy morrison the brand 
offers a strong pipeline for further expansion
the group first took a minority investment in 
toolstation a direct retailer of lightside products 
during 2008 before acquiring the remaining 
shares in 2012 since then led by its founder 
mark goddardwatts with support from the 
group this multichannel retailer of lightside 
products has rapidly expanded its trade counter 
network and now occupies 103 trade counters 
throughout great britain it also operates a very 
successful catalogue based internet business 
consumer division
simon king
md wickes
andy morrison
md tile giant
neil carroll
md toolstation
kieran griffi n
md midlands and 
north west
who we are
joe mescall
divisional chairman
jeremy bird
divisional chairman
10 overview
11
tra vis perkins annual repor t and accounts 2011
the specialist merchanting business consists 
of four separate businesses trading under the 
following brands keyline ccf benchmarx 
and rinus roofing supplies arthur davidson 
is the divisional chairman he has worked in 
merchanting for over thirty years having joined 
keyline prior to its acquisition by the travis 
perkins group
andrew harrison the managing director of 
keyline has been with the group since 1989 
keyline is a specialist merchant supplying 
heavy building materials and civils and drainage 
solutions to the construction industry throughout 
the uk keyline is known for its knowledgeable 
staff and excellent delivery service 
ccf is a leading supplier of interior building 
products to the construction industry it operates 
throughout the uk offering a onestopshop to its 
customers from its nationwide branch network 
ccf’s managing director is howard luft formerly 
managing director of buck and hickman which 
was sold by the group in september 2011 
in 2006 benchmarx became the first 
group brand to be created as a completely 
new business within a market adjacent to 
the markets already served by the group 
the business is a leading supplier of kitchen 
and joinery products to the trade through 
its competitive pricing quality products and 
knowledgeable staff benchmarx is led by chris 
larkin formerly a regional director within travis 
perkins south east who became managing 
director in july 2009
rinus roofing supplies an associate 
company in which the group holds a 25 
interest is a supplier of roofing materials 
the group has entered into a development 
agreement with rinus aimed at creating a new 
competitor in this adjacent market although 
the group sells many of the products available 
through rinus specialist roofing contractors 
prefer using specialist distributors in this market
specialist merchanting division
howard luft
md ccf
chris larkin
md benchmarx
andrew harrison
md keyline
the new plumbing and heating division was 
established on 1 january 2012 under the 
leadership of its chairman paul tallentire the 
division consists of the original plumbing business 
of the travis perkins group city plumbing 
supplies together with the businesses of the 
bss group which was acquired on 14 december 
2010 it is now the leading plumbing and heating 
business in the uk
city plumbing supplies run by managing 
director john frost is a major nationwide 
plumbing and heating merchant serving both the 
contract market and the general plumbing and 
heating market from 190 branches the business 
offers high quality products and expert service to 
the trade in 2010 a new operation was formed 
city heating spares the spare parts division of 
city plumbing 
the exbss businesses are leading 
distributors of plumbing and heating products to 
specialist trades their principal activities are the 
distribution and sale of heating ventilation and 
plumbing products tools and industrial supplies 
to amongst others industrial contractors 
domestic plumbers independent merchants 
and industrial end users through a network of 
401 branches 398 branches are located in the 
united kingdom and three in the republic of 
ireland 
● pts operates from 317 branches and supplies 
a wide range of customers from national 
contractors to sole trading plumbers and 
heating engineers
● the industrial commercial process 
construction and warehouse markets are 
serviced through a network of sixty two 
branches of bss industrial in the uk and 
ireland and
● birchwood price tools is a wholesaler of power 
tools and accessories hand tools safety wear 
and general consumables and fp wholesale 
supply heating plumbing and sanitaryware to 
smaller merchanting businesses
plumbing and heating division
ian church
md pts group
frank elkins
md bss industrial
john frost
md city plumbing
mark earnshaw
md fp wholesale
mick magon
md dhs
paul nieduszynski
md birchwood 
price tools
arthur davidson
divisional chairman
paul tallentire
divisional chairman 12
introduction
travis perkins is the uk’s largest distributor of 
building and construction materials
through our various group companies we 
aim to offer the widest range of products to our 
professional and retail customers providing 
the highest levels of customer service at 
competitive prices 
our organisation model devolves 
management responsibility close to customers 
and provides the benefits of innovative and 
shared central services 
our businesses are supported by sector 
leading it and a strong people culture based 
on clear values and leadership behaviours
we aim to deliver consistent and increasing 
shareholder value over time 
results
2011 was a good year for travis perkins our 
primary focus was integrating the former 
bss businesses into the group to maximise 
synergies but we have also outperformed in the 
majority of our markets through the continued 
implementation of selfhelp initiatives all this 
in spite of the markets in which we operate 
declining by between 4 and 5 
revenue increased by 52 to £48bn and 
our adjusted pretax profits rose by 37 to 
£297m adjusted earnings per share were up 
by 21 to 931 pence on a proforma basis 
chairman’s statement
for the year ended 31 december 2011
assuming bss had been owned for all of 2010 
adjusted profit before tax was 11 higher and 
adjusted earnings per share were up 11 or 
90 pence
we have made excellent progress with our 
planned bss financial systems integration 
and organisational changes and our synergy 
project is running ahead of schedule in 
2011 we realised £20m of synergies and 
we anticipate that we will beat our previously 
published target of £25m achieving £30m in 
2012
strong cash flows and working capital 
management which includes £27m from the 
sale of buck and hickman have reduced debt 
by £191m to £583m 
on 3 january 2012 the group exercised its 
option to acquire the remaining share capital of 
toolstation the company which sells lightside 
products through its network of 103 uk based 
retail stores a catalogue operation and online 
has grown rapidly and profitably in recent 
years we welcome our new colleagues to 
the group and look forward to their continued 
success 
dividend
the board’s stated intention is to reduce the 
multiple by which dividends are covered by 
post tax earnings to between 25 times and 
35 times over the medium term from the 
“our businesses are 
supported by sector leading 
it  and a strong people culture 
based on clear values and 
leadership behaviours”
robert walker
chairman reports
tra vis perkins annual repor t and accounts 2011
13
current cover of 47 times as a step towards 
meeting that target the board is pleased to 
recommend a final dividend of 135 pence per 
share payable to shareholders on the register 
on 4 may 2012 which will give a total dividend 
for 2011 of 20 pence per share the proposed 
33 increase in dividend over 2010 will result 
in a cash outflow of £47m
board of directors
i am delighted that ruth anderson joined 
the company as a nonexecutive director 
in october she has extensive experience of 
advising a broad range of companies across 
many business sectors and so will be of great 
value to the board
as a result of reorganising the group’s 
operations into four divisions and making 
other organisational changes john carter 
who has successfully served as the group’s 
chief operating officer for the past seven 
years was promoted to deputy chief executive 
on 1 january 2012 i am sure that john will 
continue to make a very significant contribution 
to the group in his new role
employees
our engaged and hard working colleagues are 
critical to our success yet again they have 
delivered outstanding results for shareholders 
in difficult circumstances i should like to thank 
them on behalf of the board for all their efforts 
during the year
outlook
the markets in which we operate are likely to 
remain subdued for much of 2012 we expect 
new house starts and mortgage applications 
which are key indicators for our business 
to remain relatively flat and public sector 
expenditure to fall as the government strives 
to reduce the deficit consumer markets are 
likely to be soft as disposable income is further 
squeezed
our investment in toolstation will realise 
full year profits for the first time the 13 stores 
acquired from focus in the summer are trading 
profitably and our synergy projects will continue 
to deliver strong benefits when these projects 
are taken together with our ongoing initiatives 
to improve customer service and our careful 
management of costs we are confident 2012 
will be another year of progress for the group
robert walker
chairman 
21 february 2012 14
introduction
over the last dozen years or so the group has 
from its original base in general merchanting 
steadily expanded its activities to develop 
businesses and new distribution channels to 
serve a greater proportion of the market in 
the uk in parallel we have augmented that 
strategy with a drive to improve continuously all 
our businesses so that they become the most 
attractive supplier in their market segment and 
consequently outperform their competitors 
both these initiatives have allowed us to 
capture economies of scale and synergies 
through centralisation of common activities and 
purchasing into highly efficient low cost and 
powerful central functions
execution of our strategy meant we came 
into 2011 as the largest supplier of building 
materials in the uk having just acquired bss 
during 2011 we have continued to make 
good progress on all fronts – integrating 
the bss acquisition adding our presence in 
additional channels and stretching our lead in 
market outperformance by making a series of 
improvements in all businesses
the integration project under the leadership 
of norman bell has progressed well thanks to 
the very effective work of a team of colleagues 
drawn from across the group their focus 
has been to integrate bss colleagues and 
businesses into the group and identify and 
realise synergies new operating and financial 
systems have been developed for our pts 
and bss industrial businesses cross brand 
selling opportunities have been realised the 
management team has been strengthened 
and we have invested in expanding the 
warehousing facilities at magna park in 
leicestershire and chorley in lancashire
the first year of the bss synergy project 
has exceeded our expectations the initial 
target of £8m for 2011 has been surpassed 
as we achieved a total of £20m of synergies 
in 2011 – £15m from purchasing and £5m 
from overheads we are on course to deliver 
£30m in 2012 this is one year earlier than we 
anticipated and £5m more than our original 
2013 target 
we have continued to take opportunities 
where they have met our stringent investment 
criteria and have added around 25 to 
revenue from expansion on an annualised 
basis the administration of focus a 
competitor in the diy market allowed us 
to acquire 13 new stores in high priority 
catchment areas also we have added a new 
sales channel to the group by acquiring 25 of 
a small roofing supplies company based in the 
north of england should our investment prove 
to be successful then we have the option to 
acquire the entire company at a future date 
early in 2012 we completed the acquisition 
of toolstation by purchasing the 70 of 
issued share capital we did not already own 
the company has experienced rapid organic 
growth over the last three years and now 
trades from 103 outlets as well as strongly via 
the telephone and the internet the it system 
“execution of our strategy 
meant we came into 2011 
as the largest supplier of 
building materials in the uk”
chief executive’s review of the y ear 
for the year ended 31 december 2011
geoff cooper
chief executive reports
tra vis perkins annual repor t and accounts 2011
15
and multichannel expertise of the toolstation 
management makes it a valuable and profitable 
addition to the group 
in early february the oft contacted us to 
raise concerns about the acquisition given our 
agreement with toolstation has created a new 
and robust competitor in the multichannel 
market we are surprised they contacted us we 
are in the process of responding to the initial 
enquiry and are confident that the issue will be 
satisfactorily resolved
2011 performance
the success of our business is based upon 
having strong operational and financial 
disciplines tight controls on both margins and 
costs and allocating capital to ensure that 
our mature businesses have both the highest 
operating margin and return on capital in their 
respective sectors 
throughout this annual report consistent 
with our approach last year the term ‘adjusted’ 
has been used to signify that the effects 
of exceptional items and amortisation of 
intangible assets have been excluded from 
the disclosures being made details of the 
exceptional charges are given in the finance 
director’s report on page 30 the term 
‘proforma’ is also used in this annual report 
to signify that the current year performance is 
being compared to 2010 adjusted to reflect the 
full year performance of the bss business 
revenue for 2011 was £4779m 2010 
£3153m an increase of £1626m excluding 
bss most of the revenue increase came from 
our merchanting division with all businesses 
and product groups seeing strong growth of 
the 516 increase in revenue likeforlike 
‘lfl’ sales increased by 60 with inflation of 
47 and volumes increasing by 13 whilst 
bss accounted for 437 and other expansion 
provided 22 one fewer working day reduced 
sales by 03 these gains in lfl sales reflect 
the work we have done to find more ways to 
improve further the merchanting and retail 
businesses by continuously improving our offer 
to customers significant progress has been 
made on customer service product availability 
product presentation and improved sourcing in 
both divisions 
adjusted operating profit increased by £74m 
to £313m 2010 £239m which resulted in 
adjusted group operating margin of 66 in 
line with last year on a proforma basis our 
trading strategies in 2011 have been aimed at 
maximising operating profits by sustaining our 
volume outperformance and using these to 
drive economies of scale with market volumes 
likely to fall slightly in 2012 we aim to modify 
this stance on a selective basis to reflect 
market trends in order to protect margins as 
we have done successfully in the past
clearly the inclusion of bss contributed 
the major part of the increase in profits – on 
an adjusted proforma basis operating profits 
were up by £11m an increase of 36 this 
increase reflects our ability to drive synergies 
and outperform
after allowing for a £6m reduction in 
financing costs the trend in operating profits 
was reflected in the £67m rise in adjusted 
pretax profits to £284m 2010 £217m
adjusted earnings per share ‘eps’ increased 
by 21 to 931 pence 2010 772 pence 
again this mainly reflected the impact of 
the bss acquisition taking into account 
synergies this acquisition has enhanced eps 
by 12 with gains in the nonbss businesses 
increasing eps by 9
our strategy of reducing debt has continued 
during the year with careful control of working 
capital and capital investment resulting in a 
significant cash inflow by 31 december we had 
achieved our target net debt of £583m 2010 
£774m and had reduced the ratio of net debt 
to ebitda to 13 times 2010 19 times 
markets and our response
the market predictions we made for the year 
were broadly correct although the first quarter 
of last year proved to be better than expected 
and we like others did not foresee the full 
extent and impact of the eurozone related 
uncertainty later in the year the latter part of 
the year saw markets slowing as a result of 
fewer property transactions in the spring and 
increasing public sector spending cuts
our underlying organic strategy has 
delivered good returns against a background of 
weak macro indicators and the key indicators 
that we follow show that the market remains 
weak we believe that market volumes for trade 
are still some 30 below their 2007 peak 
whilst in retail the situation is marginally better 
at minus 25 
we track a number of key external 
indicators but those most closely correlated 
with our performance have shown little 
improvement in 2011 
trade market volumes in 2011 declined 
by around 3 towards the end of the year 
property transactions a good lead indicator for 
our merchanting businesses were around 11 
better than the corresponding period last year 
but they remain stubbornly low at around 70 
– 80000 per month compared with 135000 
prerecession 
according to government statistics private 
new house starts in england reached almost 
76000 in the 12 months to september 2011 
down by 5 compared with the 12 months 
to september 2010 this level of activity is 
substantially below the peak of around 155000 
in 2007 and the estimated current need in great 
britain of 250000 new houses per annum
the consumer market was adversely 
impacted by a combination of low consumer 
confidence and significant tax increases from 
april which reduced household disposable 
income both indicators have fallen during 
2011 with consumer confidence continuing 
on a declining trend core market volumes 
declined by around 5 but the market for big 
ticket items contracted by over 10 
we have seen further falls in competitor 
capacity in both of our markets although it was 
more pronounced in consumer following the 
closures of focus and homeform in midyear 
although we benefited from our acquisition 
of 13 focus stores the rest of the estate 
gained very little from either closure as both 
mainly operated in different markets to wickes 
supplying different customer bases 
divisions
on 1 january 2012 we reorganised the 
group’s divisional structure so that the group 
now operates through four distinct divisions 
general merchanting specialist merchanting 
consumer and plumbing and heating each  16
managed by a divisional chairman combining 
similar businesses under common leadership 
will ensure that we maximise the benefits from 
consistently applying best practice
the following comments are based upon the 
divisional structure in place during 2011 
our culture of continuous improvement has 
driven the business forward again enabling 
us to retain our position as the uk’s leading 
provider of building materials 
merchanting division
our merchanting division has performed 
strongly with each of our businesses recording 
impressive growth and outperforming both 
national and independent merchants sales 
increased in aggregate by £231m or 109 
with lfl sales improving by 94 sales from 
new branches contributing 22 and closures 
and one less working day reducing sales by 
07 volumes increased by 39 supported 
by higher than expected price inflation of 55 
adjusted operating profit was up 94 to 
£2018m
operating margins fell by 02 to 86 
2010 88 gross margin for the division 
fell by 08 in 2011 due to a combination of 
mix direct sales improved diluting the gross 
margins by 04 limited price investment 
in the early part of the year and investment 
in our warehousing infrastructure which 
reduced margins by 04 however the ratio 
of overheads to sales fell by 04 due to the 
operational gearing effect of the fixed element 
of our cost base and synergies improved profits 
by 02 
the general merchanting business 
had a good year with a particularly strong 
performance in london and the south east 
the difficulty of achieving such good results 
should not be underestimated they have come 
about because of skill and effort deployed 
by joe mescall and the general merchanting 
team a profit enhancement project has been 
running since the middle of the year designed 
to identify those aspects of the business where 
good practice can be shared margins can be 
improved and costs can be driven out 
a greater focus on analysis of customer 
profitability has yielded positive results action 
has been taken where margin has been falling 
whether due to the mix of products being 
sold the structure of the customer deals or 
cost inflation pressure improved inhouse 
data interrogation and analysis software and 
techniques have enabled us to develop plans 
leading to raised profitability another area 
of focus has been reducing the incidence 
of stock shrinkage through improved data 
availability which has enabled us to target 
more rapidly those areas of stock loss and the 
possible causes
further progress has been made on cost 
control to ensure the general merchanting 
division goes into a probably tough 2012 with 
an affordable cost base despite increased 
turnover likeforlike headcount at the end 
of the year was in line with last year and a 
number of initiatives were running to target 
aspects such as distribution 
the specialist merchanting businesses 
operating under the chairmanship of arthur 
davidson had a successful year
keyline management are working hard to 
ensure that the business is the first choice 
supplier for heavy building materials civils and 
drainage products with industry leading returns 
on sales in 2011 keyline revenue growth 
has outperformed the market lfl sales have 
increased substantially particularly in civils and 
drainage and the ugs business transferred 
from bss has been absorbed generating 
synergies new propositions in rail and utilities 
were launched and the business’ centres of 
excellence have been rolled out
ccf our specialist distributor of interior 
building products and insulation has performed 
strongly during 2011 improving profitability 
and increasing revenue at a faster rate than 
the market leader a number of improvements 
to the customer experience are being targeted 
including greater stock availability a higher 
proportion of ontime infull deliveries and the 
introduction of a new customer service model 
which is currently being piloted
benchmarx our specialist kitchen joinery 
business has made good progress during the 
year sales have increased by over 40 gross 
margin has improved and 32 new branches 
have been opened either as standalone sites 
or as implants into the existing estate this 
business is now firmly established in our 
portfolio and competes effectively with more 
established players
the city plumbing team have performed 
well in a tough environment increasing 
likeforlike sales by 4 project endeavour 
our initiative aimed at introducing a common 
showroom template and product matrix to cps 
and the general merchanting business was 
piloted successfully and is now in place in 11 
branches plans are in place to roll it out into a 
further 40 branches during 2012 the heating 
spares business introduced in 2010 now 
trades out of 62 sites
retail division 
poor consumer confidence and lower levels 
of disposable income have had a detrimental 
effect on our retail businesses in 2011 
revenue is up £15m 15 to £1018m 
2010 £1003m due to the expansion from 
new sites which increased sales by 29 
despite having a strong product offering 
and competitive prices a fall in demand for 
delivered kitchen and bathroom products 
caused total lfl delivered sales to fall by 
14 overall volumes fell by 43 whilst 
inflation increased turnover by 29
retail division adjusted operating profit 
fell by £14m to £45m as lower sales 
and increased overheads in wickes due 
to investment in store expansion and 
reorganisation costs outweighed the benefits 
of an improved gross margin 
we have continued to invest in wickes 
taking the opportunity to acquire 13 new 
stores from the receiver of focus for £8m the 
locations of the sites has meant these stores 
are already contributing to profits ahead of our 
expectations and leads us to believe that the 
new branches will be very profitable which 
when taken together with the benefits arising 
from economies of scale should result in 
returns well in excess of our cost of capital 
in the expectation that consumer markets 
will be more difficult in 2012 the wickes team 
under jeremy bird’s guidance have undertaken 
a detailed review of the company’s cost base 
three stores were closed during the year 
chief executive’s review of the y ear 
gordon forrest at keyline bedford reports
tra vis perkins annual repor t and accounts 2011
17
“in 2011 keyline revenue growth has outperformed the market” 18
and just over 200 people left our business as 
we restructured store operations this was 
a difficult process but as always the store 
managers undertook it in a professional but 
compassionate manner 
gross margins in wickes have improved by 
13 when compared to 2010 however the 
investment in initiatives and startup costs for 
new stores combined with reorganisation costs 
incurred to achieve longterm overhead savings 
has reduced operating profits by £10m 
consequently the division’s operating margins 
fell by 14 to 45 2010 59 
tile giant has consolidated its position in 
difficult markets with total sales up 9 its 
likeforlike sales outperformed the market 
leader so gaining market share the business 
now trades from 107 stores a net increase 
of 6 this year under the initial guidance of 
mo iqbal the company’s founder and more 
recently andy morrison tile giant has grown to 
be the second largest specialist tile retailer in 
the country 
associate company
toolstation performed strongly in 2011 the 
investment in new stores continued but the 
early losses incurred by immature outlets have 
now been surpassed by the profits of maturing 
stores with the result that the business moved 
into profits during the second half the unique 
business model together with the skill of 
management will be a considerable asset to 
the group as we seek to expand our multi
channel capabilities
bss division
proforma lfl sales increased by 29 
inflation was 45 but volumes fell by 16 
even though the expanded british gas contract 
during the last nine months of the year added 
24 to volumes new branches accounted for 
additional sales of 05 whilst the branches 
sold at the insistence of the oft and one fewer 
working day reduced sales by 33 
reported revenue has decreased on a 
proforma basis by £22m to £1436m due to a 
number of structural changes in the early part 
of the year at the insistence of the oft 14 pts 
branches were sold in june the trade of ugs 
was transferred into our keyline business and 
on 30 september the trade and assets of buck 
and hickman were sold to brammer plc
on a proforma basis adjusted operating 
profit including synergies increased by 
95 to £67m 2010 £61m in advance of 
establishing the new plumbing and heating 
division paul tallentire joined us with the 
intention of becoming its chairman he has 
come into the group at a time of significant 
change and we are already seeing the benefits 
of his experience 
2011 was a more challenging year for the 
domestic business and pts in particular as 
volumes in the boiler market fell around 15 
from 2010 levels when the boiler scrappage 
scheme was in place however in april the 
pts team won a significant contract to supply 
plumbing and heating materials to british 
gas on an exclusive basis two of the primary 
reasons for winning the contract are the 
outstanding levels of customer service that pts 
is able to offer from a countrywide network of 
sites together with our industry leading ontime 
infull delivery capability other advances in 
pts came in both the spares and renewables 
offerings
pts was named national builders merchant 
of the year at the builders merchanting news 
awards a real testament to the commitment of 
our colleagues
the bss industrial business has performed 
strongly with sales outperforming the market 
increased volumes high inflation in the 
first nine months from rising copper prices 
increasing gross margins and good cost control 
have made 2011 a very successful year which 
underlines the strength of the team led by 
managing director frank elkins a particular 
focus on the drainage business has seen sales 
grow by over 25 yearonyear with eight 
new drainage implants into bss branches 
during 2011 
the other businesses in the bss group 
are fp wholesale a distributor of plumbing 
heating and bathroom products nationally to 
chief executive’s review of the y ear 
the city plumbing team have performed well in a tough environment increasing likeforlike sales by 4 reports
tra vis perkins annual repor t and accounts 2011
19
the independent merchants and birchwood 
price tools bpt which focusses on the 
wholesale market distributing power tools 
hand tools and site equipment fp sales have 
been adversely affected by the boiler market 
with likeforlike sales down yearonyear 
by contrast bpt has achieved a significant 
increase in sales and has been particularly 
successful in introducing new products in 
particular scruffs workwear to the rest of the 
travis perkins group 
2012 performance
the year has started satisfactorily with 
group lfl sales for the first seven weeks up 
18 lfl sales for the general merchanting 
division have increased by 54 and for the 
specialist merchanting division they are up 
39 delivered sales on a lfl basis for the 
retail division excluding toolstation since it 
remains nonlfl until 2013 have decreased 
by 31 whilst on an ordered basis they are 
up 09 the addition of toolstation’s own lfl 
performance would have increased the retail 
division’s ordered lfl sales to 27 plumbing 
and heating division lfl sales are up 09
investors and lenders
we place great emphasis on good 
communications with investors analysts 
and lenders in 2011 we expanded our 
roadshows to encompass large investment 
funds located on the west coast of america 
approximately 26 of our investor base 
is located in north america so increased 
contact with potential new investors from that 
continent is an important aspect of our investor 
relations strategy
in the summer of 2011 with the debt crisis 
in the eurozone seemingly worsening we 
decided that it would be better to refinance 
our uk syndicated bank facility early rather 
than waiting for the summer of 2012 from 
the outset of negotiations it became clear that 
european banks have become considerably 
more cautious since we last raised funds in 
2008 even so thanks to the continued support 
of many of the banks in our existing syndicate 
the group raised a £550m forward start from 
april 2013 revolving credit facility which 
secures our funding needs through to 2016 
whilst the cost of this source of capital has 
increased it remains an attractive source of 
funding relative to other sources and sustains 
within prudent financing parameters an 
efficient balance sheet for shareholders
management
the pace of our development and growth 
requires our executives to continuously improve 
their skills and impact in their current roles it 
also provides opportunities for them to take up 
new challenges often providing promotion to 
new roles during the year we have continued 
to strengthen our management team through a 
combination of promoting top performers within 
our business and attracting fresh talent from 
other organisations 
the new appointments have significantly 
increased our strength in depth and 
organisational capabilities particularly in our 
new consumer division and our plumbing and 
heating division these appointments cover 
all aspects of our business ranging from 
specialist areas such as sustainability and 
multichannel to operational functions
we have also made changes to the roles 
of some people on our executive committee 
john carter’s promotion has already been 
covered in the chairman’s statement but it is 
worth reiterating the great contribution he has 
made to the success of the group norman 
bell was promoted to the new role of group 
development director following his successful 
running of the bss integration project 
alongside john 
following our reorganisation of the group 
into four operating divisions we have been 
able to appoint paul tallentire who recently 
joined the group following a career as a senior 
executive in a variety of trade businesses 
as divisional chairman of the plumbing and 
heating division jeremy bird who previously 
ran our wickes business has been promoted 
to the new role of divisional chairman for the 
consumer division 
joe mescall and arthur davidson continue 
to lead the remaining two operating divisions 
as divisional chairmen of general merchanting 
and specialist merchanting respectively 
opportunities for advancement have also 
been given to the people who manage a 
number of our businesses 
ian church who has led the travis perkins 
business in the midlands with distinction for the 
“the pace of our development 
and growth requires our 
executives to continuously 
improve their skills and 
impact in their current roles” 20
last seven years is now managing director pts 
simon king an experienced retail executive 
from safeway now morrisons tesco and asda 
where he was most recently chief operations 
officer joins the group as managing director 
wickes kieran griffin a former keyline and 
travis perkins manager and regional director 
who enjoyed success in his first managing 
director role at ccf has been promoted to 
managing director travis perkins midlands and 
north west
howard luft who was until the end of 
september the managing director of buck 
and hickman and who was responsible for the 
successful turnaround and subsequent sale 
of this business has rejoined the group to 
become managing director of ccf
we are delighted that we have been able 
to continue to build on our previous success 
by promoting talented people from inside the 
group to their new roles to achieve a promotion 
in these circumstances is truly outstanding 
it is also pleasing to know that both the 
strength of the group and its prospects are 
recognised by the new people we have been 
able to attract to our group it is a testament 
to the success we have achieved against a 
backdrop of challenging economic conditions 
i am sure that this group of talented individuals 
will make important contributions to our 
continued growth 
travis perkins in the community
while many aspects of the group are 
coordinated centrally corporate social 
responsibility is one area that remains firmly 
the responsibility of the individual businesses 
particularly when it comes to charitable 
fundraising and community programmes 
in 2011 each of our businesses supported 
a charity of their choice and undertook a 
plethora of activities to raise funds in 2011 
through the efforts of the group’s employees 
ably supported by customers and suppliers 
£19m was raised for worthy causes 2010 
£17m including £146217 2010 £112083 
contributed by the group
given the success of the charity fundraising 
in terms of motivation and colleague 
participation we have also devolved the 
management of very successful community 
programmes to individual businesses moving 
responsibility away from the centre branches 
are encouraged to fundraise for their business’ 
partner charity and carry out building or repair 
related work in their local community
in total businesses across the group partner 
with 14 charities with many having chosen 
during 2011 to extend their initial twoyear 
partnership for a further year in addition 
businesses in the former bss group have 
increased their fundraising activities they have 
all adopted new charities for 2012 or joined 
forces with another business or central function 
to support an existing partnership
for its work with the prostate cancer 
charity keyline won best uk project at the 
2011 business charity awards it was declared 
the company that made the biggest difference 
to beneficiaries through involvement with a 
charity project the company and its colleagues 
were also highly commended for their 
partnership with the charity
the travis perkins business adopted the 
breast cancer campaign and together for 
short lives as its charities in 2010 having 
resprayed 12 of its trucks pink in a charity 
supporting publicity campaign in 2010 the 
pink theme has continued in 2011 the 
inaugural ‘travis pinkins’ charity day took place 
to complement the continued sale of pink 
products such as wheelbarrows saws pencils 
and tape measures in its branches 
wickes continued its support for leukaemia 
and lymphoma research with colleagues yet 
again raising over £06m for the charity 
groupwide initiatives include a lottery where 
colleagues donate £1 a month from their 
pay half of which is donated to the partner 
charities with 70 of eligible employees now 
taking part more than £100000 has been 
donated to charity since the launch of the 
lottery in august 2009 
strategy 
the statements of mission vision and values 
at the front of this annual report set out what 
we exist to do the direction we aim to take the 
group and the way in which we believe we 
should work the strategy we are following to 
achieve these aims is designed to maximise 
over the long term shareholder returns and 
involves
● creation acquisition and development 
of businesses that seek to serve all the 
segments for the distribution of building 
materials in the uk
● continuously improving the customer and 
supplier proposition in all our businesses to 
become the highest rated in each segment 
as measured by customers and as tested by 
seeking to outperform markets on a likefor
like basis
● exploit the economies of scale this creates 
through the centralisation of common 
activities and common purchasing into low 
cost highly efficient and powerful central 
functions
● sustaining an organisational model that 
devolves authority to operating managers 
and allows them to compete with the 
most effective competitors with minimal 
constraints but always maintaining very 
strong controls
● operating a performance management 
system closely matched to arrangements 
for incentives that encourages the 
right economic behaviour and allows all 
colleagues to participate in the financial 
success of the group
● recruiting and developing people whose 
personal characteristics are consistent with 
a culture of customer sensitivity continuous 
improvement and a drive for performance
the table on page 22 shows how we approach 
the various dimensions of our strategy and how 
it is integrated with our management of risk
these relatively dry words are easy to write 
on a page but require leadership by example 
active management and considerable thought 
in deployment senior management’s role is 
to maintain a focus on these strategies the 
goal for each of our mature businesses is that 
they achieve the highest operating margin and 
return on capital of any business operating in 
their segment
the particular themes currently being 
pursued in executing these strategies are
● having recently expanded our asset 
base and considerably accelerated our 
chief executive’s review of the y ear  reports
tra vis perkins annual repor t and accounts 2011
21
designed to support these themes as well 
as drive the impact of our programmes of 
continuous improvement
our summary of principal risks and 
uncertainties is set out on pages 36 
and 37 in summary our performance is 
closely aligned with the fortunes of the uk 
construction industry however it is also 
possible that we could suffer from the 
effects of disintermediation if we do not offer 
value match our customer preferences or 
improve our proposition in addition we are 
dependent upon maintaining our it capabilities 
purchasing and distributing goods effectively 
and recruiting and retaining the best people 
outlook
our research suggests that market volumes 
will remain subdued in 2012 we expect trade 
market volumes to decline responding to the 
decrease in the number of housing transactions 
in the first half of 2011 and to the contraction 
in public sector expenditure for which we 
have less than a 20 exposure the consumer 
sector is likely to decline by a more substantial 
amount as consumer confidence remains low 
unemployment rises and disposable income 
remains under pressure 
against a backdrop of generally weak lead 
indicators including mortgage approvals 
property transactions consumer confidence 
and pressure on net disposable income we will 
further grow revenue by continuously improving 
our businesses although we will continue to 
target outperformance against the competition 
on a likeforlike basis we will actively balance 
this objective with maintaining gross margins 
and limiting cost growth in a weakening 
market we judge this slight modification of our 
trading stance will yield the best outcome in 
terms of absolute profits and trend of operating 
margin in 2012 our priorities will be threefold
● leverage our self help initiatives including 
the incremental return from the 13 exfocus 
stores added in 2011 and the growth in 
profit from the maturity of the toolstation 
stores 100 owned from january 2012
● use our strong cash flow to pay down 
debt targeting a reduction of £125m for 
the year maintain selective expansion 
investment and increase dividends
● continue the successful integration of bss 
into the group by adding trading systems 
to the already integrated financial systems 
whilst working to realise our increased 
synergy target of £30m for 2012
we therefore look forward to another year of 
solid progress in 2012
geoff cooper
chief executive
21 february 2012
market outperformance now prioritise 
improvements in operating margins
● add multichannel capabilities to our 
businesses building on the considerable 
success achieved via toolstation and 
wickes’ multichannel activities
● expand our global sourcing activities 
supported by an expansion of ownlabel 
products category management activity and 
harmonised product specifications across 
market segments
● improve asset turn and lower property 
costs via new supply chain capabilities 
concentration of brands on single sites 
development of our owned ‘trade parks’ and 
realisation of spare assets through active 
property management
growth prospects for the group are positive 
with gains expected from a recovery of activity 
in construction markets further market 
outperformance operational leverage from 
economies of scale and expansion of our 
branch networks and related activities whilst 
we confidently expect this to provide several 
years of good growth in financial returns we 
believe over the next two or three years we 
should begin to cautiously with a lowrisk and 
lowcapital approach explore the prospects 
for expansion in new markets and activities 
our approach to these trials should not 
adversely impact the prospects for profits cash 
generation and debt reduction
our management arrangements are 
“the goal for each of our mature 
businesses is that they achieve 
the highest operating margin and 
return on capital of any business 
operating in their segment” 22
strategic delivery overview
devolving authority to managers to allow them to compete in the market but 
without weakening our control environment
recruiting and developing people with attributes that support our core values
operating a performance management system closely aligned to incentives
people employee retention employee recruitment 
retention and 
succession
approach strategic
dimension
key performance 
indicators
principal risks and 
uncertainties
exploiting the economies of scale delivered by growth and centralisation to 
improve our operating margins
centralising most support services
improving asset turn and lowering property costs
realising surplus assets and reinvesting the proceeds
cost control 
and asset 
management
group overheads to 
sales ratio
adjusted roce
information technology 
failure
defined benefit scheme 
funding
achieving market leading returns on sales and returns on capital employed
reducing debt through cash generation
increasing adjusted earnings per share
optimising our dividend cover
financial net debt to ebitda
free cash flow
adjusted roce
adjusted eps
adjusted pbt
dividend cover
market conditions
exploiting economies of scale from growth to improve our proposition gain 
further market share and improve operating margins
centralising purchasing to increase the benefits of common purchasing
improving our supply chain capabilities
expanding our global sourcing activities to support our own brand proposition 
continuously improving our customer and supplier proposition
harmonising product specifications across our businesses
sales and 
margin 
management
likeforlike 
revenue growth
likeforlike sales 
outperformance
adjusted operating 
profitmargin
competitive pressures
information technology 
failure
supplier dependency 
and direct sourcing
using our superior financial performance to expand our branch network so 
ensuring we penetrate all catchments in the uk
operating a well resourced and innovative property function 
extending our multichannel capabilities
adding additional channels or creating businesses to serve all segments of the 
uk building materials market where we can achieve synergies
developing and owning trade parks and multiple brand sites
expansion revenue from 
expansion
integration complexity
travis perkins is the largest provider of 
building materials in the uk our philosophy of 
continuous improvement is intended to increase 
shareholder value through innovation organic 
selfhelp initiatives and targeted expansion 
in order that we might achieve our goal we 
seek to ensure that our businesses offer 
market leading propositions as measured by 
customers and suppliers and outgrow their 
markets on a likeforlike basis 
successful execution of our strategy is based 
upon a strong and well resourced share service 
model which enables branches to concentrate 
on delivering excellent customer service whilst 
allowing the central teams to concentrate on 
innovation and leadership across the group
the section below gives a high level overview 
of our approach to delivering our strategy how 
we judge progress and which of the principal 
risks and uncertainties could prevent it being 
delivered further details are provided within 
the chairman’s statement the chief executive’s 
review of the year the deputy chief executive’s 
review of the year and the finance director’s 
review of the year 
stephen armstrong steve simms and nigel read at fp wholesale bedford reports
tra vis perkins annual repor t and accounts 2011
23
“fp wholesale a distributor of plumbing heating and bathroom products to independent merchants” 24
introduction
we aim to grow and develop the operating 
businesses that make travis perkins the largest 
and most economically rewarding provider of 
building material solutions to anybody in the 
uk wanting to construct maintain improve or 
repair the built environment we believe that 
this will ensure that we achieve our overall 
strategy of improving returns for the group’s 
shareholders the business model we deploy 
to execute this strategy is shown on the table 
on page 29
in 2011 the approach we have taken to 
meeting our aims has been to 
● increase our investment in colleague training 
and development
● improve our health and safety and 
environmental credentials
● make many small improvements throughout 
our organisation rather than putting all our 
efforts into large projects 
● successfully integrate bss into the group
● concentrate on maximising the benefits from 
existing initiatives
● maximise the purchasing and overhead 
synergies arising from the acquisition of bss
● target expansion in emerging channels 
by expanding our newest businesses and 
seeking opportunities to add new channels 
in areas that are complementary to our 
existing businesses
in developing our business it is important 
that we do not overlook the influence that our 
colleagues customers suppliers and other 
stakeholders can have on results for that 
reason it is an imperative that we strive to 
make our work environment a better place to 
do business
operationally we measure our success 
through a comprehensive ‘balanced scorecard’ 
of key performance indicators ‘kpi’ which are 
aligned to achieving our strategy
“proof that our inclusive culture 
works is evidenced by those 
employees who have been 
employed by the business for 
almost their entire working lives”
  2011 2010
likeforlike revenue growth – merchanting 94 76
likeforlike revenue growth – retail 13 09
likeforlike revenue growth – bss proforma 29 62
likeforlike revenue outperformance 50 35
employee retention 870 860
revenue from expansion  20 26
environment – see separate report on pages 38 to 42
health  safety – see separate report on pages 43 and 44
deputy chief executive’s review of the y ear
for the year ended 31 december 2011
john carter
deputy chief executive reports
tra vis perkins annual repor t and accounts 2011
25
people
engagement
building colleague engagement is of great 
importance to the success of our business 
because committed employees improve 
performance which has a positive rippledown 
effect on customers to monitor progress we 
regularly survey our colleagues to seek their 
opinions about what is working well and what 
prevents them from performing at their best 
and feeling connected
this year we sought feedback from all of the 
bss colleagues who joined the group late last 
year and were delighted when the engagement 
score matched the 60 registered by the rest 
of the group in mid 2010 however to ensure 
that we remain informed between groupwide 
surveys in 2011 we launched an online 
survey panel called voice box intended to test 
where we are on issues that might influence 
engagement all employees were invited to take 
part and within weeks 2700 had registered 
we also embrace a variety of twoway 
communication channels to maintain 
employee involvement and engagement in 
group activities these include open forums 
for employees to ask any questions about the 
business colleague liaison forums employee 
nominated special achievement awards and 
our popular quarterly magazine the bridge
proof that our inclusive culture works is 
evidenced by those employees who have been 
employed by the business for almost their 
entire working lives some employees have 
given 50 years’ continuous service whilst 
more than 80 have been with travis perkins’ 
companies for more than 40 years
training and development
the primary objectives for the business over 
the past two years have been to maximise sales 
opportunities protect margin and out perform 
the market to achieve those targets we needed 
a learning and development strategy that gave
● colleagues the confidence and expert 
product knowledge to offer the service and 
advice trade customers expect 
● managers the leadership skills and 
commercial acumen to motivate our people 
and drive results 
● leaders the creativity and inspiration to set 
the agenda and facilitate change
during the year in support of our strategy we 
have undertaken many projects to improve the 
abilities of colleagues at all levels throughout 
the group these are designed to give them 
the confidence and skills needed to exercise 
the authority they are given to compete in the 
market the projects included
● establishing an executive development 
group of senior managers with potential for 
leadership roles forging a link with ashridge 
the leading management school to deliver 
programmes to this group in 2012
● delivering leadership and coaching 
programmes to upskill our regional 
directors and their peers 
● developing job skills and product knowledge 
expertise amongst branch and store 
colleagues through sales and service 
workshops
● relaunching as an apprenticeship scheme 
our management training scheme which 
many current directors and i went through 
on originally joining the group 
the success we have achieved in recent 
years culminated in our being positioned as 
a finalist in the hr excellence awards 2011 
for ‘best learning and development strategy’ 
which confirms that learning and development 
activity within the group delivers bottom line 
business benefits
careers and talent pipeline
the ongoing challenge is to build the 
capability of the talent pipeline and leverage 
internal knowledge skills networks and 
experience for the benefit of the group as a 
whole the hard work and abilities of many 
colleagues have been recognised this year 
through promotions and new opportunities 
to work in different parts of the business but 
in those cases where we have to seek talent 
from outside the existing internal talent pool 
we need to be positioned as an ‘employer of 
choice’ among candidates
during the year we have invested in a new 
centralised it recruitment platform to bring 
more efficiency to our recruitment processes 
and increase hire quality to attract the best 
candidates we believe we need to offer a rich 
candidate experience and to let candidates 
know where they are in the process at all 
times our new system allows us to do this 
furthermore as part of this investment we 
have added a bespoke recruitment site that 
colleagues within our business can use to 
seek out career opportunities before many 
of the vacancies are placed on external 
recruitment sites 
stay safe
we have an absolute commitment to 
continuously improving our health and safety 
record which in recent years has resulted in 
our approach to safety in our business evolving 
from one which was ‘stay legal’ to one which 
is now ‘stay safe’ in achieving this change 
each year our safety team have developed a 
large number of initiatives to promote the stay 
safe message 
driven by the business’ desire to progress 
the stay safe journey more quickly and 
effectively we have realigned our stay safe 
team to our new divisional structure this 
will strengthen the awareness and personal 
ownership of each business board which in 
turn will accelerate the development of the stay 
safe culture in our branch and store managers 
in restructuring the health  safety team we 
have created
● four stay safe business partner roles 
each supporting one of the four operating 
divisions
● a stay safe central services team which is 
responsible for reviewing and developing 
health  safety policy managing incidents 
and providing advice and guidance to 
operational management and
● a team of stay safe training advisors that 
will support the business by developing 
and delivering stay safe training across all 
divisions
sales and margin management
it is our aim to outperform our main markets 
on a likeforlike basis by communicating and 
delivering a superior offer to our customers 
customer service continues to be an area of 
focus for all colleagues 26
one aspect of increasing sales and customer 
satisfaction is ensuring that our prices are 
transparent consistent and understandable 
to our customers in our merchanting brand 
we are trialling new pricing structures with 
the intention of rolling them out during 2012 
we have also invested in our sales force 
and focussed them through incentivisation 
on increasing active trading accounts as a 
result we opened or reactivated a number of 
customer accounts during the year 
in 2011 we saw merchanting gross margins 
come under pressure due to a combination 
of high input inflation and our own strategy 
to gain market share in the early part of the 
year our actions were supported by investing 
a proportion of the gains from our sourcing 
initiatives into prices however from quarter 
2 onwards as markets became more difficult 
we adjusted our stance in favour of achieving 
a consistent yearonyear gross margin by the 
end of the year 
the category management team undertook 
projects to investigate returns on timber 
and sheet materials this involves looking at 
all aspects of product holding pricing and 
merchandising later in 2012 branches will be 
able to order and stock timber by specific length 
we have started to benefit from new ranges 
being crosssold between bss businesses and 
the rest of the group a particular success was 
the introduction into wickes of the scruffs 
workwear range supplied by birchwood price 
tools the new products which already have 
proved to be very popular will be introduced to 
replace an existing range in the merchanting 
division during 2012 furthermore we are 
now piloting toolhire in bss industrial with the 
intention of rolling it out to more branches later 
in the year
our supply chain operations are wide 
reaching with many products now sourced 
direct from global manufacturers we operate 
24 warehouse facilities covering nearly 3m 
square feet which supply over 1800 branches 
that utilise 2500 vehicles to deliver product 
to customers worksites and homes over 
1500 colleagues across the group now 
support internal supply chain solutions picking 
48000000 separate items per annum
our customers are rightly becoming ever 
more demanding expecting us to provide 
consistent and timely access to a broad 
range of products this provides us with a 
significant sales and margin opportunity as we 
can leverage our unique multi brand scale to 
improve customer service and reduce costs 
therefore we continue to invest successfully 
in our supply chain as a key enabler to our 
organic growth programme
additional focus on our timber and heavyside 
bulky goods supply chains now allows our 
smaller branches to access a broader range of 
products regardless of their space constraints 
the implementation of a feeder network from 
larger branches has improved sheet materials 
availability by 5 whilst after a year of 
operation our heavyside consolidation operation 
in the northwest now services 110 branches 
with an extended range of 3000 products as 
a result our branches can consistently promise 
customers 24 hour delivery for product that 
would otherwise have come direct from 
suppliers on much longer lead times 
our performance in supply chain has been 
recognised externally with the team beating 
many major european retail and merchant 
businesses to win two prestigious awards in 
2011– the ligenta european retail supply 
chain award and retail week’s distribution 
development award
investment this year focused on further 
centralisation of our lightside and plumbing 
 heating product ranges with an additional 
500000 square foot warehouse facility being 
added to our northampton campus the new 
site has allowed us to extend the number 
of centrally stocked products available to 
branches and so has improved our overall 
levels of service and product availability the 
facility is also an enabler to our commercial 
team’s direct sourcing programme 
as part of our drive to increase direct 
sourcing we opened a new office in shanghai 
to manage the flow of product from factories 
located in the far east forty colleagues 
deputy chief executive’s review of the y ear
“our performance in supply 
chain has been recognised 
externally with the team beating 
many major european retail and 
merchant businesses to win two 
prestigious awards in 2011”
eliot longhorn at travis perkins bedford reports
tra vis perkins annual repor t and accounts 2011
27
“our merchanting division has performed strongly with each of our businesses recording impressive growth” 28
deputy chief executive’s review of the y ear
from china and the uk work in shanghai and 
shenzhen to ensure that goods are delivered to 
our uk warehouses to the right specification in 
the correct quantities as efficiently as possible 
this has enabled us to capture the margin 
previously made by the third party distributors 
and agents
although we are now purchasing £450m 
of goods from approximately 90 factories 
located in 15 countries across five continents 
our analysis suggests that as more product is 
direct sourced we could realise a further £25m 
of annual profits by 2016 consequently we 
plan to expand further our team in china during 
the coming year
the introduction of new product ranges is 
fundamental to the growth of the business 
during 2011 we completely relaunched iflo 
our own brand plumbing range supported 
by a new fully priced catalogue sales have 
increased 22 yearonyear at the same time 
as margins have increased we predict further 
growth in 2012 when additional ranges and 
a new pricing structure will be introduced in 
addition we are actively seeking new sales 
opportunities in areas such as fire protection 
renewables drainage and water recovery
our most important project in 2011 has 
been to deliver the bss synergies identified at 
the time of the acquisition a team comprising 
colleagues from across the group exceeded our 
2011 expectations of £8m by delivering £15m 
of purchasing synergies in 2011 and putting 
in place a process that will lead to our £25m 
initial target being achieved one year early in 
2012 we will be concentrating on maximising 
synergies by consolidating purchases where we 
currently have multiple suppliers
in bss we acquired a group that was part 
way through a project to implement a new 
operating system throughout the business our 
assessment of the programme resulted in a 
change of course whereby we will implement 
new systems into bss based upon existing 
group systems our it colleagues have spent 
most of 2011 rewriting system programmes so 
that they meet the specific needs of both the 
bss and pts businesses we have trialled the 
new systems in seven pts branches during the 
year we plan new systems in pts to improve 
the information available to branch managers 
to enable them to trade better reduce credit 
risk and help collect debts more rapidly
tight cost control and 
asset management
in these difficult economic times we have 
continued to place emphasis on finding ways 
of improving our efficiency exploiting the 
economies of scale delivered by centralising 
group services and managing our cost base 
we have also taken the decision to concentrate 
on maximising the returns from existing 
initiatives rather than investing heavily in new 
ones initiatives where due to market conditions 
returns were found to be more marginal have 
been delayed or cancelled
in wickes we have changed the store 
structure by removing some management 
roles but at the same time increasing 
colleague hours to facilitate a greater focus 
on customer service whilst some colleagues 
were redeployed into other roles unfortunately 
the reorganisation has resulted in some 200 
colleagues leaving the business towards the 
end of the year 
our delivery fleet based at branches 
has benefited from further investment in 
automated delivery planning and scheduling 
technology this improves our ontime delivery 
performance for customers while reducing 
vehicle costs by optimising the delivery route
our synergy programme was not 
confined only to product purchases through 
implementing new systems and processes 
switching suppliers and combining bss teams 
with those in northampton we achieved almost 
£5m of overhead synergies during the year 
improve return on capital
managing stock levels whilst improving stock 
availability is one of the key initiatives being 
undertaken by the supply chain team at 30 
june stock levels were higher than we planned 
due to a combination of holding more stock 
due to direct sourcing advance buying due 
to favourable preinflation increase deals with 
suppliers and increasing sales levels however 
by the yearend we had reduced stock from 
its peak levels by approximately £50m whilst 
we continue to target additional areas where 
stock can be reduced without impacting upon 
availability we are also investing in preprice 
increase deals where appropriate
we are now trialling stock autoreplenishment 
in our wickes business this will yield working 
capital and productivity gains and stronger sales 
through better availability
external expansion
the closure of focus in the first half of the 
year presented us with a great opportunity to 
expand selectively our store base in a number 
of new catchment areas that had previously 
proved difficult to penetrate in what was the 
largest project of its kind ever undertaken by 
wickes a crossfunctional team of colleagues 
responded magnificently to the challenge of 
engaging 350 new colleagues and opening 13 
new stores within four and a half months the 
early results from what was our largest single 
investment of the year have exceeded our 
expectations with all stores trading profitably 
we have continued to leverage our existing 
estate by seeking opportunities to expand our 
smaller businesses by establishing implants 
within our existing merchanting branches this 
approach minimises set up costs and improves 
returns through utilising spare capacity within 
our network
● turnover for toolhire rose 22 in the year 
we now trade from 196 toolhire outlets in 
our merchanting business having opened 
a further nine during 2011 and we expect 
to trial our first toolhire outlet within a bss 
branch in early 2012 before rolling it out 
further later in the year
● benchmarx opened 27 new implanted 
outlets in 2011 so we now trade from 84 
our local and uk staff based in shanghai and shenzhen 
ensured our fi rst far east team day was a success reports
tra vis perkins annual repor t and accounts 2011
29
sites it is now the third largest business in 
its sector and 
●
 we continued to expand our heating spares 
capability adding a further 44 outlets in pts 
branches and 28 outlets in city plumbing 
branches we now operate 244 spares 
outlets across the group a network that has 
produced exceptional sales growth in this 
category 
a further 1268 colleagues joined the group 
when toolstation was acquired on 3 january 
2012 toolstation is a multi channel retailer of 
lightside products trading from 103 sites in 
the uk as well as by telephone and through 
the internet it has expanded rapidly since 
2008 and as more stores have reached trading 
maturity it is now trading profitably 
part of our strategy is to increase our 
presence in emerging channels by investing in 
new opportunities in markets adjacent to our 
existing businesses in 2011 we acquired a 
25 stake in rinus roofing a small company 
selling approximately 2000 roofing products 
from seven branches in the north of england
outlook
in november we announced a new divisional 
structure would be put in place from 1 january 
2012 our plumbing and heating businesses 
have been brought together to form a new 
division under the leadership of paul tallentire 
whilst toolstation joins our consumer division 
bringing with it a multichannel expertise that 
we can exploit throughout the business
2011 was a difficult year for companies in 
our sector but colleagues throughout the travis 
perkins group responded to the challenges set 
for them a lot was achieved but there remains 
a lot of potential all indications are that 2012 
will be equally difficult but i fully expect that 
the initiatives we are undertaking to improve 
our business will keep us at the forefront of 
our sector 
i would like to place on record my sincere 
thanks to all colleagues across the group for 
their outstanding efforts which have produced 
yet again an industry leading performance
john carter
deputy chief executive
21 february 2012
business model
are committed to ensuring that we buy quality 
goods and materials from responsible and 
ethical sources at prices that are fair to all 
purchase over 100000 products from uk and 
overseas manufacturers and distributors
stock a wide range of own brand products 
particularly in our consumer business as well 
as branded goods supplied by market leading 
companies
achieve economies of scale by focussing 
our purchases towards a limited number of 
suppliers
are the largest or second largest customer for a 
considerable number of our suppliers many of 
whom have forged close relationships with the 
group over a long period of time
operates from 24 central warehouses enabling 
us to buy goods in bulk and distribute them to 
our branches in smaller quantities
utilises a distribution fleet of 192 vehicles to 
transport product between warehouses and 
branches
makes around 350000 branch deliveries pa
engages over 1500 colleagues to ensure the 
efficient movement of stock throughout our 
organisation
improves branch efficiency by ensuring we 
have an appropriate mix of suppliers delivering 
either direct to our branches or to our central 
warehouses 
gives customers access to our businesses 
through a nationwide branch network
employing the best available people and 
investing in their training and development
ensuring branches maintain high levels of stock 
availability in full project quantities
offering advice and building related services 
that support their needs
using a fleet of 2300 vehicles to provide an 
efficient ontimeinfull local delivery service 
where customers have chosen not to collect 
goods from our sites
making credit available for approximately 80 
of customer purchases
ensuring our prices reflect both the quality of 
the goods we sell and the service we provide 
whilst remaining competitive
travis perkins is a multichannel operator selling a wide range of building materials to the trade and consumer primarily through a network of mainly uk 
branches our business model is based upon
●
  achieving growth through investing in organic initiatives and acquisitions that leverage our fi xed and central costs to deliver further benefi ts from increasing 
economies of scale
●
   an organisation structure which devolves responsibilities close to customers and provides the benefi ts of shared central services
●
  thorough performance management monitoring systems and processes
●
   a technology approach where retaining control by writing our own systems delivers lower cost more fl exibility and higher matched functionality particularly 
in areas such as logistics supply chain and multichannel
●
  incentivisation structures that are linked to performance and encourage improvement
●
  a strong culture which extends to the types of people we employ and the values and leadership behaviours we encourage
in delivering our product solutions we… our products are distributed to the end user 
through a supply chain network which…
we strive to provide our customers with the 
highest levels of service possible by… 30
paul hampden smith 
finance director
“we have arranged a £550m 
forward start extension to the 
group’s uk borrowing facilities 
which will meet the group’s 
funding requirements until 2016” 
financial achievements
our principal financial objectives for 2011 
were to support the group’s strategy by 
delivering the synergies anticipated at the time 
of the bss acquisition further reducing group 
borrowings managing margins and costs in 
the face of increasingly difficult markets and 
ensuring increased profitability by leveraging 
the investments we made in product service 
initiatives and branch expansion this involved 
● delivering £20m of synergies from the bss 
acquisition which has left us well placed to 
exceed our original £25m target with £30m 
being our new target
● reducing net debt by £191m to £583m 
through a series of initiatives and synergies 
designed to improve cash flow
● increasing adjusted earnings per share on a 
proforma basis assuming we owned bss for 
all of 2010 by 6
● integrating financial systems following the 
bss acquisition
furthermore at a time when financial market 
liquidity has been severely affected by events 
in europe we have arranged a £550m forward 
start extension to the group’s uk borrowing 
facilities which will meet the group’s funding 
requirements until 2016
financial results
the group’s overall adjusted operating margin 
remained flat at 66 compared with last year 
on a proforma basis 
whilst the operating margins of individual 
divisions are still strong there has been a 
limited amount of erosion during the year in 
merchanting the overheads to sales ratio 
reduced by 04 due to the combined impact 
of good cost control and the operational 
gearing effect of the fixed element of our cost 
base and synergy benefits contributed 02 
however these were not enough to prevent 
merchanting operating margins falling by 02 
to 86 2010 88 as gross margins eased 
08 due to mix direct to site deliveries grew 
strongly so diluting gross margins input price 
pressure investment in warehouse facilities 
and some investment in market share 
in our retail business despite a 13 gross 
margin improvement due to a combination of 
improved purchasing terms direct sourcing 
and lower sales incentives adjusted operating 
margin fell by 14 to 45 2010 59 
this reflects an increase in overheads due to 
higher marketing spend the initial costs of 
opening all of the new stores acquired from 
focus and restructuring
bss adjusted operating margins including 
synergies improved by 04 to 46 2010 
42 on a proforma basis as the benefits of 
our synergy programme more than offset the 
effects of sales mix which reduced operating 
margins due to significantly increased turnover 
with british gas from april
the group incurred £10m of exceptional 
operating charges in 2011 2010 £19m as 
a result of integrating bss into the group 
the charges arose mainly as a result of 
finance director’s review of the y ear
for the year ended 31 december 2011
richard haines at toolstation redditch reports
tra vis perkins annual repor t and accounts 2011
31
“early in 2012 we completed the acquisition of t oolstation” 32
finance director’s review of the y ear
the ongoing programme to integrate bss 
colleagues systems and processes into the 
group although there was a £2m charge due 
to the closure or disposal of businesses that 
were determined to be noncore to the group’s 
operations after charging the exceptional 
operating items operating profit was £291m 
2010 £220m 
despite incurring increased interest charges 
due to the acquisition of bss late in 2010 
overall net financing costs before exceptional 
charges have reduced in 2011 by £6m to 
£17m gains on derivatives mainly oneoff 
were £7m higher than in 2010 as the group 
benefited from revaluing forward currency 
contracts taken out during the course of the 
year to fix the exchange rate at which goods 
sourced in foreign currency will be purchased 
in addition other finance income associated 
with the pension scheme increased by £6m 
due to significantly higher asset values at the 
start of 2011 than 2010 the average interest 
rate during the year was 30 2010 31
exceptional integration related finance costs 
of £4m 2010 £1m were incurred as a result 
of repaying 125m of bss private placement 
notes before their contractual maturity dates 
profit before tax after charging £14m 
2010 £20m of exceptional costs and £13m 
of intangible asset amortisation 2010 £nil 
rose by £73m to £270m 2010 £197m 
excluding the combined tax effect of the 
exceptional operating and financing costs of 
£4m 2010 £2m and an exceptional deferred 
tax credit of £13m 2010 £2m caused by the 
reduction in the corporation tax rate to 25 
from april 2012 the tax charge for the period 
was £74m 2010 £60m which represents an 
effective rate of 262 2010 276 the 
reduction from last year reflects the drop in the 
statutory tax rate during the year 
basic earnings per share were 30 higher 
at 903 pence 2010 696 pence adjusted 
earnings per share note 12 were 931 pence 
2010 772 pence a 21 increase which is 
primarily due to the acquisition of bss towards 
the end of 2010 the proforma increase in 
adjusted eps was 11 there is no significant 
difference between basic and diluted earnings 
per share
the following table shows the group’s key financial performance indicators 
  2011 2010 2009 2008
adjusted operating profit to revenue ratio 66 76 77 85
group overheads to sales ratio 236 267 263 261
profit before tax growth  decline  370 75 454 440
adjusted profit before tax growth  decline  369 204 111 225
adjusted earnings per share 931p 772p 752p 969p
dividend cover 47x 51x  85x
free cash flow note 36 £294m £278m £294m £185m
adjusted return on capital note 37 113 122 109 129
net debt to adjusted ebitda note 38 13x 19x 15x 28x
the covenant limits that apply to its banking 
arrangements 
the capital structure is formally reviewed by 
the board as part of its annual strategy review 
but it is kept under review by me throughout 
the year the company will rebalance its capital 
structure through raising or repaying debt 
issuing equity or paying dividends
the group’s capital structure is aimed at 
balancing equity and debt in a way which 
comfortably retains the group’s investment 
grade status maintains the financial flexibility 
for business development and optimises the 
efficiency of its finance costs given that the 
cost of debt is below the cost of equity this 
equates to a maximum net debtebitda target 
of 25 times post any acquisition against 30 
times bank covenant with the aim of paying 
down debt to achieve a 1 times ratio 
the current preferred capital structure of 
the group consists of debt which includes the 
bank borrowings and the us private placement 
notes cash and cash equivalents and equity 
attributable to equity holders of the parent 
comprising issued capital reserves and 
retained earnings however we regularly review 
the sources of debt available to the group with 
the aim of maintaining both diversified sources 
and diversified maturities 
in addition the group also utilises operating 
leases particularly in respect of properties at 
31 december 2011 the annual rent roll for 
leased properties was approximately £173m 
our aim is to maintain a ratio approximating to 
20 of properties owned 80 leased
financial capital management
strong financial capital management is a 
fundamental component of the overall group 
strategy
the directors are committed to the 
generation of longterm shareholder value 
which we believe will be achieved through
● increasing the group’s market share via 
a combination of lfl sales growth and 
targeted expansion through acquisitions 
brown field openings and instore 
development
● investing in projects and acquisitions where 
the posttax return on capital employed 
exceeds the weighted average cost of capital 
of the group by a minimum of 4
● generating sufficient free cash flow to enable 
the group to expand its operations whilst 
funding attractive returns to shareholders 
reducing its debt and pension deficit
● operating an efficient balance sheet by 
structuring sources of capital to minimise 
the group’s weighted average cost of capital 
consistent with maintaining an investment 
grade financial profile on a lease adjusted 
basis this would mean a ratio of net debt 
and operating leases to ebitdar would be 
less than three times 31 december 2011 
34 times 
● maintaining longterm dividend cover at 
between two and a half and three and a half 
times earnings
the group maintains a capital structure that 
is both appropriate to the ongoing needs of 
the business and ensures it remains within  reports
tra vis perkins annual repor t and accounts 2011
33
the capital structure of the group 
at 31 december comprises
liquidity and funding
the group is financed through a combination 
of unsecured bank borrowings and unsecured 
guaranteed private placement notes at fixed 
and floating rates of interest the board 
regularly reviews the facilities available and 
seeks to maintain them at a level sufficient 
to facilitate execution of its strategy whilst 
ensuring that liquidity headroom will cover 
possible contingencies
at 31 december 2011 the group had 
committed uk bank facilities of £800m and 
400m of us private placement notes in 
issue in addition it had £40m of uncommitted 
overdraft facilities
during the year as part of the continuing 
integration of bss into the group we repaid 
125m of private placement notes issued by 
bss in 2006 we also cancelled 3 derivative 
contracts that were established to hedge 
against interest and currency movements 
on those notes in total these transactions 
resulted in a charge to the income statement 
of £4m which has been disclosed as an 
exceptional finance cost
in december 2011 we signed a new 
£550m forward start banking agreement with 
a syndicate of banks the £550m revolving 
credit facility which runs until december 
2016 can be drawn from april 2013 the 
expiry date for the group’s existing £800m 
facility agreement
the new agreement will increase the group’s 
funding costs in line with changes that have 
occurred in the market since the last financing 
agreement was signed in 2008 as a result it is 
anticipated that the group will incur additional 
financing costs of around £4m in 2012
the first 200m tranche of our private 
placement notes are due for repayment in 
early 2013 the remaining 200m being 
available until 2016 these together with 
our existing bank facilities provide the travis 
perkins group with the liquidity it requires for 
the foreseeable future
the group is also party to a large number 
of leases most of which relate to premises 
occupied by the group for trading purposes 
note 31 gives further details about the group’s 
operating lease commitments
continued focus on debt reduction
careful control of capital investment together 
with a strong focus on working capital 
management and integration synergies arising 
from aligning supplier payment terms meant 
that net debt was reduced by £191m during the 
year to £583m our net debt to ebitda ratio 
continues to fall towards our target of around 
one times at 31 december 2011 it was 13 
times 2010 19 times free cash flow for the 
year was £294m 2010 £278m note 36 
gross capital and investment expenditure 
totalled £121m £55m was spent on capital 
replacements and £66m on expansion 
we believe our culture of undertaking small 
incremental improvement projects with strict 
return criteria for each expansion project is a 
major strength of the group 
the peak and minimum levels of daily 
borrowings on a cleared basis during the 
year ended 31 december 2011 were £949m 
and £597m respectively 2010 £876m and 
£551m the maximum month end cleared 
borrowings were £867m 2010 £736m at 
31 december 2011 the group had undrawn 
committed facilities of £475m 2010 £455m
pension fund performance
the travis perkins’ final salary pension scheme 
started the year with an accounting surplus of 
£32m whilst the aggregate gross deficits on 
the three bss related defined benefit schemes 
totalled £60m 
during 2011 high quality corporate 
bond yields have fallen dramatically which 
has reduced the discount rate applied to 
scheme liabilities this combined with lower 
than anticipated returns from investments 
particularly equity has resulted in an actuarial 
loss of £50m at 31 december 2011 the 
combined accounting gross deficit was £46m 
2010 £28m
the triennial valuation of the travis perkins 
scheme for september 2011 is currently being 
undertaken details will be reported in the 
2012 annual report
extracting value from 
our business assets
after reviewing the individual businesses 
acquired with bss we decided that the buck 
and hickman business was not sufficiently 
aligned to either the travis perkins or the bss 
group core businesses to warrant retaining it 
in the group accordingly the trade and assets 
were sold for £27m on a debt free cash free 
basis in september 2011
our property team has continued to make 
an important contribution to group profits by 
realising gains from carefully selected property 
development projects they achieved their 
targets for 2011 by generating in excess of 
£16m of property profits from seven projects 
one of the largest of which was at guildford 
which is the second trade park development 
undertaken by the group the proceeds from 
some deals will not be received until 2012 
but £14m was generated during 2011 at the 
yearend the carrying value of our freehold and 
long leasehold property portfolio was £285m 
2010 £262m
capital employed and balance sheet
capital employed at the end of 2011 was 
£2108m 2010 £1952m the group’s 
adjusted return on capital for the year was 
113 2010 122 which continues to be 
  2011 2010
  £m £m
cash and cash equivalents 79 51
bank loans 323 402
us private placement notes 279 366
loan notes 3 3
finance leases 20 22
pension spv 37 36
pension fund deficit 34 20
equity attributable 
to shareholders 2108 1952
total balance sheet 
capital employed 2725 2750
operating leases 
8 times rentals 1408 1352
total capital employed 4133 4102 34
above our pretax weighted average cost of 
capital ‘wacc’ of 69 2010 81 our 
wacc reduced in 2011 due to lower gilt yields
our balance sheet remains strong with 
over £2bn of net assets and once again our 
calculations show there were no impairments 
to the carrying values of goodwill and other 
intangible assets across the group our 
operating assets continue to be highly cash 
and profits generative
during the year the daily closing share price 
ranged between 711p and 1127p the shares 
closed the year at a price of 796p giving a total 
market value or market capitalisation of £19bn 
this represented 09 times shareholders funds 
31 december 2010 13 times
bss 
during the year we completed our fair value 
exercise on the assets acquired in 2010 in total 
we made adjustments of £48m before goodwill 
and intangible write offs which were principally 
in respect of aligning policies on stock debtor 
and pension scheme valuations writing off the 
cost of certain fixed assets and establishing 
accruals for previously unrecorded liabilities 
after reflecting all fair value adjustments 
the final value of goodwill included in the group 
balance sheet was £345m in accordance 
with the requirements of ifrs the balance 
sheet at 31 december 2010 has been 
restated to incorporate the additional fair value 
adjustments identified since that balance sheet 
was signed on 22 february 2011 
 
effective financial risk management
the overall aim of the group’s financial risk 
management policies is to minimise potential 
adverse effects on financial performance 
and net assets the group manages the 
principal financial risks within policies and 
operating parameters approved by the board 
of directors and does not enter into speculative 
transactions treasury activities which fall 
under my daytoday responsibilities are 
managed centrally under a framework of 
policies and procedures approved by and 
monitored by the board 
the group’s policy is to enter into derivative 
contracts only with members of its uk banking 
facility syndicate provided such counterparties 
meet the minimum rating set out in the board 
approved derivative policy
the group’s hedging policy is to generate its 
preferred interest rate profile and so manage 
its exposure to interest rate fluctuations 
through the use of interest rate derivatives 
currently the policy is to maintain between 
33 and 75 of drawn borrowings at fixed 
interest rates
the group has entered into a number of 
interest rate derivatives designed to protect 
it from fluctuating interest and exchange 
rates on its borrowings at the yearend the 
group had £250m of interest rate derivatives 
fixing interest rates on approximately 38 of 
the group’s cleared debt in total 66 of the 
group’s debt is at fixed interest rates
the group settles its currency related trading 
obligations using a combination of currency 
purchased at spot rates and currency bought 
in advance on forward contracts its policy is 
to purchase forward contracts for between 
30 and 70 of its anticipated requirements 
twelve months forward at 31 december 2011 
the nominal value of currency contracts all of 
which were us denominated was 120m 
to protect itself against adverse currency 
movements and enable it to achieve its desired 
interest rate profile the group has entered into 
four cross currency swaps and four forward 
contracts in respect of its 400m fixed rate 
guaranteed unsecured notes
in summary the key points of our financial risk 
management strategy are that we 
● seek to maintain a strong balance sheet
● accord top priority to effective cash and 
working capital management
● retain significant liquidity headroom of 
over £100m in our borrowing facilities and 
maintain good relationships with our bankers
● operate within comfortable margins to our 
banking covenants
● the ratio of net debt to ebitda earnings 
before interest tax and depreciation has 
to be lower than 30 it was approximately 
13 at the yearend and
● the number of times operating profit 
covers interest charges has to be a least 
35 times and it was 15 times in 2011
● have a conservative hedging policy that 
reduces the group’s exposure to currency 
and interest rate fluctuations
● serve over 150000 ‘live’ customer accounts 
and no single customer accounts for more 
than 1 of our sales the bad debt charge in 
2011 was 06 2010 06 of credit sales
going concern
after reviewing the group’s forecasts and risk 
assessments and making other enquiries the 
directors have formed a judgement at the 
time of approving the financial statements 
that there is a reasonable expectation that 
the group and the company have adequate 
resources to continue in operational existence 
for the foreseeable future for this reason they 
continue to adopt the going concern basis in 
preparing the financial statements
in arriving at their opinion the directors 
considered the
● group’s cash flow forecasts and revenue 
projections
● reasonably possible changes in trading 
performance
●
 committed facilities available to the group to 
late 2016 and the covenants thereon
● group’s robust policy towards liquidity and 
cash flow management and
● group management’s ability to successfully 
manage the principal risks and uncertainties 
outlined on pages 36 and 37 during 
periods of uncertain economic outlook and 
challenging macro economic conditions 
paul hampden smith 
finance director
21 february 2012
finance director’s review of the y ear
ben walker at wickes rushden reports
tra vis perkins annual repor t and accounts 2011
35
“ a particular success was the introduction into wickes of the scruffs workwear range supplied by birchwood price t ools” 36
 risk description risk mitigation impact
the group’s products are sold to tradesmen and retail 
customers for a broad range of end uses in the built 
environment the performance of the market is affected 
by general economic conditions and a number of specific 
drivers of construction and diy activity including housing 
transactions net disposable income house price inflation 
consumer confidence interest rates and unemployment
the board conducts an annual review of strategy which includes an 
assessment of likely competitor activity market forecasts and possible 
future trends in products channels of distribution and customer behaviour
the group maintains a comprehensive tracking system for lead indicators 
that influence the market for the consumption of building materials in the 
uk
significant events including those in the supply chain that may affect the 
group are monitored by the executive committee and reported to the 
board monthly by the group chief executive 
adverse 
effect on 
financial 
results
market conditions 
market trends particularly in respect of customers’ 
preferences for purchasing materials through a range of 
supply channels may affect the group’s performance so 
making traditional branch based operations less relevant
public sector buying groups could reduce sales if public 
bodies chose to buy direct from the manufacturers
disintermediation may become more of a threat if 
manufacturers decide to deal directly with the end user
changes to market practice are tracked on an ongoing basis and reported 
to the board each month
the group is leading the industry in terms of the development of new 
and innovative supply solutions and works closely with customers and 
suppliers on a programme of continuous improvement of current models
the group’s branding strategy allows it to use sites flexibly alternative 
space utilisation models are possible including maintaining smaller stores 
and implanting additional services into existing branches
adverse 
effect on 
financial 
results
competitive pressures 
the operations of the group depend on a wide range of 
complex it systems operating efficiently and effectively
the rapid expansion of the group together with an 
increasing demand for it services particularly in respect 
of the bss integration could result in development 
programmes being delayed
increasing levels of cyber crime represent a significant 
threat with the potential to cause loss of system 
availability or financial loss
the strategic demands of the business resources available to it 
performance levels of key systems and it security are kept under review by 
the executive committee
maintenance is undertaken on an ongoing basis to ensure the resilience 
of group systems with escalation procedures operating to ensure any 
performance issues are resolved at an early stage our two main data 
centres mirror each other with data processing switched from one to the 
other on a regular basis an it disaster recovery plan exists and is tested 
regularly together with the business continuity plan with arrangements in 
place for alternative data sites for both trade and retail businesses offsite 
backup routines are in place
adverse 
effect on 
financial 
results
adverse 
effect 
on the 
company’s 
reputation
information technology
a number of factors affect the operating 
results financial condition and prospects of 
each of the businesses in the travis perkins 
group this section describes the risk factors 
that are considered by the directors to be 
material their potential impacts and the 
factors that mitigate them however these 
should not be regarded as a complete and 
comprehensive statement of all potential 
risks and uncertainties additional risks and 
uncertainties that are not presently known to 
the directors or which they currently deem 
immaterial may also have an adverse effect 
on the group’s operating results financial 
condition or prospects
statement of principal risks and uncertainties
as at 31 december 2011
tile giant has consolidated its position in diffi cult markets with total sales up 9 reports
tra vis perkins annual repor t and accounts 2011
37
the group is required by law to maintain a minimum funding level 
in relation to its ongoing obligations to provide current and future 
pensions for members of its pension schemes who are entitled to 
defined benefits 
some issues could adversely affect the funding of these obligations 
including poor performance of the pension fund investments and 
increasing longevity of pension scheme members 
the level of contributions required from the group to meet the 
benefits promised in the final salary schemes will vary depending 
upon the funding position of those schemes
all of the group’s final salary pension schemes are closed to new 
members
for the travis perkins scheme pensionable salary inflation has 
been capped at 3 per annum
the schemes’ investment policies are kept under regular review 
to ensure asset profiles are kept in line with the profiles of 
liabilities
adverse 
affect on 
financial 
results
defined benefit pension scheme funding
the group is the largest customer of many of its suppliers in 
some cases those suppliers are large enough to cause significant 
difficulties to the group if they become unable to meet their supply 
obligations 
alternative sourcing is generally available but the volumes required 
and the time it may take those suppliers to increase production 
could result in significant stockouts for some considerable time
we have rapidly expanded our direct sourcing capabilities 
which have increased the group’s reliance on overseas factories 
producing product this increases the group’s exposure to 
sourcing quality trading warranty and currency issues
the commercial and financial teams monitor the financial position 
of the group’s key suppliers where possible contracts exist with 
more than one supplier for key products 
the group has made a significant investment in a new far 
east infrastructure to support its direct sourcing operation 
comprehensive checks are undertaken on the factories producing 
product the quality and suitability of that product before it is 
shipped to the uk
adverse 
affect on 
financial 
results
adverse 
affect on 
reputation
supplier dependency and direct sourcing
integrating large acquisitions into the group requires the 
redirection of considerable expertise and resource if progress is to 
be achieved efficiently and effectively 
should the process encounter significant unforeseen difficulties 
with systems development and implementation colleague 
integration or process alignment then considerable additional 
cost could be incurred management could be deflected from the 
important task of running the rest of the business and our ability to 
trade successfully could be inhibited 
all major integration processes are overseen by a member of the 
executive committee who is designated as integration director 
they are charged with the responsibility for drawing together the 
resource and expertise required to deliver our integration plans 
colleagues from throughout the group who have the skills and 
experience necessary to undertake complicated integration work 
are seconded from their existing roles to the integration team for 
the duration of the project with additional resource employed to 
backfill their positions
a rigorous quality control process is implemented to ensure 
that system and process changes are thoroughly tested by 
business users before they are released into the live operating 
environment
the board regularly reviews progress against the project plan to 
ensure that the process is properly controlled and has sufficient 
resource to complete the project 
adverse 
affect on 
financial 
results
adverse 
affect on 
reputation
integration complexity
many employees have worked for the group for some considerable 
time during which they have gained valuable knowledge and 
expertise 
the ability to recruit retain and motivate suitably qualified staff is 
an important driver of the group’s overall performance 
ensuring succession for key positions throughout the group is 
important if it is to continue to be successful in the future 
the group human resources director monitors staff engagement 
and turnover by job type and reports to the executive committee 
regularly and to the board annually succession plans are 
established for the most senior positions within the group and 
these are reviewed annually
our reward and recognition systems are actively managed to 
ensure high levels of employee engagement
a widerange of training programmes are in place to encourage 
staff development whilst management development programmes 
are used to assist those identified for more senior positions 
salaries and other benefits are benchmarked annually to ensure 
that the group remains competitive
inability to 
develop and 
execute our 
development 
plans
competitive 
disadvantage
employee recruitment retention and succession
 risk description risk mitigation impact 38
introduction
in a difficult market it is possible to regard 
environmental challenges as distracting or 
not crucial to the immediate success of our 
company we do not take that view and in 
2011 we started to build the frameworks 
within the group to continue to pursue our 
environmental vision
specifically we have 
● restructured how we work in the branches 
to allow us to provide the environmental 
assurance increasingly required by 
customers who purchase timber and timber 
products
●
 increased the ability of our branches to 
recycle both our own and our customers 
waste 
● challenged our businesses to instil 
behaviours aimed at lower energy 
consumption 
● started to consider how we might better 
measure reduce and communicate the 
environmental impact of our international 
supply chain and
● developed our sustainable building solutions 
‘sbs’ service to make sure we are at the 
forefront of construction product supply for 
a sector being asked to make deep cuts in 
carbon emissions
in 2011 we estimate that 6 2010 5 
of our total profit was delivered by being 
environmentally responsible despite 
uncertainty remaining over the impact of 
environmental regulation we will expect to be 
able to continue to grow this contribution faster 
than our competitors giving us a sustainable 
competitive advantage
it is an occupational hazard of reporting 
on environmental matters that measurement 
bases and definitions of data are constantly 
shifting as regulators governments and 
industries gradually evolve a more robust 
approach in this report we describe where 
we have changed our approach in response 
to these shifts and also describe where we 
believe we need to adopt fresh targets for the 
future the report is structured to cover our 
environmental performance in four aspects 
of group – environmental management 
processes buying responsibly operating 
responsibly and selling responsibly
environmental management 
processes
working with key stakeholders
we have identified three key themes where 
we need to innovate improve and sometimes 
be disruptive in order to achieve our vision 
our approach to these themes – responsible 
buying operating and selling – is supported 
by our nonexecutive environmental advisory 
panel neeap and by other communications 
with stakeholders in 2011 we canvassed 44 
views about our approach through a range of 
channels
we continue to believe that a collaborative 
approach is important in delivering sustainable 
change to the construction supply and home 
improvement retail sectors we have increased 
the number of partners with whom we are 
working to 13 each of these partners offers a 
skill perspective or knowledge that we could 
otherwise not access some of our important 
partners are
● waste and resources action programme 
‘wrap’
●
 the carbon trust
● wwf
● uk forest and trade network
● constructing excellence wales
● the environment agency
● university of salford
● the building research establishment ‘bre’
● construction products association and
● the british retail consortium
our neeap continues to challenge our 
assumptions about the rate and complexity 
of change and our perceptions of our own 
performance the composition of the panel has 
evolved since its inception in 2009 and in 2011 
we welcomed three new members representing 
our customers’ views onto the panel
we received 30 environmental complaints 
which have informed and will continue to inform 
how we operate the detail of these complaints 
is included in the relevant sections below
improving measurement 
as far as possible we use the same data to 
compile the kpis reported here and in our 
regulatory or voluntary submissions such as 
the carbon disclosure project cdp forest 
footprint disclosure project ffdp or wwf uk 
forest and trade network annual report where 
start and yearend periods differ such as in 
the carbon reduction commitment energy 
efficiency scheme ‘crc’ submissions we 
apply the same measurement methodology 
we use our sector knowledge and experience 
to determine issues of materiality for example 
we currently exclude from our carbon 
environment report
for the year ended 31 december 2011
ccf has performed strongly during 2011 reports
tra vis perkins annual repor t and accounts 2011
39
reduction kpi emissions of other green house 
gases from air conditioning our kpis are 
compiled from measurable data when it is 
available or estimates when not 
lloyds register of quality assurance ‘lrqa’ 
verifies our annual environment report and their 
assurance statement for this report is available 
on our website at wwwtravisperkinsplccom
environment
the introduction of a full years worth of data 
from the bss group has made the compilation 
of 2011 kpis a little more challenging since 
road and waste data in particular have had to 
be estimated
setting ambitions
we are proud of what we have achieved in 
2011 
● a 6 contribution to the group’s profit 
● significant improvements in our waste 
management performance 
● sourcing 91 of timber purchases by value 
in our merchanting division from certified 
well managed or controlled origins
● the development and introduction of our 
sbs and 
● an upper quartile placement in the crc 
performance league table 
for us to retain a sustainable competitive 
advantage deliver our vision and continue to 
act responsibly we recognise the need and 
intend to establish targets for our carbon 
intensity waste management performance 
and contribution to profit from environmental 
activity for the next 5 to 10 years
buying responsibly 
purchasing more certified 
wellmanaged timber 
we estimate the group purchased 85 by 
value of timber and timberfibre products 
in 2011 from supply chains that started in 
certified well managed or controlled forests 
whilst the proportion achieved in merchanting 
increased the retail contribution fell slightly 
largely due to increased sales of existing 
uncertified flooring
we have now improved the flooring range 
so that in 2012 it will consist of material 
predominantly sourced from certified well 
managed or controlled forests in 2011 we 
made good progress with our range of doors in 
both retail and merchanting door ranges now 
have significantly more certified options than 
uncertified options as a result of these two 
initiatives we expect to increase our proportion 
of certified purchases in 2012
in 2012 we will be checking that our 
existing due diligence system meets the 
detailed requirements of the eu timber 
regulations with which we will have to comply 
by 2013 in partnership with the wwf we 
campaigned for these regulations and welcome 
their introduction we anticipate opportunities 
will arise from bettercontrolled local purchases 
and a level playing field amongst first placers of 
timber and timber products in the eu market 
our target for 2012 is to ensure that all of 
the timber products we place on the eu market 
for the first time are credibly certified by 
2014 we expect all our timber and timber
fibre product purchases to be from supply 
chains that started in certified well managed or 
controlled forests
controlling the environmental impact 
of other products
the enquiry rate from our customers for 
products certified to bes 6001 responsible 
sourcing of construction products remains 
low and has not grown substantially over 
2011 at the same time there is a plethora of 
customer facing schemes designed to promote 
the environmental credentials of products 
the international standards bodies are acting 
slowly which is where we believe we should 
step in to innovate to find the right solution 
we estimate that 40 of our supply chain 
is already operating with iso14001 certified 
environmental management control and we 
have requested that all our general merchant 
specialist merchant and retail suppliers adopt 
this standard we will make a similar request to 
plumbing and heating suppliers in 2012
over 2011 we have worked with a couple of 
partners to trial a measure of the environmental 
impact of a product that is simple enough 
to be repeated at scale and yet meaningful 
and therefore useful to our suppliers our 
customers and ourselves we have adopted 
two approaches one broad brush which 
aggregates all environmental factors into a 
single score the other a narrower focus on 
cradle to factory gate carbon dioxide emissions 
we intend to continue developing these 
measures during 2012 before releasing them 
for suppliers to adopt 
getting more from less resource efficiency
in 2011 we continued to review our product 
categories for opportunities to introduce 
products with a higher recycled content such 
as ecosand made from recycled glass we 
have also eliminated approximately 40 tonnes 
of packaging from existing products by either 
reduction or reuse although the tonnage 
savings are relatively small the changes made 
during 2011 are forecast to save over 600 
tonnes of packaging during the full calendar 
year of 2012 we continue to work with wrap 
on home improvement product resource 
efficiency 
we have not yet done enough work to be 
able to quantify a target reduction in resource 
use within our products but recognise its 
 energy  transport fsc forest stewardship council   ocs other certifi ed schemes
2005 data excludes wickes timber fi gures
timber certification
timber purchased by value
co
2
 emissions
corrected data and oecd sales defl ated fi gures
tonnes co
2
 per £m group sales
100
0 0
50
target
24
34
49
36
48
54
58
63
63
90
28
26
26
25
21
75
0
50
25
target
265
271
319
326
278
326
323
337
254
478
256
276
269
267
275
06 06 05 05 07 07 08 08 09 09 10 10 11 11 11 13 40
10
5
10
21
37
30
17
3
26
0 target
06 05 07 08 09 10 11 11
growing importance in 2012 we will be trying 
to understand the best way of approaching 
this area
operating responsibly 
reducing our energy consumption 
and reducing road journeys
in 2011 we used approximately the same 
amount of energy for heating and lighting 
241 mwh as we did in 2010 despite the 
acquisition of the bss group which represents 
a significant improvement in efficiency in 
addition on a likeforlike basis we increased 
the number of deliveries we made to branches 
from central warehouses and from branches 
to our customers in total we consumed 14 
million litres of fuel in 2011 53 more than in 
2010 as a result the quantity of carbon dioxide 
co
2
 that we account for increased by 48 to 
104000 tonnes these increases are driven 
by the expansion of our group and by our 
supply chain product centralisation initiatives 
we estimate although we cannot measure with 
precision that suppliers save more carbon from 
product centralisation than we use in increasing 
our central distribution activity
despite our absolute emission growth 
because of acquisitions we are now a less 
carbon intensive business than at any point 
in the last six years in 2011 527 tonnes of 
co
2
 were emitted for every million pounds of 
turnover we took at 2005 prices in 2010 the 
equivalent measure was 604 tonnes and you 
need to look back to 2007 for our previous 
lowest intensity level of 531
in 2012 we will benchmark carbon 
performance between the acquired bss 
business which has recorded better efficiency 
and the rest of the group to exploit best 
practice towards the end of 2011 we gave our 
merchant and wickes branch managers visibility 
of their electricity consumption patterns for the 
first time and challenged them to cut out waste 
we are confident that through this approach 
we will recover the cost of our crc carbon 
credits for the 2011 – 2012 financial year of 
approximately £1m by reducing our electricity 
consumption by 8 – 10
our vehicle fleet has grown by 50 to 
approximately 3000 commercial vehicles 
mainly because of the purchase of the bss 
group in 2011 we replaced 330 commercial 
vehicles with more efficient models 
we continued to increase the final destination 
deliveries and internal distribution activity in 
2011 whilst we believe we increase the carbon 
efficiency of these activities when we do them 
inhouse they are counted as new emissions 
against us and therefore do not reflect in our 
kpi our internal modelling of supply chain 
emissions is not yet sophisticated enough to 
reflect the gains we believe we have made and 
we cannot use this data to publically report on 
all emissions across the supply chain 
we will continue to develop our modelling 
capability of supply chain emissions to 
establish a separate target for distribution and 
property carbon dioxide equivalent emissions
we believe that we are on track to meet our 
2013 intensity reduction of 20 on 2005 levels
reducing waste to landfill 
and increasing recycling 
in 2011 we sent 79 less waste to landfill than 
we did in 2005 we extended our waste back
haul service to include paper brochures timber 
and pallets branches and stores now routinely 
segregate 18 waste streams and send back 9 
different wastes to our distribution centres 
all the businesses support our drive 
towards sector leading waste management 
performance by the end of 2011 we had 
introduced the group’s waste management 
facilities from the supply chain to the bss 
businesses and will be developing this further 
over 2012 by the end of 2011 most branches 
and all stores had visibility of their own waste 
reduction and recycling performance in 2012 
the best performing sites will be able to operate 
with neutral waste costs 
with the right support from the waste 
management industry we believe that zero 
waste to landfill is achievable and cost effective 
for our businesses by 2014 we would expect 
to have achieved a 90 reduction in waste 
going to landfill on 2005 levels
operating without polluting 
our local environment
we were not prosecuted for any environmental 
offence in 2011 although we were involved in 
19 environmental incidents which we reported 
to the competent authorities fourteen of these 
were paint spills in transit a result of taking on 
the distribution of paint to our branches which 
had previously been done by our suppliers 
supply chain teams have quickly understood 
how to distribute paint more safely but it is an 
area we monitor in case further improvements 
are required 
we are disappointed to have caused a 
nuisance to our neighbours at four of our 
branches over 2011 with one being issued 
with an enforcement note all the issues have 
been satisfactorily resolved
unfortunately oil or diesel from spills entered 
nearby watercourses three times over the year 
we continue to provide spill kits to branches 
and stores and train colleagues in their use
we have an absolute target of zero incidents 
which we believe is achievable the trend in 
incidents reported over the last five years is 
environment report
jeanette wakefi eld at wickes rushden
60
30
0 5
5
6
4
5
waste tonnage
corrected data and oecd sales defl ated fi gures
tonnes waste per £m yard and core sales
environmental incidents and complaints
2009 restated to include timber chain of custody complaints 
omitted in 2010 report
30
15
0
06 05 07 08 09 10 11 14
10 219
180
184
133
90
46
28
56
77
68
22 target
31
17 196
 incidents  complaints landfi ll  recycling reports
tra vis perkins annual repor t and accounts 2011
41
“we have continued to invest in wickes taking the opportunity to acquire 13 new stores from the receiver of focus” 42
for numbers to rise roughly in proportion to the 
number of sites from which we operate 
reducing water use
in 2011 we used 88m
3
 of water per million 
pounds of adjusted turnover which is already 
better some two years earlier than our 2013 
target of 1326 m
3
 per million pounds of sales 
the 37 reduction on the 2008 baseline year 
was driven through our continuing leakage 
detection programme we will review our data 
and set a new target during 2012 
environmental management system
we remain on track to bring the bss group 
companies into the travis perkins iso14001 
environmental management system certificate 
in 2012
in 2011 the travis perkins group had a 
30 equity interest in toolstation toolstation 
data has been included in the report on a 
proportional basis
selling responsibly 
selling timber and timber products
customers of our general merchanting 
businesses are increasingly demanding 
evidence that the timber and timber products 
we sell are from wellmanaged sources
we have continued to develop our internal 
chain of custody procedures and have changed 
the way our branches work to improve the 
provision of evidence the way we sell certified 
wellmanaged timber will always require close 
environment report
monitoring if we are to retain the confidence 
of our certification body and of our customers 
it is our assertion that we remain the multiple 
merchant with the best coverage of product 
and branches for chain of custody with every 
travis perkins branch able to provide evidence 
we are pleased to report a 36 fall in the 
number of customer complaints about this 
aspect of our service delivery never the less 
18 unhappy customers is unacceptable and in 
2012 we will work towards making responsible 
timber supply second nature
reducing packaging use 
we markedly improved the calculation of 
merchant packaging volume in 2011 by 
switching from category level estimates to 
measured data thereby reducing our estimate 
of packaging used by more than 50 over the 
course of 2012 we will adopt this approach 
in the bss businesses this change in basis 
of measurement means it is not easy to 
determine meaningful data for any reduction 
driven by our activities 
the reduction in the intensity of packaging 
used has in the main been achieved through a 
changed product mix following the acquisition 
of the bss group the product categories 
sold by bss have very little packaging taking 
back significant quantities of pallets from 
our customers’ sites is also contributing we 
estimate we reused or recycled 21000 tonnes 
of pallets in 2011 
over 2012 we will be incentivising our 
branches to recover more pallets from our 
customers as well as refining our measure of 
packaging use we will set out a 2017 target in 
line with our other kpis once we have achieved 
an accurate measure of packaging used 
product and service innovation 
about 80 of the contribution that our 
responsible environmental approach makes 
to profit comes from having the right products 
and services to meet the sustainability needs of 
our customers their customers and the policy 
frameworks for sustainable construction
we launched our sustainable business 
solutions service at the end of 2010 and in 
2011 it incorporates a detailed set of solutions 
that provide the right level of help support and 
expert technical assistance to the construction 
industry our integrated approach provides 
solutions to energy efficient building renewable 
energy projects and waste management
in 2011 travis perkins group sold 
approximately 60km
2
 of insulation had a range 
of over 14 different types of renewable product 
categories and took over £13 million in revenue 
from our customer waste management offer
travis perkins exhibited at eco build in 2011 
and will be there again 
geoff cooper
chief executive
21 february 2012
benchmarx sales have increased by over 40 reports
tra vis perkins annual repor t and accounts 2011
43
health  safety ‘hs’ is integrated into 
everything we do from the group board 
to every colleague in every branch store 
warehouse and office our underlying 
philosophy is that all injuries are avoidable 
and that everyone involved in our business 
should return home safe and well at the end 
of each day every day however we do not 
underestimate the challenge of achieving this 
in a group that now includes 17 businesses 
with a fully integrated supply chain operating 
from over 1800 branches with over 23500 
colleagues making in excess of 10 million 
deliveries per annum we aim to be industry 
leaders in our sector for the reduction and 
elimination of injuries during 2011 we 
continued improving our standards with the 
leaders in each of our businesses continuing 
to own and drive our stay safe culture change 
programme 
our group accident frequency rate 88 lost 
time injuries per million hours worked and 
our group severity rate 014 days lost per 
thousand hours worked remained at similar 
levels compared to the previous year these 
results include the bss businesses for both 
years for comparison purposes
stay safe requires effective leadership a 
focus on the key risks in our business and 
is simply summarised by the desire to have 
everyone return home safely at the end of 
each working day we continue to develop our 
stay safe programme in each business in 
order to achieve our vision of making injuries a 
rare occurrence we are putting considerable 
emphasis on finding new ways to engage the 
team and supported by the group health 
and safety team the overall theme is one 
of colleague engagement with a focus on 
improved communication increased buyin 
from colleagues and personal ownership of 
stay safe with more individual involvement 
several ongoing themes from 2010 were 
further supported by new initiatives in 2011
the stay safe quarterly newsletter remains 
an important tool in the communication 
campaign along with regular presentations and 
briefings for directors managers and branch 
colleagues on topics such as stay safe focus 
groups updated safe systems safety bulletins 
and training dvds
‘keep your feet on the ground’ an initiative 
introduced during 2010 has gathered 
momentum during the year and is a great 
example of involving colleagues developing 
their own ideas to increase their personal 
commitment to the stay safe programme 
likewise our modification of brick grab 
equipment to facilitate the grabbing of bulk 
bags was rolled out across the fleet to remove 
the need for drivers to climb onto vehicle beds 
to attach bulk bags these improvements alone 
have reduced by 50 the number of incidents 
involving work at height on the vehicle bed
to maintain further the momentum of the 
stay safe programme a bespoke inhouse 
training programme based around the 
institution of occupational safety and health 
‘iosh’ managing safely programme has 
continued for all operational directors and key 
senior managers in support functions this 
has proven extremely successful in exploring 
different personal strategies for achieving 
culture change and has also been developed 
into a stay safe leadership programme for 
branch managers
all businesses have continued to develop 
their own approach to driving the stay safe 
programme in 2011 including
● the ccf ‘line in the sand’ engagement 
programme has helped reduce their lost 
time injury frequency rate by a further 10 
during 2011 42 over the last 3 years
● keyline similarly engaged with all branches 
and colleagues to develop their ‘don’t walk 
by’ programme which helped reduce their 
health  safety report
for the year ended 31 december 2011
colleagues in our branches to increase their 
personal ownership of stay safe
health  safety performance 
and initiatives
our improvement rate in 2011 has slowed 
compared to prior years however the 10 
increase in minor injury reporting rates and 
a 93 increase in near miss reporting rates 
are both clear indicators of the high profile 
we continue to place on transparency and 
honesty in the reporting of incidents the 
relatively static yearonyear statistics we 
have seen for group frequency and severity 
rates do not truly reflect the great strides in 
health and safety performance seen in many 
of our individual group businesses which are 
highlighted later in this summary despite 
these continuing improvements we recognise 
there is no quick fix to reducing injuries and 
this is very much ‘work in progress’ to make 
injuries rare we intend to further reduce the 
frequency and severity rates over the next five 
years by continuing our focus on highrisk 
aspects of our operations and also by targeting 
the working behaviour of our colleagues 
customers and suppliers
external enforcement officer inspections 
of branches continued to show a favourable 
improvement in performance and standards 
with numerous complimentary letters received 
the group received no legal notices in 2011 
for the second year running 
there have been numerous initiatives under 
the stay safe development programme led 
personally by each businessunit management 
lost time injury frequency rate
lost time injuries per million man hours
lost time injury severity rate
days lost per thousand man hours
09 10 11
0
106
97
88
20
10
group
017
016
014
group
0
03
02
01
09 10 11 44
lost time injury frequency rate by 28 
during 2011 alone 
● group supply chain established steering 
and implementation committees to help 
drive ownership and support for the stay 
safe programme numerous initiatives 
including forklift truck ‘black box’ software 
pallet collars near miss reporting pads 
observational safety sessions and iosh 
accredited training programmes have all 
contributed to achieving a 50 reduction in 
their lost time injury frequency rate over the 
last three years
● travis perkins in the south west has 
developed a stay safe support team for 
drivers and yard teams with drivers and 
yard managers seconded to the team from 
key branches across the region the support 
team have been spending their time out on 
deliveries with drivers or in the yards and 
warehouses supporting the establishment 
and sharing of good practice to drive 
behavioural change
● the wickes national delivery service has 
continued to expand massively delivering 
almost 10 million products in 2011 
although dedicated training and support for 
delivery hubs 1500 training days in 2011 
has prevented further increases in driver 
related injury levels during this period of 
growth stay safe for warehouse colleagues 
and other store based activities remains a 
high priority for 2012 to reduce the overall 
injury levels 
these initiatives and many others across the 
individual businesses are designed to increase 
the personal ownership of stay safe and 
engagement of colleagues 
in support of the business desire to increase 
personal ownership and accountability amongst 
regional and branch management teams 
the group safety team is being reorganised 
to better reflect the divisional structure of 
the group consultations commenced at the 
end of 2011 to move to a divisional business 
partner structure based with the businesses 
supported by expert trainers and a central 
health  safety report
call centre providing specialist advice to over 
1800 managers this innovative approach 
is intended to better support the stay safe 
journey at all levels driving personal ownership 
and removing the potential for overreliance 
on fieldbased advisors which carried a risk of 
abdication of accountability at local level
 
group plc and group trading 
board stay safe committees
both established committees have continued 
to drive and oversee the stay safe journey 
following the format established over the last 
few years further details of their composition 
and terms of reference are available on the 
investor centre section of the company website 
in 2012 the format of these committees will 
be reviewed to take account of the larger group 
and divisional structure now in place
 
andrew simon 
chairman plc board health  safety committee
21 february 2012
“we aim to be industry leaders 
in our sector for the reduction 
and elimination of injuries”
adrian osbourne and james harrison at pts coventry reports
tra vis perkins annual repor t and accounts 2011
45
“pts was named national builders merchant of the year” 46
chairman
robert walker was appointed as a nonexecutive director in 
september 2009 and became chairman in may 2010 he is 
chairman of americana international holdings ltd a nonexecutive 
director of tate  lyle plc and has recently been appointed chairman 
designate of enterprise inns plc he was previously chairman of 
w h smith plc williams lea group ltd and bca europe and group 
chief executive of severn trent plc he spent over 30 years with 
procter  gamble mckinsey and pepsico and has also served as a 
non executive director on a number of ftse 100250 boards 
he is chairman of the nominations committee and a member of the 
remuneration and health  safety committees
directors
finance director
paul hampden smith is a chartered accountant and joined sandell 
perkins in 1988 following the merger with travis  arnold he was 
appointed regional finance director in 1992 he became finance 
director of travis perkins trading company limited and was 
appointed finance director of travis perkins plc in 1996 he is a 
nonexecutive director of redrow plc
chief executive
geoff cooper joined the company in february 2005 and was 
appointed chief executive on 1 march 2005 he is a chartered 
management accountant and worked in management consultancy 
before joining gateway now somerfield plc as finance director 
in 1990 in 1994 he became finance director of unichem plc 
subsequently alliance unichem plc which later became part of 
alliance boots plc where he was appointed deputy chief executive 
in 2001 he is nonexecutive chairman of dunelm group plc he is 
chairman of the executive committee
deputy chief executive
john carter joined sandell perkins as a management trainee in 1978 
he held a number of regional management positions before being 
appointed managing director operations in 1996 and a director of 
travis perkins plc in july 2001 he became chief operating officer 
in february 2005 and was appointed deputy chief executive in 
december 2011 he is a member of the health  safety committee governance
tra vis perkins annual repor t and accounts 2011
47
ruth anderson was appointed as a 
nonexecutive director in 2011 she is a 
chartered accountant and held a number of 
positions in kpmg uk from 1976 to 2009 
being a member of its board from 1998 to 
2004 and vice chair from 2005 to 2009 
she is a nonexecutive director of ocado 
plc she is a member of the audit and 
health  safety committees 
chris bunker was appointed as a 
nonexecutive director in 2004 he is a 
chartered management accountant and was 
finance director of thames water plc from 
2000 until march 2004 he was previously 
finance director of tarmac plc and 
westland group plc he is a nonexecutive 
director of d s smith plc and formerly 
was a nonexecutive director of mowlem 
plc baltimore technologies plc and xansa 
plc he is the senior independent director 
and chairman of the audit committee 
and a member of the nominations and 
remuneration committees
nonexecutive directors
john coleman was appointed as a 
nonexecutive director in 2005 he is a 
chartered management accountant and 
chairman of aga rangemaster group 
plc he has previously been chairman of 
holiday break plc chief executive of house 
of fraser plc and chief executive of texas 
homecare and of a number of businesses 
within burton group plc he is a member 
of the remuneration audit and nominations 
committees
philip jansen was appointed as a 
nonexecutive director in april 2009 he 
is group chief executive of brakes group 
and a senior advisor to bain capitalthe 
private equity group he is also a trustee 
of the charity wellbeing of women he has 
previously been group chief operating 
officer and chief executive of europe for 
sodexo chief operating officer of mytravel 
plc and managing director consumer 
division of telewest communications plc 
he has also held senior positions with 
procter  gamble and dunlop slazenger 
group he is a member of the remuneration 
committee 
andrew simon obe was appointed 
as a nonexecutive director in 2006 he 
is a nonexecutive director of finning 
international inc canada management 
consulting group plc sgl carbon 
se germany exova group plc icon 
infrastructure management limited 
guernsey and british car auctions he was 
previously deputy chairman of dalkia plc 
chairman and  or chief executive of evode 
group plc and has also held nonexecutive 
directorships with severn trent plc ibstock 
plc laporte plc associated british ports 
holdings plc and brake bros holdings ltd 
he is chairman of the remuneration and 
health  safety committees 48
the company has not produced a separate 
corporate responsibility statement in the report 
and accounts since it believes these matters 
are sufficiently important to receive the personal 
attention of individual directors rather than risking 
less focus through the exercise of collective 
responsibility instead full details of those areas 
normally covered by such a report are contained 
either in the reports of the directors responsible 
for such matters or in a separate report as 
explained below
environment
chief executive geoff cooper 
environment report on pages 38 to 42
corporate responsibility statement 
for the year ended 31 december 2011
committees and professional advisers
secretary 
a s pike
audit committee 
c j bunker chairman r anderson 
j coleman
remuneration committee 
a h simon chairman c j bunker 
j coleman p  jansen r walker
nominations committee 
r walker chairman c j bunker 
j coleman
health  safety committee 
a h simon chairman r anderson 
j p  carter r walker
health  safety
non executive director andrew simon 
health  safety report on pages 43 and 44
supply chain
deputy chief executive john carter’s review of 
the year
employees
deputy chief executive john carter’s review of 
the year and
community relations
chief executive geoff cooper’s review of 
the year
executive committee 
g i cooper chief executive and committee 
chairman 
j p  carter deputy chief executive 
p  n hampden smith finance director 
n g bell group development director 
j bird chairman consumer division 
a j davidson chairman specialist merchanting 
c kavanagh group hr director 
m r meech group property director 
j mescall chairman general merchanting 
a s pike company secretary  lawyer 
r d proctor supply chain director
p  tallentire chairman plumbing  heating 
division
investment bankersadvisors 
hsbc bank plc nomura international plc
corporate broker 
citibank 
credit suisse
bankers 
the royal bank of scotland plc 
barclays bank plc 
lloyds tsb bank plc
solicitors
slaughter and may london 
linklaters llp  london 
clifford chance llp  london 
hewitsons llp  northampton
auditors 
deloitte llp  london
registrars 
capita registrars beckenham
the board takes into account environmental 
social and governance matters in its conduct 
of the company’s business the board believes 
that it has adequate information to identify and 
assess the major environmental social and 
governance risks and as part of the system of 
internal control receives reports on the risks 
associated with these matters the board has 
received briefings on such matters during 2011
robert walker
chairman
21 february 2012 governance
49
tra vis perkins annual repor t and accounts 2011
corporate governance
for the year ended 31 december 2011
uk corporate governance code
this explains how the company has applied 
the principles and the extent to which it has 
complied with the provisions of the new uk 
corporate governance code ‘the code’ in 2011 
we do so by reference to the five main sections 
of the code
hopefully this will provide better background 
information and context to the way the board 
is governed and less ‘boilerplate’ than in past 
years
1 leadership
the company is governed by a board of 
directors of which i am chairman in addition 
there are three executive and five nonexecutive 
directors geoff cooper is chief executive and 
chris bunker is the senior independent director 
ruth anderson who joined the board in october 
2011 john coleman philip jansen and andrew 
simon are also independent nonexecutive 
directors 
the board has a schedule of matters 
reserved to it which is reviewed annually 
its key responsibilities are for overall group 
strategy policy on corporate governance 
approval of expansion plans and major capital 
expenditure consideration of significant financial 
and operational matters and the company’s 
exposure to key risks it also reviews the strategy 
of the individual businesses their annual 
budgets and progress towards the achievement 
of those budgets and longterm objectives 
legislative environmental health and safety and 
employment issues are also considered the 
board has also approved a written statement of 
the division of key responsibilities between me 
as chairman and the chief executive and again 
we review this annually 
the company maintains appropriate directors 
 officers’ insurance in respect of the risk of 
claims against directors this is reviewed on a 
regular basis
communication
as chairman i take care to ensure that each 
director is able to make an effective contribution 
within an atmosphere of transparency and 
constructive debate i agree the agenda for board 
meetings in conjunction with the chief executive 
and the company secretary agendas are based 
upon an annual plan but also include matters of 
particular interest or concern to the board at any 
particular time 
i discuss the meeting papers with any director 
who is unable to attend a meeting to obtain that 
director’s view prior to the meeting i also monitor 
the information provided to the board to ensure 
it is sufficient timely and clear and from time 
to time the board reviews the adequacy of this 
information 
i email all the nonexecutive directors in 
advance of board meetings to suggest the key 
issues and high priority matters for particular 
discussion during the meeting this also helps the 
directors to prepare as they read the papers in 
advance of the meeting 
i maintain regular direct contact with the 
executive directors and keep the nonexecutive 
directors informed of material developments 
between board meetings i held three meetings 
during the year with all the nonexecutive 
directors without the executive directors being 
present finally and consistent with normal 
practice these days i have regular weekly 
meetings with the group chief executive and 
meet from time to time throughout the year 
with the finance director and the deputy chief 
executive
board meetings
we held thirteen board meetings in 2011 two 
meetings were dedicated to consideration of the 
company’s longterm strategy five meetings 
either included visits to parts of the company’s 
operations or included presentations by senior 
executives on their areas of responsibility 
individual visits to operational sites by 
nonexecutive directors also took place see 
nonexecutive mentoring below in addition to the 
regular board meetings key financial information 
is circulated to directors outside of meetings 
the number of board and committee meetings 
attended by each director in whole or in part 
during the year was as follows
  plc board audit remuneration nomination health  safety executive
  no no no no no no
number of meetings 13 5 6 3 3 11
attendances      
r anderson
1
 3 1  1 1 
c j bunker 13 5 6 3  
j p  carter 13 2   3 11
j coleman 12 5 6 3  
g i cooper 13  6 3  11
p  n hampden smith 13 5    11
p  jansen
2
 13 5 1 3  
a h simon 13 1 6 3 3 
r walker 13 5 6 3 3 
1
 appointed to the board in october 2011
2
 retired from audit committee and appointed to remuneration committee in december 2011  50
board committees
we have five board committees the audit 
committee the remuneration committee the 
nominations committee the health  safety 
committee and the executive committee which 
operate within defined terms of reference which 
we review annually these are available on the 
company’s website or may be obtained from the 
company secretary the minutes of committee 
meetings are circulated to all the directors 
the executive committee is chaired by the 
group ceo and its members are listed on page 
48 other executives are invited to attend from 
time to time in relation to specific matters the 
main purpose of this committee is to assist the 
executive directors in the performance of their 
duties in relation in particular to
● strategy operational plans policies 
procedures and budgets
● the monitoring of operational and financial 
performance
● the assessment and control of risk
● the prioritisation and allocation of resources
2 effectiveness
the board is satisfied that i and the five 
nonexecutive directors are all independent in 
particular none of the specific circumstances set 
out in code provision b11 apply appointments 
of new directors are made by the board on the 
recommendation of the nominations committee 
i chair that committee and the other members 
are independent nonexecutive directors 
in the past year we have expanded the 
remit of the committee to include a broader 
hr and succession agenda across the senior 
management layers of the group this has 
worked particularly well and a full report of the 
committee’s work in 2011 is on page 67
appointment terms
with regard to the appointment of nonexecutive 
directors our policy is to recruit people of the 
highest calibre with a breadth of skills and 
experience appropriate for the company’s 
business nonexecutive directors are appointed 
for a period of three years at the end of 
which the appointment may be renewed by 
mutual agreement it is the board’s policy that 
nonexecutive directors should generally serve 
for six years two threeyear terms and that any 
term beyond this should be subject to a rigorous 
review this review takes into account both the 
need for progressive refreshing of the board and 
the particular requirements of the company at 
the time of the possible extension 
nonexecutive directors do not have a service 
contract but each has received a letter of 
appointment these appointments expire on the 
following dates and the length of service at that 
date is also shown
ruth anderson october 2014 3 years
chris bunker may 2013 9 years 4 months
john coleman february 2014 9 years
philip jansen april 2015 6 years
andrew simon february 2015 9 years
robert walker september 2012 3 years
the letters of appointment will be available for 
inspection at the annual general meeting
induction
the board has an induction process for new 
directors which is facilitated by the company 
secretary i ensure that all directors receive 
appropriate training on appointment and then 
subsequently as required taking into account the 
need to update their skills and their knowledge of 
the company’s business nonexecutive directors 
are also regularly provided with information 
on forthcoming legal and regulatory changes 
and corporate governance developments and 
briefings on the key risks facing the company 
including those identified in the corporate 
responsibility statement on page 48
all directors have direct access to the 
company secretary and may take independent 
professional advice in the furtherance of their 
duties if necessary
nonexecutive mentoring
travis perkins has a long tradition of maintaining 
close contact between the board management 
and employees part of the feedback from the 
board’s internal evaluation of its performance in 
2010 suggested this contact had slipped due to 
the work involved in securing the bss acquisition 
and the subsequent longwinded and inefficient 
oft clearance process as a response in 2011 
we trialled a new approach to involving our 
nonexecutive directors including myself more 
closely with the individual businesses at the 
start of the year each nonexecutive director 
was allocated two of the group’s businesses 
to mentor throughout the year the mentoring 
process was each non executive directors’ 
choice but involved a programme of contact 
and meetings with the management of those 
businesses and a number of site visits the 
intention was to get each nonexecutive more 
involved in better understanding our businesses 
their people and strategies and thereby bring a 
fresher and more independent viewpoint to their 
meetings
we reviewed the progress of this initiative 
through the course of the year and have decided 
to extend it for 2012 rotating the allocation of 
businesses and including the central functions 
hr supply chain property etc in the exercise 
evalution of performance
during the year the board undertook an 
evaluation of its performance and the 
performance of its committees and the individual 
directors the board’s policy is to engage an 
external facilitator to assist this process at 
least every three years and in 2011 the board 
appointed egon zehnder in this role since they 
had conducted a thorough external evaluation 
four years earlier and there was no conflict of 
interest with the company the board firmly 
believes that search firms are better equipped to 
perform this work than individual consultants 
egon zehnder conducted interviews with each 
director and the company secretary separately 
these interviews formed the basis of a report 
which egon zehnder presented to the board in 
october the conclusion following an extensive 
discussion of the report by the board was that 
overall the board operated very effectively 
corporate governance governance
tra vis perkins annual repor t and accounts 2011
51
however following discussion of suggestions 
for improvement the board will focus on a 
number of areas in 2012 to improve further its 
performance those areas are
● continued monitoring of succession planning 
both at board and senior executive level
● in addition to nonexecutive director 
mentoring increased attendance at board 
meetings by senior executives
● more use of external expertise to improve the 
board’s knowledge ecommerce was an area 
particularly emphasised 
in 2012 the board will conduct an internal 
review of its performance
reelection
from the 2012 agm all directors will submit 
themselves for reelection every year as a result 
of the board evaluation exercise as chairman 
i am satisfied that each director continues to 
show the necessary level of commitment to the 
group and has sufficient time available to fulfil 
his or her duties to justify their reelection the 
other directors in a process led by the senior 
independent director have reached a similar 
view in regard to my own reelection 
the board believes that there is presently 
a blend of skills and experience among the 
nonexecutive directors which is appropriate 
for the group in profiling the skills required 
for the board we emphasise experience in the 
merchanting sector retail and consumer goods 
experience capital project and ma evaluation 
and exposure and experience of international 
markets as well of course as the required 
financial control and accounting background 
in particular the group will benefit from the 
recent addition of ruth anderson whose financial 
and accounting experience will aid the planning 
for chris bunker’s retirement in 2013 in order to 
secure ruth’s addition to the board we created 
an additional board seat 
3 accountability 
a review of the performance of the group’s 
businesses and the financial position of the 
group is included in the reports of the chief 
executive the deputy chief executive and 
finance director set out on pages 14 to 34 the 
board uses them together with my statement on 
pages 12 and 13 to present a full assessment 
of the company’s position and prospects its 
business model and its strategy for delivering 
that model the directors’ responsibilities for 
the financial statements are described on page 
72 their consideration of the group as a going 
concern is dealt with in the finance director’s 
report on page 34
internal control
the board is responsible for the group’s 
system of internal control and for reviewing its 
effectiveness in the design of the system of 
internal control consideration has been given 
to the significant risks to the business the 
probability of these risks manifesting themselves 
and the most cost effective means of controlling 
them the system manages rather than eliminates 
risk and therefore can only provide reasonable 
and not absolute assurance against material 
misstatement or loss
the daytoday operation of the system of 
internal control has been delegated to executive 
directors and senior management but the 
effectiveness of the system is regularly reviewed 
by the audit committee and the board in a 
process that accords with the turnbull guidance 
risk assessment
the board and the executive committee 
receive regular reports on specific areas 
of risk and the results of internal audit 
reviews if appropriate these reports include 
recommendations for improvement in controls 
or for the management of those risks measures 
to integrate risk management processes into 
the group’s operations to extend awareness 
of the importance of risk management and 
to ensure that recommended improvements 
are implemented are regularly reviewed and 
refreshed senior executives are asked twice 
a year to confirm the adequacy of internal 
controls in their areas of responsibility identify 
any control weaknesses and to confirm the 
accuracy and completeness of information given 
to the directors and to the external auditors 
this process was extended further through the 
management structure in 2011 
as regards the board’s evaluation of the 
risks associated with the business the board 
addresses this in two particular ways
● at each board meeting a rolling update of 
major risks assessed by the executive teams 
is reviewed for relevance standard of controls 
and accountabilities
● a new initiative this year at the suggestion of 
the group chief executive was to evaluate 
each quarter a list of ‘things that are keeping 
us awake’ including potential ‘black swan’ 
or unexpected risks that the group might 
encounter amongst the comprehensive and 
sometimes voluminous reports the board 
receives this new process has worked 
exceptionally well in that it has focussed 
attention on the main risks we face and is now 
a regular feature of the board agenda
the group has systems and procedures in place 
to manage and control the risks associated 
with financial reporting and the preparation of 
consolidated accounts this includes experienced 
and qualified personnel preparing the 
consolidation and review by senior management
in conjunction with the audit committee the 
board has carried out an annual review of the 
overall effectiveness of the system of internal 
control and risk management procedures during 
the year and up until the date of approval of this 
annual report 
audit committee and auditors 
the board has established an audit committee 
consisting of three independent nonexecutive 
directors its terms of reference and a description 
of its work in 2011 are contained in its report 
which is set out on pages 53 to 55
4 remuneration 
the board has established a remuneration 
committee consisting of the chairman and 
four independent nonexecutive directors its 
responsibilities include remuneration policy a  52
review of the performance of executive directors 
prior to determining their remuneration and the 
approval of incentive arrangements including 
performance criteria the remuneration of the 
nonexecutive directors is determined by the 
board as a whole except that the remuneration 
committee makes a recommendation in respect 
of the chairman’s fee no director plays a part in 
the discussion about his own remuneration 
the committee’s terms of reference and a 
description of its work in 2011 are contained in 
its report which is set out on pages 56 to 66
5 relations with shareholders
the company encourages twoway 
communication with both its institutional and 
private investors and responds promptly to all 
enquiries received in 2011 the chairman the 
senior independent director and the executive 
directors either separately or together attended 
a number of meetings with analysts and with 
shareholders representing circa 60 of the 
issued share capital in particular a strategy 
presentation combined with a visit to some 
key group premises was held for analysts 
in may 2011 we also make it clear that the 
senior independent director is available as a 
direct contact for shareholders if they wish the 
chairman and executive directors report to the 
board on any meetings with shareholders or 
analysts in addition written reports about the 
company by analysts or brokers are circulated to 
all directors 
during 2011 and starting shortly after 
the agm i had a series of meetings with the 
company’s main shareholders the timing was 
deliberate and allowed the board significant time 
before the following year’s agm to both consider 
corporate governance
and respond to issues raised by shareholders 
in addition the intention was to speak with the 
group’s top 18 or so investors in order to ensure 
as many views as possible are canvassed given 
current market volatility it is quite possible that 
a smaller shareholder one year will become 
a major shareholder the following year this 
process hopefully ensures that their views will 
have been taken into account
as well as sending the annual report to 
shareholders during the year the company 
published its interim results on its website 
issued two interim management statements 
and one further trading update all shareholders 
receive at least twenty working days notice 
of the annual general meeting at which all 
directors are available for questions and a 
short business presentation takes place each 
substantive issue is the subject of a separate 
resolution i announce the numbers of proxy 
votes for and against each resolution at the 
meeting after the voting has taken place and 
these numbers are subsequently published on 
the company’s website
corporate governance 
compliance statement
i am pleased to report that the company 
has complied throughout the year ended 31 
december 2011 with the provisions set out in 
the code
robert walker
chairman
21 february 2012 governance
tra vis perkins annual repor t and accounts 2011
53
audit committee report
for the year ended 31 december 2011
as chairman of the audit committee i set out 
below our report on its operation and activities 
in 2011 which particularly included financial 
oversight of the bss group integration during 
the year i was pleased to welcome ruth 
anderson as member of the committee a role to 
which she brings extensive financial experience
role of the audit committee
the committee is primarily responsible for
● the integrity of the financial statements of 
the company and any formal announcements 
relating to the company’s financial 
performance and reviewing significant 
financial reporting judgments contained 
therein
● reviewing the company’s internal financial 
controls and its internal control and risk 
management systems
● monitoring and reviewing the effectiveness of 
the company’s internal audit function
● reviewing the audit plans of the external 
auditors and for monitoring the conduct of the 
audit
● reviewing the external auditors’ independence 
and objectivity and the effectiveness of the 
audit process taking into consideration 
relevant uk professional and regulatory 
requirements
● reviewing and implementing the company’s 
policy on the engagement of the external 
auditors to supply nonaudit services taking 
into account relevant guidance regarding the 
provision of nonaudit services by an external 
audit firm
● making recommendations to the board for 
a resolution to be put to the shareholders in 
relation to the appointment and remuneration 
of the external auditors
after each meeting i report to the board on the 
work of the committee identifying any matters 
where it considers that action or improvement is 
needed and make recommendations as to the 
steps to be taken
the committee’s full terms of reference 
are available on the company’s website or on 
request to the company secretary
composition of the audit committee 
i was chairman and john coleman was 
a member of the committee throughout 
2011 philip jansen was also a member until 
december 2011 when ruth anderson joined 
the committee following her appointment to 
the board in october 2011 all members of the 
committee are considered to be independent 
and have considerable financial and commercial 
experience from a variety of corporate 
backgrounds the company secretary is 
secretary to the committee the board considers 
that both i and ruth anderson have the recent 
and relevant financial experience required by the 
uk corporate governance code see also the 
board profiles on pages 46 and 47
meetings and attendance
the committee held five meetings during 2011 
and attendance at the meetings is shown on 
page 49 i also invited the group chairman the 
chief executive the finance director the deputy 
chief executive the group financial controller 
the director of business risk and assurance and 
the external auditors to attend the meetings at 
each meeting i gave the external auditors and 
the director of business risk and assurance the 
opportunity to discuss with the committee any 
matters which they wished to raise without the 
presence of management in addition during 
the year i held a number of meetings with the 
director of business risk and assurance and 
with the external auditors without management 
being present committee members meet 
regularly with operational and functional staff 
throughout the year and participate in relevant 
technical update programmes i am satisfied that 
the committee received sufficient reliable and 
timely information from management to enable it 
to fulfil its responsibilities during the year
main activities of the 
committee during the year
at our meeting in february the committee 
reviewed the annual financial statements 
of the company taking into account regular 
management accounting information and reports 
from the internal auditors on internal control 
matters and from the external auditors on the 
conduct of their audit their review of accounting 
policies areas of judgment in the financial 
statements and their comments on statements 
concerning risk and internal control a similar 
review was undertaken at the july meeting when 
the interim statements were considered at these 
and our other meetings the committee also 
reviewed
● progress with regard to the financial 
integration of the bss group and key 
accounting assumptions and judgements 
related thereto including the fair value of the 
assets acquired
● the plans for restructuring of the group 
finance function in the light of the growth of 
the group
● the group’s systems for accounting for 
rebates on product purchases and stock 
management
● the policies and training which had been 
implemented in respect of the bribery act
● the internal controls for the new office in 
china
● the group’s tax planning
● proposed revisions to the group’s segmental 
reporting following the bss acquisition 
● an evaluation of the committee’s work carried 
out as part of the board evaluation process 
referred to on page 50 i subsequently 
reported to the board on this evaluation
● the committee’s terms of reference no 
changes were recommended to the board
●
 any comments received on its 2010 report 
from institutional investor bodies
● the effectiveness of the system of internal 
financial control and the system for monitoring 
and reporting on risks faced by the group 
taking into account regular reports received 
from financial management internal and 
external auditors
● the terms of reference strategy staffing 
processes and effectiveness of the internal 
audit department taking into account the 
results of a survey amongst stakeholders 
● the status of actions taken in response to  54
recommendations arising from internal and 
external audit work
● the effectiveness of the group’s 
‘whistleblowing’ policy
● the policy on engagement of the external 
auditor for nonaudit work as referred to 
below and the policy on the employment of 
anyone previously employed by the external 
auditor
● the plans presented by the external auditor for 
conduct of the yearend audit and halfyear 
review including the related risk analyses 
terms of engagement fees and letters of 
representation
● the effectiveness independence and 
objectivity of the external auditor taking 
into account written assurances provided 
by deloitte llp  with regard to its quality 
and independence controls and its ethical 
standards together with the results of a 
survey of stakeholders and the annual report 
of the audit inspection unit
● the group’s accounting policies forthcoming 
changes to international financial reporting 
standards and other regulatory changes and 
various guidance notes issued by the financial 
reporting council
● the effectiveness of the group’s policies and 
processes for fraud prevention
no matters of material significance were 
identified by the auditors during the year and 
there were no material auditrelated matters that 
were discussed with investors
two members of the committee are also 
members of the remuneration committee 
the audit committee is satisfied that the 
group’s remuneration policies are compatible 
with a robust control environment and good 
stewardship 
the key areas of risk and sensitivity the 
major accounting policies and the principal 
assumptions with regard to fair values are 
described in the annual report and notes to 
the accounts the committee reviewed these 
during the year taking into account relevant 
external advice and was satisfied that they were 
appropriate
external auditors
we place great importance on the effectiveness 
and independence of the external auditors 
and together with them are careful to ensure 
their objectivity is not compromised at our 
october meeting the auditors presented to the 
committee their plans for the forthcoming audit 
together with details of their proposed fees 
and how they ensure that their objectivity and 
independence are not compromised deloitte 
llp or its predecessor firms is a leading 
international audit partnership and was first 
appointed as auditor to group companies more 
than 30 years ago there are no contractual 
restrictions on the group with regard to their 
appointment in accordance with professional 
standards the partner responsible for the audit 
changes every 5 years the last change occurred 
in 2010 
the committee considers that deloitte provide 
a high quality efficient and cost effective audit 
service accordingly following our february 2012 
meeting at which we reviewed the 2011 audit 
process the committee recommended to the 
board that resolutions be put to shareholders 
at the annual general meeting for the 
reappointment of the external auditors and to 
authorise the directors to fix their remuneration 
one of the committee’s responsibilities is 
to ensure compliance with the board’s policy 
in respect of services provided by and fees 
paid to the auditors audit fees which are 
regularly compared with peer companies by 
the committee are initially negotiated by the 
finance director but are then approved by 
the committee the policy in relation to other 
services that could be provided by the external 
auditors which has been approved by the board 
can be summarised as follows
general principles
there is a presumption against the external 
auditors providing nonaudit services and they 
should only be selected for such work where its 
nature makes it more timely and cost effective to 
select advisors who have a good understanding 
of the group or the work is of a particularly 
confidential or specialist nature the external 
auditors should not provide nonaudit services 
where either the nature of the work or the extent 
of such services might impair their independence 
or objectivity any engagement of the external 
auditors for nonaudit work with a fee over 
£25000 requires my approval
areas of work 
the policy sets out certain nonaudit services 
where it would be usual to engage the external 
auditors such as regulatory reviews and some 
tax services and those where their engagement 
is not permitted such as work relating to the 
design of financial information systems i am 
consulted in relation to any proposed work not 
covered by the list
value of work
nonaudit services require approval as follows
● up to £5000 – no formal approval is required 
provided the work is permitted under the list 
referred to above
● £5000 to £25000 – group finance director
● £25000 to £50000 – group finance director 
and committee chairman
● £50000 and above – group finance 
director and committee chairman following a 
competitive tender
formal approval by the committee is also 
required if the aggregated level of forecast fees 
for nonaudit services exceeds 50 of the 
statutory audit fee
reporting
the group finance director reports twice yearly 
to the committee on fees for nonaudit services 
payable to the auditors
as shown in note 5 to the accounts during 
the year the auditors were paid £401k 2010 
£404k for auditrelated work and £299k 2010 
£689k for nonaudit work
the principal item of nonaudit fees was 
£182k related to specialist taxation advice 
associated with the acquisition of bss group 
plc in addition nonaudit fees included a 
review of the interim statements and audit work 
audit committee report governance
tra vis perkins annual repor t and accounts 2011
55
undertaken in respect of us private placement 
notes issued by bss prior to acquisition in 
view of deloitte’s detailed understanding of the 
group’s operations and accounting policies 
and being mindful of future auditor reporting 
obligations the audit committee decided that 
it was appropriate for deloitte to undertake this 
work in addition £119k 2010 £514k of fees 
was paid to other accounting firms for nonaudit 
work
the committee understands that the total 
fees paid by the group to deloitte in 2011 
amount to less than 003 of deloitte’s uk 
fee income and considers that the auditors 
independence has not been impaired by the 
nonaudit fees paid in 2011
internal audit
as well as its reviews of the internal audit 
department’s strategy and processes as 
described above during its meetings in 2011 
the committee received presentations from 
the director of business risk and assurance 
about the results of work undertaken by the 
department and approved its riskbased plans 
for work in 2012 taking into account the results 
of a stakeholder survey and other reports 
the committee was satisfied with the overall 
effectiveness of the internal audit function
overview
as a result of our work during the year and 
taking into account the result of the board and 
committee evaluation process described on page 
50 the committee has concluded that it has 
acted in accordance with its terms of reference 
and has ensured the independence objectivity 
and effectiveness of the external and internal 
auditors the committee has also concluded that 
the group’s internal control and risk management 
systems were effective during the year 
i will be available at the annual general 
meeting to answer any questions about the work 
of the committee
chris bunker
chairman audit committee
21 february 2012 56
introduction
this report sets out the group’s remuneration 
policies for its directors and senior executives 
and describes how those policies are applied in 
practice
unaudited information
remuneration committee 
chairman’s statement
executive remuneration is a high profile issue 
and the remuneration committee welcomes 
the accountability and transparency that 
shareholders and the public expect the 
increasingly complex nature of executive 
remuneration requires committee members to 
keep themselves abreast of developments and 
to obtain high quality independent advice on a 
range of issues
in 2011 the committee undertook a review 
of its external advisers and decided to appoint 
pwc llp as its main advisor replacing hewitt 
new bridge street we are working with our new 
advisors on a review of executive remuneration 
to ensure that it continues to provide value for 
shareholders whilst retaining and motivating top 
quality executives 
●  remuneration should be competitive and 
contribute to the delivery of short and long
term shareholder value
●  remuneration should contain significant 
performance related incentive elements
●  all colleagues should be able to share in the 
success of the group through participation in 
both annual bonus schemes and longer term 
share plans
the committee is delighted that more than 2100 
colleagues benefited from a record payout 
of more than £17 million under the group’s 
sharesave scheme in addition to this executive 
share options vested for more than 100 senior 
managers 
our executive directors are entitled to awards 
of up to 759 of their maximum potential 
under the annual bonus plan as a result of the 
group meeting the targets set for 2011 which 
are described in more detail later in this report 
these targets were set at a more stretching 
level in 2011 evaluated by considering the likely 
value of risks and opportunities pertaining to the 
group’s annual budget in 2011 the net risks 
were valued at the outset of the year at a higher 
level than in previous years in 2012 the level 
of stretch has increased yet further in 2011 
longterm incentive awards made in 2008 under 
the performance share plan ‘psp’ did not vest 
but we anticipate that there will be partial vesting 
in 2012 of the psp awards made in 2009
future developments
the committee plans a full review of executive 
remuneration in the group we have retained 
broadly the same structure for 6 years and 
believe that with the expanded group following 
the bss acquisition now more settled we should 
plan for the next stage of our development to 
ensure that remuneration continues to support 
our aim to build sustainable shareholder value 
and give our senior managers opportunities to 
share in our success 
it is vital that both our short and longterm 
incentives reward our leaders in maintaining the 
focus on the strategies described earlier in the 
chief executive’s section of the report on page 
20 the goal for each of our mature businesses 
is that they equal the highest operating margin 
and return on capital of any business operating 
in their segment we will ensure that any future 
changes to our short and longterm incentive 
arrangements continue to encourage the right 
economic behaviour and allow all colleagues to 
participate in the financial success of the group
whilst we have already taken time to discuss 
the implications of the abi guidelines the 
current political and public scrutiny of executive 
remuneration may lead to new legal or regulatory 
requirements for companies we do not know yet 
what the impact of these will be and we welcome 
calls for transparency and more dialogue with 
shareholders the shareholdings of our senior 
executives give them much more alignment with 
the interest of shareholders we would like to 
build on this and encourage more colleagues in 
the group to become longterm shareholders
we are also very much mindful of our duty to 
appoint and retain top quality executives in order 
to build on our management strength across all 
group businesses
continuing to ensure appropriate pay and 
reward relativities is an area of increasing 
concern for the remuneration committee whilst 
we have been successful in recruiting some high 
quality individuals at senior executive level to 
strengthen our executive committee and to lead 
new parts of our significantly enlarged business 
the external market pay demands are creating 
issues in relation to pay relativity with our existing 
plc directors we are debating ways of dealing 
with this difficult and contentious issue 
finally on page 19 of the annual report we 
confirm the decision to promote john carter 
to the new role of deputy chief executive 
officer from january 1 2012 with significantly 
increased responsibilities allowing our chief 
executive geoff cooper to begin to develop 
the strategic themes highlighted in his report 
we have commissioned a piece of external 
benchmarking work to assist us to determine 
the appropriate remuneration package for john 
carter’s expanded role which will apply from the 
date of his appointment the decision made will 
be disclosed in next year’s remuneration report
2011 highlights
●  below inflation salary increases for executive 
directors at the same level as the percentage 
increase for all colleagues for the fifth 
consecutive year this means that excluding 
the previously disclosed pension adjustment 
made for geoff cooper in 2010 their fixed pay 
compound increase for the last five years is 
12 
● stretching annual performance targets met 
resulting in bonus payments being made to 
our strong management team
● 25 of annual bonus deferred for three years 
held in the form of shares with 78755 shares 
now deferred in this way for the plc directors
● all employees continue to share in the 
group’s success through participation in short 
term incentive plans and longer term share 
plans with a record payout under the group 
sharesave scheme
● executive share options vested for over 
100 senior managers excluding executive 
directors who were not eligible
● all of our top 27 senior executives including 
the three executive directors had a 
shareholding valued in excess of our guidance
who attends remuneration 
committee meetings
during the year the committee comprised 
andrew simon chairman chris bunker john 
coleman and robert walker all of whom are 
independent nonexecutive directors philip 
jansen also an independent non executive 
directors’ remuneration report
for the year ended 31 december 2011 governance
tra vis perkins annual repor t and accounts 2011
57
director joined the committee in december
the committee met 6 times in 2011 
attendance at the meetings is shown on page 49 
the committee is responsible for the broad 
policy on directors’ and senior executives’ 
remuneration it determines all aspects of 
the remuneration packages of the executive 
directors and reviews with the chief executive 
the remuneration packages of other senior 
executives it also oversees the administration of 
the share schemes the committee’s terms of 
reference are available on our website or from 
the company secretary
hewitt new bridge street a trading name 
of aon corporation and pwc provided advice 
to the committee during the year on executive 
remuneration pwc provided audit services to a 
bss subsidiary early in the year together with 
limited tax services prior to their resignation 
as auditors other than that neither provided 
other services to the company during the year 
but another part of aon corporation provides 
insurance broking services these advisors 
were appointed by the committee in addition 
geoff cooper chief executive paul hampden 
smith finance director andrew pike group 
company secretary carol kavanagh group 
human resources director and stella girvin 
deputy company secretary have assisted the 
committee in its work but never in respect of 
their own remuneration the committee keeps 
itself fully informed of relevant developments and 
best practice in remuneration matters and seeks 
advice where appropriate from external advisors
what is our remuneration policy 
we continue to focus our efforts on ensuring 
that we have the right mix of fixed and variable 
remuneration our incentive structure is designed 
to support the group goal of creating shareholder 
value through consistently outperforming in our 
markets we believe that measured as a long 
run average over 50 of total remuneration 
for executive directors should be performance 
related 
in determining the overall policy for executive 
remuneration all associated risks arising 
throughout the group are considered thereby 
ensuring that the overall remuneration structure 
and variable scheme targets are set so that 
they do not give rise to any undue risk taking 
we believe that it is important that our most 
senior executives build up a shareholding in 
the company and we set formal shareholding 
guidelines the target shareholding to be 
acquired within 5 years of appointment is 
100 of salary for the executive directors and 
50 of salary for our most senior executives 
all directors and executives are aware that 
the remuneration committee may scale back 
future longterm incentive awards for individuals 
who have not consistently met the target level 
share options which have vested but not been 
exercised count towards the target
as at 31 december 2011 all 27 senior 
executives had achieved their target 
shareholding more specifically geoff cooper 
paul hampden smith and john carter held a 
salary ratio shareholding of 292 722 and 
167 respectively 
what makes up fixed remuneration
basic salaries 
basic salaries are reviewed annually for each 
director and are normally set with reference 
to individual performance experience and 
contribution together with developments in 
the relevant employment market internal 
relativities and reference to the general economic 
environment it is this last point which has 
outweighed all others in determining pay awards 
for 2012 
in line with the majority of employees the 
executive directors were awarded a 2 base pay 
increase in january 2012 this means that for 
the fifth successive year the same basic salary 
increase percentage has been applied to all 
employee levels 
from 1 january 2012 the executive directors’ 
salaries are
● john carter £392100
● geoff cooper £652200
● paul hampden smith £392100
benefits
in addition to their basic salary directors receive 
a benefits package which includes private 
medical insurance life assurance and an 
incapacity benefits scheme paul hampden smith 
and john carter are also in receipt of either a car 
or car allowance
pension arrangements
in respect of pension arrangements geoff 
cooper and john carter receive cash equal to 
25 of basic salary
paul hampden smith was a member of the 
group’s defined benefits pension scheme until 
31 march 2011 and now receives cash equal to 
25 of basic salary 
 
what makes up variable remuneration
variable remuneration is a mix of shortterm 
and longterm incentives designed to deliver 
shareholder value and to reward executives
annual bonus
executive directors are eligible for an annual 
bonus the remuneration committee sets 
targets linked to board approved annual budgets 
maximum bonus payments are awarded only 
when performance for the year in question 
significantly exceeds the agreed annual budget 
targets the maximum bonus levels are 120 of 
salary for the chief executive and 100 of salary 
for the finance director and the deputy chief 
executive onequarter of the bonus is deferred 
in shares for 3 years
performance share plan
executive directors receive awards under this plan 
each year the maximum award is 150 of salary 
these awards vest after 3 years subject to the 
achievement of a range of performance targets
in 2011 the total level of award made under 
this scheme to each executive director was 
150 of basic salary
share matching scheme
executive directors are also invited to participate 
in this scheme which involves a participant 
buying shares from their own resources the 
maximum amount that can be invested by a 
participant is equal to 50 of posttax salary 
provided that these shares are retained for 3 
years and further performance targets are met 
matching shares will be made available the 
maximum share match is effectively on a basis of 
2 shares for each 1 purchased
all employee share plans
as with all group employees the executive 
directors can participate in two hmrc approved 
schemes the sharesave scheme and the share 
incentive plan which operates only on a buy as 
you earn basis 58
variable remuneration in 2011
annual bonus
the performance measures were the same as for the previous year and the targets and results are as follows
measure  weighting target range achieved
eps  50 95  105 451
roce  30 95  105 168
personal objectives  20 0  20 1014
the evaluation of personal objectives involved the remuneration committee considering personal development and performance by the executive eirectors on 
a balanced scorecard of measures including the following main topics
● market outperformance
● risk monitoring
● health and safety
● integration of bss
● global sourcing initiatives
● category management capability
● supply chain optimisation
● succession
the remuneration committee assessed the specific achievements against these objectives by reviewing the detailed measures attached to each one as well 
as reviewing the performance of each director overall the annual bonus for each of the executive directors is as follows
   bonus full bonus cash bonus deferred 
     in shares
john carter 759 £291760 £218820 9106
geoff cooper 911 £582498 £435873 18180
paul hampden smith 719 £276384 £207288 8626
performance share plan
the targets set in 2008 were not met and no awards vested in 2011 this is disappointing as the company has outperformed its competitors and the share 
price has risen significantly it does serve as a reminder that stretching targets are difficult to achieve in difficult economic circumstances
share matching scheme
there was partial vesting at 51 of the full awards made in 2008 the participants have also benefitted from the increase in the share price along with other 
shareholders
all employee share plans
over 2100 colleagues shared a record payout of more than £17 million under the sharesave scheme none of the executive directors received this benefit as 
their savings and share options under the scheme do not mature until december 2013
executive share option awards
executive share options granted in 2008 vested during the year for over 100 senior managers the executive directors were excluded from this ‘oneoff’ award 
the board believes that wider employee share ownership benefits the company and strengthens the link between shareholders and group employees in 
2011 the success of the two schemes previously mentioned along with our ‘buy as you earn’ scheme has created many more employee shareholders
variable remuneration in 2012
as mentioned above we do not propose any fundamental change to the current remuneration structure during 2012 but we are conducting a full review with 
our new advisers
directors’ remuneration report governance
tra vis perkins annual repor t and accounts 2011
59
annual bonus
the compulsory deferral of 25 of the bonus in shares remains performance will be assessed against agreed budgets and the weighting will be as follows 
the weighting is unchanged from 2011
measure weighting
eps 50
roce 30
personal objectives 20
performance share plan
the maximum award levels will be 150 of basic salary for each of the executive directors the performance targets will be aggregate cashflow relative total 
shareholder return ‘tsr’ and adjusted earnings per share ‘eps’ with the same relative weighting as last year
measure rationale  weighting
aggregate cashflow reinforces importance of cash generation at a time when the group wishes to 
  reduce the financial leverage taken on in respect of acquisitions 40
relative tsr external measure of shareholder value  20
eps growth a reasonable and well understood proxy for an increase in shareholder value 
  for the benefit of all shareholders provided undue leverage is controlled 40
   range
aggregate cashflow over three years up to 2014 three aggregate cash flow targets 
  no vesting below lower target £761m  £841m
  straight line increase until full vesting at upper target 
company tsr relative to ftse250 index median top 50 30 vests
  upper quartile top 25 100 vests
  straightline between these points 
eps growth rpi  3 pa 30 vests
  rpi  10 pa 100 vests
  straightline between these points
the earnings per share targets are calculated on a compound annual basis and include the increase in the retail prices index ‘rpi’ although rpi is forecast 
to reduce in the next 3 years it has remained stubbornly high for some time if it reduces to average 3 over the next 3 years the aggregate eps growth will 
have to be 44 in 3 years time for this part of the award to vest in full 
given the current economic climate this would represent an outstanding achievement 
share matching scheme
once again the maximum investment will be 50 of posttax salary and the other features of the scheme will also be unchanged the performance target will 
be cash return on capital employed ‘croce’
measure rationale  range matching ratio
croce reinforces importance of cash generation and   06 for 1
 return on capital employed 953  1053 2 for 1
   straightline  
   between the two 60
for executive directors the remuneration framework can be summarised as follows
fixed remuneration
base salary reviewed on 1 january each year against
  
●
 economic circumstances
  
●
 increases for all group employees
  
●
 salary levels in similar sized companies eg ftse150250
  
●
 individual performance experience and contribution
benefits 
●
 market competitive
  
●
 linked to benefits for other group employees
pension 
●
 where appropriate membership of a group pension scheme
  
●
 alternative cash allowance or topup at 25 of all or part of basic salary
variable remuneration
annual bonus  targets reviewed each year
  
●
 on target bonus for ceo – 60 of salary
  
●
 max bonus for ceo – 120 of salary
  
●
 on target bonus for other directors – 50 of salary
  
●
 max bonus for other directors – 100 of salary
  
●
 compulsory deferral of 25 of bonus in company shares and paid after 3 years subject to continued employment
performance share plan awards made each year
  
●
 max value of award – 150 of salary
  
●
 awards vest after 3 years subject to achievement of a range of performance targets and continuing employment
  
●
 current performance targets are eps growth tsr and aggregate cash flow each with a vesting range
share matching scheme voluntary investment by director in company shares from own resources
  
●
 max investment equal to 50 of posttax salary
  
●
 matching shares awarded after 3 years provided that investment shares are still held performance targets are met and
    director continues in employment
  
●
 matching shares of up to 2 for each 1 investment share held plus grossing up for tax
  
●
 current performance target is croce with a vesting range
expected value of total remuneration package
the following charts show the split between fixed and variable remuneration excluding benefits in kind for ‘ontarget’ performance and ‘maximum’ performance 
 
 
 
nb the charts exclude the one off 2009 share award made to john carter 
directors’ remuneration report
 fixed  bonus  ltip
50
deputy chief executive
and group finance director
50
25
25
deputy chief executive
and group finance director
31
46
23
chief executive officer
32
26
42
chief executive officer
27
23
50
on target maximum on target maximum governance
tra vis perkins annual repor t and accounts 2011
61
nonexecutive directors
the remuneration of the nonexecutive directors is determined by the board in the case of the chairman on the recommendation of the remuneration 
committee each nonexecutive director receives an annual fee in addition chris bunker and andrew simon receive additional fees for in the case of the 
former the role of senior independent director and for chairing the audit committee and in the case of the latter for chairing the remuneration and health  
safety committees the fees for 2011 were set as
● base fee  £50000 pa
● additional fee for senior independent director – £7000 pa 
● additional fee for committee chairmanship – £10000 pa
● additional fee for second committee chairmanship – £4000 pa
nonexecutive directors do not receive any other benefits other than a staff discount card for purchasing products and are not eligible to join a company 
pension scheme no compensation is payable on termination of their employment which may be without notice from the company they cannot participate in 
any of the company’s share schemes
total shareholder return
as required by the companies act the graph below shows total shareholder return for travis perkins’ shares over the last five years relative to the ftse 250 
index total shareholder return is defined as a combination of growth in the company’s share price and dividends paid to shareholders the ftse 250 index has 
been chosen as a comparable broad equity market index because the company has been a member of it for the five year period 
audited information
contracts of executive directors
each of the executive directors has a service contract the date of which is shown below which will be available for inspection at the annual general meeting 
these contracts provide for six month’s notice from the directors and 12 month’s notice from the company they do not specify any particular level of 
compensation in the event of termination or change of control
● john carter 6 august 2001
● geoff cooper 1 february 2005
● paul hampden smith 8 october 1996
it is the company’s policy to allow each executive director to hold one nonexecutive directorship in another company and to retain the fee payable
150
100
50
0
2006 2007 2008 2009
 travis perkins plc  ftse 250
2010 2011 62
amount of directors’ emoluments
part of each executive director’s remuneration may consist of benefits in kind not payable in cash such as the provision of a company car a fuel card and private 
healthcare insurance no director receives an expense allowance which is chargeable to tax details of directors’ remuneration are set out in the table below 
 basic salary annual bonus benefits total remuneration
 2011 2011 2011 2011 2010
 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
executive     
geoff cooper
1
 639 582 168 1389 1424
paul hampden smith
2
 384  276 96 756 766
john carter
3
 384  292 131 807 781
nonexecutive
ruth anderson
4
 9   9 
chris bunker 67   67 60
john coleman 50   50 44
philip jansen 50   50 44
andrew simon 64   64 55
tim stevenson
5
     68 
robert walker 200   200 162
 1847 1150 395 3392  3404
notes
1   highest paid director  benefits include a cash allowance of £159851 2010 £244007 in lieu of pension accrual and £8446 dividend equivalent on exercise of ltip awards these do 
not count when calculating annual bonus and granting share incentives geoff cooper also received and retained in 2011 £100000 2010 £92840 in respect of his nonexecutive 
chairmanship of dunelm group plc
2   benefits include a £16000 ‘cash for car’ allowance a £1500 fuel allowance and £72075 cash allowance in lieu of pension accrual and £5624 dividend equivalent on exercise of ltip 
awards which do not count when calculating annual bonus and granting share incentives paul hampden smith also received and retained in 2011 £45000 2010 £40000  in respect 
of his nonexecutive directorship of redrow plc
3   benefits include a cash allowance of £96100 in lieu of pension accrual and £1272 dividend equivalent on exercise of ltip awards which do not count when calculating annual bonus and 
granting share incentives
4  appointed 24 october 2011
5  retired 17 may 2010
directors’ pension entitlements
pension entitlements of the executive directors during the year were as follows
 john carter paul hampden smith geoff cooper
age at 31 december 2011 50 51 57
 £’000 £’000 £’000
accrued pension at 31 december 2010 290 82 5
accrued pension at 31 december 2011 or earlier leaving 246 83 5
decrease  increase in accrued pension in 2011 44 1 
real decrease in accrued pension in 2011 60 3 
transfer value of the real decrease in accrued pension net of member’s contributions 1263 53 1
value of decrease in accrued benefit 1263 61 1
member’s contributions towards pension  8 
increase in transfer value net of member’s contributions 481 395 19
transfer value of benefits accrued at 31 december 2010 4608 1239 116
transfer value of benefits accrued at 31 december 2011 5089 1642 135
notes
1 only base salary is pensionable for service from 1 december 2004
2 geoff cooper ceased future accrual on 5 april 2006 but benefits up to that date retain a link to current salary
3 john carter ceased future accrual on 31 december 2010 benefits on leaving have been calculated using a 3 year averaging of pensionable salaries
4 paul hampden smith ceased future accrual on 31 march 2011 benefits on leaving have been calculated using a 3 year averaging of pensionable salaries
5 salary sacrifice was introduced for member contributions in april 2006 the figures for paul hampden smith above include the sacrificed amounts
6 any pensions paid on early retirement are subject to abatement
directors’ remuneration report governance
tra vis perkins annual repor t and accounts 2011
63
travis perkins’ share price information
   2011 2010
midmarket price at the year end 796p 1058p
highest midmarket price during the year 1127p 1058p
average midmarket price during the year 928p 817p
lowest midmarket price during the year 711p 665p
directors’ shareholdings
the directors’ holdings of ordinary 10p shares of travis perkins plc at 31 december 2011 and 2010 were as follows
   2011 2010
director interest no no
ruth anderson beneficial owner  
chris bunker beneficial owner 11900 11900
john carter beneficial owner 61918 52062
john coleman beneficial owner 2465 2465
geoff cooper beneficial owner 195053 165094
paul hampden smith beneficial owner 283933 208883
philip jansen beneficial owner  
andrew simon beneficial owner 3400 3400
robert walker beneficial owner 80595 65000
between 31 december 2011 and the date of this report the only change to the above directors’ shareholdings is to paul hampden smith’s whose shareholding 
had increased to 283961 because of his monthly contribution to the travis perkins’ buy as you earn plan
 
share matching scheme
participation by directors is as follows   
   outstanding granted lapsed vested outstanding
grant date   1 january 2011 during year during year  during year  31 december 2011
    no no no no no 
geoff cooper    
1 april 2008 investment matching shares 103988  50955 53033 
19 may 2009 investment matching shares 157785    157785
16 march 2010 investment matching shares 71853    71853
15 march 2011 investment matching shares  65580   65580
paul hampden smith     
1 april 2008 investment matching shares 72787  35666 37121 
19 may 2009 investment matching shares 110450    110450
16 march 2010 investment matching shares 50296    50296
15 march 2011 investment matching shares  39424   39424
john carter    
19 may 2009 investment matching shares 63974    63974
16 march 2010 investment matching shares 50296    50296
15 march 2011 investment matching shares  39424   39424
notes
1 vesting is on the third anniversary of the grant date
2 awardpurchase prices restated for the rights issue as appropriate are 1 april 2008 840p 19 may 2009 553p 16 march 2010 740p 15 march 2011 968p
3  performance criteria apply for the share matching shares granted in 2008 which vested during 2011 minimum vesting required croce of 115 and full vesting required 125 the 
award vested at 51 for investment matching shares granted in 2009 and 2010 a condition based on a threeyear average of cash return on capital employed ‘croce’ applies as 
described on page 59 for 2009 the target range was 645  882 and for 2010 the target range was 75 to 90 64
performance share plan
participation by directors is as follows
 outstanding granted lapsed outstanding
grant date 1 january 2011 during year during year  31 december 2011
    no no no no 
geoff cooper     
5 march 2008  73015  73015 
23 june 2009  131289   131289
5 march 2010  92437   92437
4 march 2011   75224  75224
4 april 2011   18605  18605
paul hampden smith    
5 march 2008  42591  42591 
23 june 2009  76585   76585
5 march 2010  53921   53921
4 march 2011   37686  37686
4 april 2011   18642  18642
john carter    
5 march 2008  42591  42591 
23 june 2009  76585   76585
5 march 2010  53921   53921
4 march 2011   37686  37686
4 april 2011   18642  18642
notes
1 vesting is on the third anniversary of the grant date
2 award prices restated for the 2009 rights issue as appropriate are 23 june 2009 473p 5 march 2010 6955p 4 march 2011 1020p 4 april 2011 1031p 
3  performance criteria apply for performance shares granted in 2008 and 2009 vesting is at 33 13 if eps exceeds inflation by 3 a year pro rata between 100  33 13 if eps exceeds 
inflation by between 3 and 10 and 100 if eps exceeds inflation by 10 the 2008 award lapsed performance conditions for the 2010 award are vesting is at 30 if eps exceeds 
inflation by 3 a year tsr is in the top 50 of the ftse 250 and aggregate cash flow is at least £470m vesting is at 100 if eps exceeds inflation by 10 a year tsr is in the top 25 
and aggregate cash flow is at least £520m there is a straightline vesting between these points conditions for the 2011 award performance were the same as 2010 except the range for 
aggregate cash flow is £844m to £977m
directors’ remuneration report governance
tra vis perkins annual repor t and accounts 2011
65
deferred share bonus plan
participation by directors is as follows
 outstanding granted lapsed outstanding
grant date  1 january 2011 during year during year  31 december 2011
      no no no no 
geoff cooper    
5 march 2008    13564  13564 
3 march 2010    19862   19862
2 march 2011     16729  16729
paul hampden smith    
5 march 2008    7743  7743 
3 march 2010    11586   11586
2 march 2011     9496  9496
john carter    
5 march 2008    7743  7743 
3 march 2010    11586   11586
2 march 2011     9496  9496
notes
1 vesting is on the third anniversary of the grant date
2  the award price restated for the 2009 rights issue if appropriate for the 5 march 2008 grant was 998p for the 3 march 2010 grant was 8011667p and for the 2 march 2011 grant was 
9873p
executive share options 
participation by directors in the 2001 executive share option scheme is as follows
  outstanding exercised outstanding exercise exercise
  1 january 2011 during year 31 december 2011 price period
   no no no  
geoff cooper 17980  17980 1320p anytime until 31315
paul hampden smith 49923 49923  596p 
  39368  39368 845p anytime until 9412
  51994  51994 841p anytime until 10413
  23787  23787 1033p anytime until 15314
  10489  10489 1320p anytime until 31315
john carter 37296  37296 845p anytime until 9412
  41594  41594 841p anytime until 10413
  22058  22058 1033p anytime until 15314
  10487  10487 1320p anytime until 31315
    
share award for john carter
grant date
 outstanding 1 jan and
   31 dec 2011
   no
10 november 2009  47612
notes
1 the one off award structured as a nil cost share option was made following consultation with principal shareholders in 2009
2 the award vests in equal tranches after completion of years four five and six the first year being 2009
3  the performance conditions are linked to procurement improvement initiatives agreed annually by the remuneration committee together with delivery of john carter’s objectives as part of 
travis perkins’ strategic plan 66
directors’ remuneration report
sharesave options
   
participation by directors in the 2002 travis perkins’ sharesave scheme is as follows
   outstanding 1 jan and
   31 dec 2011
   no
geoff cooper 3670
paul hampden smith 3670
john carter 3670
notes
1 no performance conditions apply
2  all options are exercisable from 1 december 2013 to 31 may 2014 at a price of 442p restated for the 2009 rights issue
share dilution
at 31 december 2011 shares under grant for executive share schemes over a 10 year period represented 143 of issued share capital and shares under 
grant for all employee share schemes over the previous 10 years represented 522 there were 6012644 247 of issued share capital unallocated 
shares and 289142 allocated shares 012 held in the employee trust 
shareholders’ approval
the directors confirm that this report has been drawn up in accordance with the requirements of the companies act 2006 and the uk corporate governance 
code 
the shareholders will be invited to approve the remuneration policy set out in this report at the annual general meeting at which the chairman of the committee 
will be available to answer any questions
approved by the board and signed on its behalf by
andrew simon 
chairman remuneration committee
21 february 2012  governance
tra vis perkins annual repor t and accounts 2011
67
nominations committee report
for the year ended 31 december 2011
the principal role of the nominations committee 
is to identify and nominate for board approval 
candidates to fill board vacancies as and when 
they arise the committee prepares a description 
of the role and skills and capabilities required 
and maintains contact with major shareholders 
about appointments to the board it also keeps 
the structure size and composition of the board 
under review and considers succession planning 
for both executive and nonexecutive directors 
and for other senior executive posts the terms 
of reference of the committee are available on 
the company’s website or from the company 
secretary
during the year the committee members were 
robert walker chairman together with chris 
bunker and john coleman both of whom are 
independent nonexecutive directors 
the committee met three times in 2011 
in addition to the committee members the 
meetings were also attended by the other 
nonexecutive directors and in part by the chief 
executive and the group hr director
in the past year the remit of the committee 
has been expanded to include a broader hr 
and succession agenda across the senior 
management levels in the company the 
committee reviewed the personal development 
plans for the executive directors a proposed 
reorganisation of the finance department the 
recruitment of a further nonexecutive director 
and the bench strength and succession plans for 
the most senior levels throughout the company
for each board position the committee selects 
the appropriate search firm after reviewing a 
shortlist of a minimum of three alternatives in the 
case of ruth anderson’s appointment the board 
prepared a detailed job specification shortlisted 
three search firms then asked lygon group 
to undertake a search for candidates with the 
requisite skills and experience
 the committee and the board also 
considered the aspirations of the davies review 
for an increasing representation of women 
on company boards the board shares that 
aspiration but in view of the historic challenge 
faced in the construction sector in attracting 
women candidates it is reluctant to commit 
to specific targets nevertheless for board 
appointments while ensuring that existing high 
standards are maintained the recruitment criteria 
set by the committee have been amended so 
that prior plc experience is not essential it is 
hoped that this will widen the pool of potential 
candidates
the chairman of the nominations committee 
will be available at the annual general meeting 
to answer any questions about the work of the 
committee
robert walker
chairman nominations committee
21 february 2012 68
directors’ report
for the year ended 31 december 2011
the directors present their annual report 
and audited accounts for the year ended 31 
december 2011 the corporate governance 
statement on pages 49 to 52 forms part of the 
directors’ report
principal activities
travis perkins is one of the largest builder’s 
merchants and home improvement retailers 
in the uk the principal activities of the group 
are the sale of timber building materials and 
plumbing and heating products and the hiring of 
tools to the building trade industry generally and 
the general public within the united kingdom 
the directors are not aware at the date of this 
report of any likely major changes in the group’s 
activities in the next year
business review
a review of the group’s position developments 
and future prospects is contained in the 
chairman’s statement on pages 12 and 13 
the chief executive’s review of the year on 
pages 14 to 21 the deputy chief executive’s 
review of the year on pages 24 to 29 and the 
finance director’s review of the year on pages 
30 to 34 a review of the group’s environmental 
performance is on pages 38 to 42
results and dividends 
the group results for the year ended 31 
december 2011 and dividends for the year 
ending 31 december 2011 are set out on page 
74 if approved the final dividend will be paid 
on 31 may 2012 to those shareholders on the 
register at the close of business on 4 may 2012
balance sheet and post 
balance sheet events
the balance sheet on pages 76 and 77 shows the 
group’s financial position no significant events 
have occurred since the balance sheet date
principal risks and uncertainties
a review of the group’s principal risks and 
uncertainties are on pages 36 to 37
directors and their interests 
in accordance with the company’s articles of 
association ruth anderson will be standing for 
election by shareholders at the annual general 
meeting having been appointed to the board 
since the last annual general meeting the 
board believes that ruth anderson’s professional 
financial background and extensive experience 
of advising a broad range of companies across 
many business sectors will greatly benefit the 
company complement the skills of the other 
board members and make her an excellent 
choice as a nonexecutive director
the uk corporate governance code ‘the 
code’ requires that all directors of ftse 350 
companies are subject to reelection at the 
company’s annual general meeting each year 
and therefore executive directors geoff cooper 
paul hampden smith and john carter and non 
executive directors robert walker chris bunker 
john coleman philip jansen and andrew simon 
will all seek reelection at the annual general 
meeting
the names of the directors at 31 december 
2011 together with their biographical details 
are set out on pages 46 and 47 all of these 
directors held office throughout the year 
except ruth anderson who was appointed on 
24 october 2011 the executive directors have 
rolling 12 month notice periods in their contracts 
the nonexecutive directors do not have service 
contracts in the light of the formal evaluation 
of their performances as a result of the process 
described on page 50 robert walker chairman 
confirms on behalf of the board that all directors 
continue to be effective in and committed to 
their roles
directors and officers of the company are 
entitled to be indemnified out of the assets of 
the company in respect of any liability incurred 
in relation to the affairs of the company or 
any associate company to the extent the law 
allows in this regard the company is required to 
disclose that under article 140 of the company’s 
articles of association the directors have the 
benefit of an indemnity to the extent permitted 
by the companies act 2006 against liabilities 
incurred by them in the execution of their duties 
and exercise of their powers this indemnity 
is currently in force in addition if proceedings 
against directors are instituted subsequent to 
any person acquiring control of the company 
the company has agreed with each of the 
directors that pursuant to article 140d of the 
company’s articles of association the company 
shall provide a director with funds subject to 
certain restrictions to meet expenditure incurred 
by that director in defending any criminal or civil 
proceedings
a copy of the company’s articles of 
association which contains this indemnity 
is available for inspection at the company’s 
registered office during normal business hours 
and will be available for inspection at and during 
the period of 30 minutes prior to the company’s 
forthcoming annual general meeting 
none of the directors had an interest in any 
contract to which the company or any of its 
subsidiaries was a party during the year
the company has undertaken to comply 
with the best practice on approval of directors’ 
conflicts of interests in accordance with the 
company’s articles of association under the 
companies act 2006 a director must avoid a 
situation where he has or can have a direct or 
indirect interest that conflicts or possibly may 
conflict with the company’s interests 
the disclosable interests of directors at 31 
december 2011 including holdings if any of 
wives and of children aged under 18 were as 
detailed in the directors’ remuneration report on 
pages 63 to 66 governance
tra vis perkins annual repor t and accounts 2011
69
substantial shareholdings 
as at 21 february 2012 the company had been 
notified of the following interests amounting to 
3 or more of the voting rights in the issued 
ordinary share capital of the company 
close company status 
the close company provisions of the income and 
corporation taxes act 1988 do not apply to the 
company
employees and charitable 
donations
statements on these matters are contained in the 
chief executive’s review of the year on page 20 
and the deputy chief executive’s review of the 
year on page 25 respectively 
details of the number of employees and 
related costs can be found in note 7 to the 
financial statements 
the company is committed to equality 
of opportunity and recognises the benefit of 
diversity within its workforce its approach to 
the matter of the representation of women on 
company boards is set out in the nominations 
committee report the company has an equal 
opportunities policy aimed at ensuring that 
employment decisions are based on ability 
and potential regardless of gender race 
colour ethnic origin or sexual orientation 
age or disability in particular applications for 
employment by disabled persons are always 
fully considered bearing in mind the aptitudes 
of the person concerned in the event of a 
member of staff becoming disabled every effort 
is made to ensure that their employment with the 
group continues and that appropriate training is 
arranged it is the policy of the company that the 
training career development and promotion of 
disabled persons should as far as possible be 
identical to that of other employees
the group’s policies and practices have 
been designed to keep employees informed on 
matters relevant to them as employees through 
regular meetings and newsletters employee 
representatives are consulted regularly on a wide 
range of matters affecting their interests all 
employees with more than three months’ service 
are eligible to participate in the company’s 
sharesave and buy as you earn plans details are 
provided in the directors’ remuneration report
political donations
the group did not give any money for political 
purposes nor did it make any donations to 
political organisations or incur any political 
expenditure during the year 
supplier payment policy 
the group’s policy is to pay all of its suppliers in 
accordance with established terms group trade 
creditors at 31 december 2011 represented 
57 days 31 december 2010 55 days of 
average purchases of goods and services the 
company’s trade creditors at 31 december 2011 
represented 30 days 2010 30 days
auditor
resolutions to reappoint deloitte llp as the 
company’s auditor and to authorise the directors 
to fix the auditor’s remuneration will be proposed 
at the annual general meeting
statement on disclosure of 
information to auditors
each of the persons who is a director at the date 
of approval of this report confirms that
● so far as the director is aware there is 
no relevant audit information of which the 
company’s auditor is unaware and
● the director has taken all reasonable steps 
that he ought to have taken as a director 
in order to make himself aware of any 
relevant audit information and to establish 
that the company’s auditor is aware of that 
information 
this confirmation is given and should be 
interpreted in accordance with the provisions of 
s418 of the companies act 2006 
share capital and change of control
as at 31 december 2011 the company had 
an allotted and fully paid share capital of 
243816533 ordinary shares of 10 pence 
each with an aggregate nominal value of 
24381653 including shares owned by the 
employee share ownership trust the ordinary 
shares are listed on the london stock exchange 
all the shares rank pari passu the rights and 
obligations attaching to the shares are set out in 
the company’s articles of association fully paid 
shares in the company are freely transferable 
  number 
sprucegrove investment management ltd 13993653 574
standard life investments ltd 12179018 499
pzena investment management llc 11363083 466
morgan stanley  co inc 10944193 449
investec ltd 9193693 377
dimensional fund advisors lp 9001799 369
sanderson asset management ltd 8912988 365
ubs 8512604 349
legal  general investment management ltd 8448143 346 70
there are no persons that hold securities 
carrying special rights with regard to the control 
of the company details of the structure of the 
company’s share capital and changes in the 
share capital during the year are also included in 
note 21 to the financial statements
the travis perkins employee share ownership 
trust owns 6305367 shares in the company 
259 of issued share capital for use in 
connection with the company’s share schemes 
any voting or other similar decisions relating to 
those shares would be taken by the trustees 
who may take account of any recommendation of 
the company
there are no restrictions on voting rights 
attaching to the company’s ordinary shares 
the company is not aware of any agreements 
between holders of securities that may result in 
restrictions on the transfer of securities or on 
voting rights
the rules governing the appointment and 
replacement of board members and changes 
to the articles of association accord with usual 
english company law provisions the powers 
of the company’s directors are set out in the 
company’s articles of association in particular 
the board has the power to issue shares and 
to purchase its own shares and is seeking 
renewal of these powers at the forthcoming 
annual general meeting in accordance with the 
restrictions and within the limits set out in the 
notice of that meeting
there are a number of agreements to which 
the company is a party that may take effect alter 
or terminate upon a change of control following 
a takeover bid none of these agreements is 
considered significant in the context of the 
company as a whole 
there are no agreements providing for 
compensation for directors or employees on 
change of control as set out in the directors 
remuneration report on page 61 service 
contracts for executive directors do not specify 
any particular level of compensation in the event 
of termination following change of control of the 
company as noted above the company has 
agreed with each of the directors that it shall 
provide a director with funds subject to certain 
restrictions to meet expenditure incurred in 
defending any criminal or civil proceedings if 
such proceedings are instituted subsequent to 
any person acquiring control of the company
annual general meeting 
the annual general meeting of the company 
will be held at northampton rugby football club 
franklin’s gardens weedon road northampton 
nn5 5bg on tuesday 22 may 2012 at 1145 
am a buffet lunch will be available in addition 
to the resolutions to approve the receipt of the 
company’s annual accounts the declaration 
of a final dividend the appointment and 
reappointment of the company’s directors the 
reappointment of the company’s auditors and 
to give the directors authority to fix the auditors’ 
remuneration the following items are to be 
proposed at the forthcoming annual general 
meeting the board considers that all of the 
resolutions proposed are in the best interests of 
the company and of its shareholders as a whole 
and unanimously recommends that shareholders 
vote in favour of all resolutions put before the 
annual general meeting
resolution 14 
directors’ remuneration report
in accordance with the directors’ remuneration 
report regulations 2002 this resolution 
seeks shareholders’ approval of the directors’ 
remuneration report as set out on pages 56 
to 66
resolution 15 
sharesave scheme 2012
this resolution seeks shareholder approval to 
establish a new savingsrelated share option 
scheme which will replace the existing 2002 
travis perkins sharesave scheme which is due 
to expire this year the travis perkins sharesave 
scheme 2012 is a standard hm revenue  
customs approved allemployee plan and will be 
used to encourage employee share ownership 
throughout the group a description of the 
principal terms of the sharesave scheme 2012 
are summarised in the appendix to the notice of 
annual general meeting which can be found on 
page 126
resolution 16 
renewal of authority to allot shares
paragraph a of this resolution would give the 
directors the authority to allot ordinary shares 
up to an aggregate nominal amount equal 
to £8132018 representing 81320185 
ordinary shares of 10 pence each this amount 
represents approximately onethird of the issued 
ordinary share capital of the company as at 21 
february 2012 the latest practicable date prior 
to publication of this notice 
in line with guidance issued by the association 
of british insurers the ‘abi’ paragraph b of 
this resolution would give the directors authority 
to allot ordinary shares in connection with a 
rights issue in favour of ordinary shareholders 
up to an aggregate nominal amount equal 
to £16264037 representing 162640371 
ordinary shares of 10p each as reduced by 
the nominal amount of any shares issued under 
paragraph a of this resolution this amount 
before any reduction represents approximately 
twothirds of the issued ordinary share capital 
of the company as at 21 february 2012 the 
latest practicable date prior to publication of this 
notice if this authority is exercised the directors 
intend to follow abi guidance issued from time to 
time including as to the reelection of directors 
it is now our practice to propose all directors 
for annual reelection at each annual general 
meeting in accordance with the code
the authorities sought under paragraphs a 
and b of this resolution will expire at the earlier 
of 30 june 2013 the last date by which the 
company must hold an annual general meeting 
in 2013 and the conclusion of the annual 
general meeting of the company held in 2013
the directors have no present intention to 
exercise either of the authorities sought under 
this resolution except under paragraph a to 
satisfy options under the company’s employee 
share option schemes
directors’ report governance
tra vis perkins annual repor t and accounts 2011
71
resolution 17 
limited authority to allot shares for cash
this resolution would give the directors the 
authority to allot ordinary shares or sell any 
ordinary shares which the company elects to 
hold in treasury for cash without first offering 
them to existing shareholders in proportion to 
their existing shareholdings
except as provided in the next paragraph this 
authority would be limited to allotments or sales 
in connection with preemptive offers and offers 
to holders of other equity securities if required 
by the rights of those shares or as the board 
otherwise considers necessary or otherwise up 
to an aggregate nominal amount of £1219802 
representing 12198027 ordinary shares 
this aggregate nominal amount represents 
approximately 5 of the issued ordinary share 
capital of the company as at 21 february 2012 
the latest practicable date prior to publication of 
this notice in respect of this aggregate nominal 
amount the directors confirm their intention to 
follow the provisions of the preemption group’s 
statement of principles regarding cumulative 
usage of authorities within a rolling 3year period 
where the principles provide that usage in excess 
of 75 should not take place without prior 
consultation with shareholders
allotments made under the authorisation in 
paragraph b of resolution 16 would be limited to 
allotments by way of a rights issue only subject 
to the right of the board to impose necessary or 
appropriate limitations to deal with for example 
fractional entitlements and regulatory matters
the authority will expire at the earlier of 30 
june 2013 the last date by which the company 
must hold an annual general meeting in 2013 
and the conclusion of the annual general meeting 
of the company held in 2013 any issue of 
shares for cash will however still be subject to 
the requirements of the uk listing authority
resolution 18 
notice of meetings
the companies act 2006 requires that the notice 
period for general meetings of a company is 21 
days unless certain requirements are satisfied 
including that shareholders approve a shorter 
notice period which cannot be less than 14 
clear days at the annual general meeting held in 
2011 shareholders approved a notice period for 
general meetings other than agms of not less 
than 14 clear days effective until the agm to be 
held in 2012 this resolution is proposed to allow 
the company to continue to call general meetings 
other than agm’s on 14 clear days notice the 
directors believe it is in the best interests of the 
shareholders of the company to preserve the 
shorter notice period and accordingly are putting 
this resolution to be proposed as a special 
resolution to the meeting the shorter notice 
period would not be used as a matter of routine 
for general meetings but only where the flexibility 
is merited by the business of the meeting and is 
thought to be to the advantage of shareholders 
as a whole the approval will be effective until 
the company’s annual general meeting in 2013 
when it is expected that a similar resolution will 
be proposed under the companies act 2006 in 
order to be able to call a general meeting on less 
than 21 clear days’ notice the company must 
make a means of electronic voting available to all 
shareholders
resolution 19 
authority to purchase own shares
the authority for the company to purchase its 
own shares of 10 pence each granted at last 
year’s annual general meeting will expire on the 
date of the forthcoming annual general meeting 
the directors wish to renew this authority and 
a special resolution which is set out in full in 
the notice of annual general meeting on page 
125 will be proposed at the forthcoming annual 
general meeting to give the company the 
authority to purchase its own ordinary shares 
in the market as permitted by the companies 
act 2006 the authority limits the number of 
shares that could be purchased to a maximum 
of 24396055 representing 10 of the issued 
ordinary share capital of the company as at 
21 february 2012 and sets minimum and 
maximum prices this authority will expire no 
later than 30 june 2013
the directors consider that it is in the best 
interests of the company to have available this 
authorisation in case of circumstances when 
it would be appropriate to use it they would 
only use it after consideration of the effect on 
earnings per share and the longerterm benefit 
for the company and shareholders generally 
the fact that such authorisation is being sought 
should not be taken to imply that shares would 
be purchased at any particular price or indeed 
at all any ordinary shares purchased pursuant 
to this authority may either be held as treasury 
shares or cancelled by the company depending 
on which course of action is considered by 
the directors to be in the best interests of 
shareholders at the time
as at 21 february 2012 there were options 
over 12252464 ordinary shares in the capital of 
the company including 2044655 investment 
matching shares 240508 deferred bonus 
share plan shares and 1653045 performance 
share plan shares  these are described in the 
directors’ remuneration report on pages 56 to 
66 which represent 502 of the company’s 
issued ordinary share capital excluding any 
treasury shares if the authority to purchase 
the company’s ordinary shares were exercised 
in full these options would represent 502 
of the company’s issued ordinary share capital 
excluding any treasury shares as at 21 
february 2012 the company did not hold any 
treasury shares in the company and no warrants 
over ordinary shares in the capital of the 
company existed
by order of the board
andrew pike 
company secretary
21 february 2012 72
the directors are responsible for preparing the 
annual report and the financial statements in 
accordance with applicable law and regulations
company law requires the directors to 
prepare financial statements for each financial 
year under that law the directors are required 
to prepare the group financial statements in 
accordance with international financial reporting 
standards ifrss as adopted by the european 
union and article 4 of the ias regulation and 
have also chosen to prepare the parent company 
financial statements under ifrss as adopted 
by the eu under company law the directors 
must not approve the accounts unless they 
are satisfied that they give a true and fair view 
of the state of affairs of the company and 
of the profit or loss of the company for that 
period in preparing these financial statements 
international accounting standard 1 requires that 
directors
● properly select and apply accounting policies
● present information including accounting 
policies in a manner that provides relevant 
reliable comparable and understandable 
information 
● provide additional disclosures when 
compliance with the specific requirements 
in ifrss are insufficient to enable users 
to understand the impact of particular 
transactions other events and conditions on 
the entity’s financial position and financial 
performance and
● make an assessment of the company’s ability 
to continue as a going concern
the directors are responsible for keeping 
adequate accounting records that are sufficient 
to show and explain the company’s transactions 
and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any 
time the financial position of the company 
and enable them to ensure that the financial 
statements comply with the companies act 
2006 they are also responsible for safeguarding 
the assets of the company and hence for taking 
reasonable steps for the prevention and detection 
of fraud and other irregularities
the directors are responsible for the 
maintenance and integrity of the corporate and 
financial information included on the company’s 
website legislation in the united kingdom 
governing the preparation and dissemination of 
financial statements may differ from legislation in 
other jurisdictions
responsibility statement 
we confirm that to the best of our knowledge
●  the financial statements prepared in 
statement of directors’ responsibilities
for the year ended 31 december 2011
accordance with international financial 
reporting standards give a true and fair view 
of the assets liabilities financial position 
and profit or loss of the company and the 
undertakings included in the consolidation 
taken as a whole and
●  the management report which is 
incorporated into the directors’ report 
includes a fair review of the development 
and performance of the business and the 
position of the company and the undertakings 
included in the consolidation taken as a 
whole together with a description of the 
principal risks and uncertainties that they 
face
by order of the board
geoff cooper
chief executive
paul hampden smith
finance director
21 february 2012 governance
tra vis perkins annual repor t and accounts 2011
73
we have audited the financial statements 
of travis perkins plc for the year ended 31 
december 2011 which comprise group and 
parent company income statements the 
group and parent company statements of 
comprehensive income the group and parent 
company balance sheets the group and parent 
company statements of changes in equity 
the group and parent company cash flow 
statements and the related notes 1 to 38 the 
financial reporting framework that has been 
applied in their preparation is applicable law 
and international financial reporting standards 
‘ifrs’s’ as adopted by the european union
this report is made solely to the company’s 
members as a body in accordance with chapter 
3 of part 16 of the companies act 2006 our 
audit work has been undertaken so that we 
might state to the company’s members those 
matters we are required to state to them in an 
auditor’s report and for no other purpose to the 
fullest extent permitted by law we do not accept 
or assume responsibility to anyone other than 
the company and the company’s members as a 
body for our audit work for this report or for the 
opinions we have formed
respective responsibilities 
of directors and auditor
as explained more fully in the directors’ 
responsibilities statement the directors are 
responsible for the preparation of the financial 
statements and for being satisfied that they 
give a true and fair view our responsibility is to 
audit and express an opinion on the financial 
statements in accordance with applicable law 
and international standards on auditing uk and 
ireland those standards require us to comply 
with the auditing practices board’s ethical 
standards for auditors
scope of the audit of the
financial statements
an audit involves obtaining evidence about 
the amounts and disclosures in the financial 
statements sufficient to give reasonable 
assurance that the financial statements are 
free from material misstatement whether 
caused by fraud or error this includes an 
assessment of whether the accounting policies 
are appropriate to the group’s and the parent 
company’s circumstances and have been 
consistently applied and adequately disclosed 
the reasonableness of significant accounting 
estimates made by the directors and the overall 
presentation of the financial statements
in addition we read all the financial and 
nonfinancial information in the annual report 
to identify material inconsistencies with the 
audited financial statements if we become 
aware of any apparent material misstatements or 
inconsistencies we consider the implications for 
our report
opinion on financial statements
in our opinion
● the financial statements give a true and fair 
view of the state of the group’s and of the 
parent company’s affairs as at 31 december 
2011 and of the group’s and the parent 
company’s profit for the year then ended
●  the financial statements have been properly 
prepared in accordance with ifrss as adopted 
by the european union and
●  the financial statements have been prepared 
in accordance with the requirements of the 
companies act 2006 and as regards the 
group financial statements article 4 of the ias 
regulation
separate opinion in relation to 
ifrss as issued by the iasb
as explained in note 1 to the group financial 
statements the group in addition to complying 
with its legal obligation to apply ifrss as adopted 
by the european union has also applied ifrss as 
issued by the international accounting standards 
board iasb
in our opinion the group financial statements 
comply with ifrss as issued by the iasb
opinion on other matters 
prescribed by the companies 
act 2006
in our opinion
●  the part of the directors’ remuneration report 
to be audited has been properly prepared in 
accordance with the companies act 2006 and
● the information given in the directors’ report 
for the financial year for which the financial 
statements are prepared is consistent with the 
financial statements
matters on which we are required 
to report by exception
we have nothing to report in respect of the 
following
under the companies act 2006 we are required 
to report to you if in our opinion
● adequate accounting records have not been 
kept by the parent company or returns 
adequate for our audit have not been received 
from branches not visited by us or
●  the parent company financial statements and 
the part of the directors’ remuneration report 
to be audited are not in agreement with the 
accounting records and returns or
● certain disclosures of directors’ remuneration 
specified by law are not made or
● we have not received all the information and 
explanations we require for our audit
under the listing rules we are required to review
● the directors’ statement contained within 
the finance director’s review of the year in 
relation to going concern 
●  the part of the corporate governance 
statement relating to the company’s 
compliance with the nine provisions of the uk 
corporate governance code specified for our 
review and
● certain elements of the report to shareholders 
by the board on directors’ remuneration
colin hudson fca senior statutory auditor
for and on behalf of deloitte llp
chartered accountants and statutory auditor
london united kingdom
21 february 2012
independent auditor’s report to the members of travis perkins plc 
for the year ended 31 december 2011 74
 the group
 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
 2011 2010
 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
  preexceptional exceptional  preexceptional exceptional
  items items total items items total
  £m £m £m £m £m £m
 notes     
revenue 4 47791  47791 31528  31528
operating profi t before amortisation 5 3132 98 3034 2390 190 2200
amortisation of intangible assets  129  129 02  02
operating profi t  3003 98 2905 2388 190 2198
finance income  10 224  224 175  175
finance costs  10 389 44 433 398 07 405
profi t before tax  2838 142 2696 2165 197 1968
tax 11 745 173 572 598 43 555
profi t for the year  2093 31 2124 1567 154 1413
earnings per ordinary share  12      
basic    903p   696p
diluted    873p   672p
total dividend declared
per ordinary share  13   200p   150p
all results relate to continuing operations details of exceptional items are given in notes 5 10 and 11
  the company
  –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
   2011 2010
   £m £m
 notes
revenue 4 860 472
operating profit before exceptional items 5 689 318
exceptional items   134
operating profi t after exceptional items  689 184
finance income  10 195 155
finance costs  10 398 421
profi t  loss before tax  486 82
tax 11 101 104
profit for the year  587 22
all results relate to continuing operations
income statements
for the year ended 31 december 2011 financial statements
tra vis perkins annual repor t and accounts 2011
75
statements of comprehensive income 
for the year ended 31 december 2011
 the group the company
 ––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––––––––
 2011 2010 2011 2010
 £m £m £m £m 
profi t for the year 2124 1413 587 22
cash fl ow hedges
losses arising during the year 46 44 46 44
transferred to income statement 28 68 28 68
 18 24 18 24
actuarial losses  gains on defi ned benefi t pension schemes 498 159  
 516 183 18 24
movement on cash fl ow hedge cancellation payment 42 48 42 48
tax relating to components of other comprehensive income 71 67 06 20
other comprehensive loss  income for the year 403 164 18 52
total comprehensive income for the year 1721 1577 605 74 76
balance sheets
as at 31 december 2011
 the group the company
 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
  2011 2010 2011 2010
 notes £m £m £m £m
assets
noncurrent assets    
property plant and equipment 16 5626 5271 02 01
goodwill 14 17062 16978  
other intangible assets 15 3889 4119  
derivative fi nancial instruments 25 403 569 403 03
investment property 17 04 04  
interest in associates 18 513 457 585 523
investment in subsidiaries 18   28728 26978
loans and receivables 25    1744
availableforsale investments 18 15 15  
retirement benefi t asset 8 193 317  
deferred tax asset 27   99 147
total noncurrent assets  27705 27730 29817 29396
     
 
current assets
inventories  5960 5714  
trade and other receivables 19 7430 6872 2141 2084
derivative fi nancial instruments 25 31 01 31 01
assets held for resale   23  
cash and cash equivalents 20 786 629  124
total current assets  14207 13239 2172 2209
total assets  41912 40969 31989 31605
 as required by ifrs 3 revised the 2010 comparative numbers and appropriate notes have been revised to refl ect the fi nal fair value adjustments 
to the assets and liabilities of the bss group plc identifi ed since the last annual report further details are given in note 30 financial statements
tra vis perkins annual repor t and accounts 2011
77
 the group the company
 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
  2011 2010 2011 2010
 notes £m £m £m £m
equity and liabilities
capital and reserves     
issued capital 21 244 242 244 242
share premium account 23 4808 4715 4797 4704
merger reserve 23 3265 3259 3265 3259
revaluation reserve 23 208 213  
hedging reserve 23 51 69 51 69
own shares 23 752 834 752 834
accumulated profi ts 23 13356 11992 1925 1787
total equity  21078 19518 9428 9089
noncurrent liabilities     
interest bearing loans and borrowings 24 5982 7609 5928 6868
derivative fi nancial instruments 25 59 42 59 1247
retirement benefi t obligations 8 650 596  
longterm provisions 26 289 360  
amounts due to subsidiaries    15635 13357
deferred tax liabilities 27 974 1105  
total noncurrent liabilities  7954 9712 21622 21472
current liabilities     
interest bearing loans and borrowings 24 603 723 716 719
unsecured loan notes 24 33 33 33 33
trade and other payables 28 10883 10045 190 267
derivative fi nancial instruments 25  25  25
tax liabilities  759 365  
shortterm provisions 26 602 548  
total current liabilities  12880 11739 939 1044
total liabilities  20834 21451 22561 22516
total equity and liabilities  41912 40969 31989 31605
the fi nancial statements of travis perkins plc registered number 824821 were approved by the board of directors on 21 february 2012 and 
signed on its behalf by
geoff cooper chief executive paul hampden smith finance director 78
 the group
 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
 issued  share 
 share  premium  merger revaluation  hedging  own  retained total
  capital account reserve reserve reserve shares earnings equity
 £m £m £m £m £m £m £m £m
at 1 january 2010 209 4712  213 121 837 10428 14604
profi t for the year       1413 1413
cash fl ow hedge gains     24   24
actuarial gains on defi ned benefi t
pension schemes       159 159
unamortised cash fl ow hedge 
cancellation payment     48   48
tax relating to comprehensive income     20  47 67
total comprehensive income for the year     52  1525 1577
dividends       101 101
issue of share capital 33 03 3259   03 03 3295
realisation of revaluation reserve in 
respect of property disposals    02   02 
difference between depreciation of assets on
a historical basis and on a revaluation basis    02   02 
deferred tax rate change    04    04
credit to equity for equitysettled 
share based payments       139 139
at 31 december 2010 242 4715 3259 213 69 834 11992 19518
profi t for the year       2124 2124
cash fl ow hedge losses     18   18
actuarial losses on defi ned 
benefi t pension schemes       498 498
unamortised cash fl ow hedge 
cancellation payment     42   42
tax relating to comprehensive income     06  77 71
total comprehensive income for the year     18  1703 1721
dividends       388 388
issue of share capital 02 93 06   82 71 112
realisation of revaluation reserve in
respect of property disposals    11   11 
difference between depreciation of assets on
a historical basis and on a revaluation basis    03   03 
deferred tax rate change    09    09
foreign exchange differences       01 01
credit to equity for equitysettled
share based payments       107 107
at 31 december 2011 244 4808 3265 208 51 752 13356 21078
consolidated statement of changes in equity
for the year ended 31 december 2011 financial statements
tra vis perkins annual repor t and accounts 2011
79
statement of changes in equity
for the year ended 31 december 2011
 the company
 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
 issued  share 
 share premium  merger hedging  own  retained  total 
 capital account reserve reserve shares earnings equity
 £m £m £m £m £m £m £m
at 1 january 2010 209 4701  121 837 1787 5739
profi t for the year      22 22
cash fl ow hedge gains    24   24
unamortised cash fl ow hedge
cancellation payment    48   48
tax relating to comprehensive income    20   20
total comprehensive income for the year    52  22 74
dividends      101 101
issue of share capital 33 03 3259  03 03 3295
credit to equity for equitysettled 
share based payments      82 82
at 31 december 2010 242 4704 3259 69 834 1787 9089
profi t for the year      587 587
cash fl ow hedges losses    18   18
unamortised cash fl ow hedge
cancellation payment    42   42
tax relating to comprehensive income    06   06
total comprehensive income for the year    18  587 605
dividends      388 388
issue of share capital 02 93 06  82 71 112
credit to equity for equitysettled 
share based payments      10 10
at 31 december 2011 244 4797 3265 51 752 1925 9428 80
cash flow statements
for the year ended 31 december 2011
 the group the company
 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
 2011 2010 2011 2010
 £m £m £m £m
operating profi t before exceptional items 3003 2388 689 318
adjustments for    
  depreciation of property plant and equipment and amortisation 768 577  01
  other non cash movements 139 80 51 23
  losses of associate 06 21  
  gain on disposal of property plant equipment and investments  176 113  
operating cash fl ows before movements in working capital 3740 2953 740 342
increase in inventories 361 623  
increase  decrease in receivables 620 32 15 1250
increase in payables 1071 1128 2319 3539
payments on exceptional items 178 76 54 78
pension payments in excess of the charge to profi ts 201 527  
cash generated from operations 3451 2823 3020 2553
interest paid 242 254 292 275
income taxes paid 263 424  
net cash from operating activities 2946 2145 2728 2278
cash fl ows from investing activities    
interest received 07 94 116 80
proceeds on disposal of property plant equipment and investments  150 172  01
purchases of property plant and equipment 1092 526 01 02
interest in associate 23 125 23 125
disposal of business note 29 269   
provision of funding to subsidiary undertaking   1682 
acquisition of businesses net of cash acquired note 30  99 2949 16 4816
net cash used in investing activities 788 3334 1606 4862
financing activities    
net proceeds from the issue of share capital 106 03 106 03
bank facility fees paid 61  61 
swap cancellation receipt  137  163
payment of fi nance lease liabilities 16 13  
repayment of unsecured loan notes  06  06
pension spv  347  
decrease in bank loans 1522 2141 900 500
dividends paid 388 101 388 101
net cash from fi nancing activities 1881 1774 1243 441
net increase  decrease in cash and cash equivalents 277 2963 121 3025
cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year 509 3472 105 3130
cash and cash equivalents at end of year note 20 786 509 16 105 financial statements
tra vis perkins annual repor t and accounts 2011
81
1 general information
overview
travis perkins plc is a company incorporated in 
the united kingdom under the companies act 
2006 the address of the registered offi ce is 
given on page 130 the nature of the group’s 
operations and its principal activities are set out 
in the chief executive’s review of the year the 
deputy chief executive’s review of the year and 
the finance director’s review of the year on pages 
14 to 34
these fi nancial statements are presented 
in pounds sterling the currency of the primary 
economic environment in which the group 
operates
basis of accounting
the fi nancial statements have been prepared 
in accordance with international financial 
reporting standards ‘ifrs’ issued by the 
international accounting standards board the 
fi nancial statements have also been prepared in 
accordance with ifrs adopted by the european 
union and therefore the group fi nancial statements 
comply with article 4 of the eu ias regulations
basis of preparation
the fi nancial statements have been prepared 
on the historic cost basis except that derivative 
fi nancial instruments are stated at their fair value 
the consolidated fi nancial statements include 
the accounts of the company and all entities 
controlled by the company its subsidiaries 
together referred to as ‘the group’ from the date 
control commences until the date that control 
ceases control is achieved where the company 
has the power to govern the fi nancial and 
operating policies of an investee entity to obtain 
benefi ts from its activities as such the results of 
subsidiaries acquired during the year are included 
in the consolidated income statement from the 
effective date of acquisition
in the current fi nancial year the group has 
adopted the following which did not have a 
material impact
● ias 24 related party disclosures 2009 
● amendments to various standards arising from 
annual improvements issued in 2010
at the date of authorisation of these fi nancial 
statements the following standards and 
interpretations which have not yet been applied in 
these fi nancial statements were in issue but not 
yet effective   
●   ias 28 investments in associates and joint 
ventures 2011
●  ifrs 9 financial instruments 2009
●  ifrs 10 consolidated financial statements
●  ifrs 11 joint arrangements
● ifrs 12 disclosure of interests in other entities
● ifrs 13 fair value measurement
the directors anticipate that adoption of these 
standards and interpretations in future periods 
will have no material impact on the fi nancial 
statements of the group
management is currently of the opinion that 
the group’s forecasts and projections show that 
the group should be able to operate within its 
current facilities and comply with its banking 
covenants the group is however exposed to 
a number of signifi cant risks and uncertainties 
which could affect on the group’s ability to meet 
management’s forecast and projections and hence 
its ability to meet its banking covenants 
the directors believe that the group has the 
fl exibility to react to changing market conditions 
and is adequately placed to manage its business 
risks successfully despite the current uncertain 
economic outlook and challenging macro 
economic conditions 
a detailed consideration of going concern 
risks and uncertainties is provided in the finance 
director’s review of the year on page 34
after making enquiries the directors have 
formed a judgement at the time of approving the 
fi nancial statements that there is a reasonable 
expectation that the company and the group have 
adequate resources to continue in operational 
existence for the foreseeable future for this 
reason they continue to adopt the going concern 
basis in preparing the fi nancial statements
2 significant accounting policies
the principal accounting policies adopted in 
preparing the fi nancial statements are set out 
below
revenue recognition
revenue is recognised when goods or services 
are received by the customer and the risks 
and rewards of ownership have passed to 
them revenue is measured at the fair value 
of consideration received or receivable and 
represents amounts receivable for goods and 
services provided in the normal course of 
business net of discounts and value added tax 
for the parent company revenue comprises 
management charges receivable and dividend 
income received
exceptional items
exceptional items are those items of income and 
expenditure that by reference to the group are 
material in size or unusual in nature or incidence 
that in the judgement of the directors should be 
disclosed separately on the face of the fi nancial 
statements or in the notes in the case of a 
segment to ensure both that the reader has a 
proper understanding of the group’s fi nancial 
performance and that there is comparability of 
fi nancial performance between periods
items of income or expense that are considered 
by the directors for designation as exceptional 
items include but are not limited to signifi cant 
restructurings onerous contracts writedowns or 
impairments of current and noncurrent assets 
the costs of acquiring and integrating businesses 
gains or losses on disposals of businesses and 
investments remeasurement gains or losses 
arising from changes in the fair value of derivative 
fi nancial instruments to the extent that hedge 
accounting is not achieved or is not effective and 
pension scheme curtailment gains
business combinations and goodwill
all business combinations are accounted for using 
the purchase method the cost of an acquisition 
represents the cash value of the consideration 
andor the fair value of the shares issued on 
the date the offer became unconditional the 
acquiree’s identifi able assets liabilities and 
contingent liabilities that meet the conditions for 
recognition under ifrs 3 2008 are recognised at 
their fair value at the acquisition date except that
●  deferred tax assets or liabilities and liabilities 
or assets related to employee benefit 
arrangements are recognised and measured in 
accordance with ias 12 income taxes and ias 
19 employee benefits respectively
● liabilities or equity instruments related to the 
replacement by the group of an acquiree’s 
notes to the financial statements
for the year ended 31 december 2011 82
sharebased payment awards are measured in 
accordance with ifrs 2 sharebased payment
● assets or disposal groups that are classified 
as held for sale in accordance with ifrs 
5 noncurrent assets held for sale and 
discontinued operations are measured in 
accordance with that standard
goodwill arising on acquisition represents the 
excess of the cost of acquisition over the share of 
the aggregate fair value of identifi able net assets 
including intangible assets of a business or a 
subsidiary at the date of acquisition all material 
intangible fi xed assets obtained on acquisition 
have been recognised separately in the fi nancial 
statements goodwill is initially recognised as 
an asset and allocated to cash generating units 
then at least annually is reviewed for impairment 
any impairment is recognised immediately in 
the income statement and is not subsequently 
reversed as such goodwill is stated in the balance 
sheet at cost less any provisions for impairment 
in value
goodwill arising on acquisitions before the 
date of transition to ifrs 1 january 2004 has 
been retained at the previous uk gaap amounts 
subject to being tested for impairment at that date 
goodwill written off to reserves under uk gaap 
prior to 1998 has not been reinstated and is not 
included in determining any subsequent profi t or 
loss on disposal
investments in associates
an associate is an entity over which the group has 
signifi cant infl uence but not control or joint control 
through participation in the fi nancial and operating 
policy decisions of the investee the results assets 
and liabilities of associates are incorporated in 
these fi nancial statements using the equity method 
of accounting investments in associates are 
carried in the balance sheet at cost as adjusted 
by post acquisition changes in the group’s share 
of the net assets of the associate less any 
impairment in the value of individual investments
intangible assets
intangible assets identifi ed as part of the assets 
of an acquired business are capitalised separately 
from goodwill if the fair value can be measured 
reliably on initial recognition intangible assets are 
amortised to the income statement on a straight
line basis over a maximum of 20 years except 
where they are considered to have an indefi nite 
useful life in the latter instance they are reviewed 
annually for impairment
investment properties
investment properties which are held to earn rental 
income or for capital appreciation or for both are 
stated at deemed cost less depreciation properties 
are depreciated to their estimated residual value 
on a straightline basis over their estimated useful 
lives up to a maximum of 50 years 
rental income from investment property is 
recognised in the income statement on a straight
line basis over the term of the lease
assets held for sale
assets held for sale are measured at the lower of 
carrying amount and fair value less costs to sell 
assets are held for sale if their carrying amount 
will be recovered through a sale transaction rather 
than continuing use this condition is regarded as 
met only when the sale is highly probable and the 
asset is available for sale in its present condition
property plant and equipment
property plant and equipment is stated at cost or 
deemed cost less accumulated depreciation and 
any impairment in value assets are depreciated 
to their estimated residual value on a straightline 
basis over their estimated useful lives as follows
● buildings – 50 years or if lower the estimated 
useful life of the building or the life of the lease
●    plant and equipment – 4 to 10 years
● freehold land is not depreciated
assets held under fi nance leases are depreciated 
over their expected useful lives on the same basis 
as owned assets or where shorter the term of the 
relevant lease 
the gain or loss arising on the disposal or 
retirement of an asset is determined as the 
difference between the sale proceeds net of 
expenses and the carrying amount of the asset in 
the balance sheet and is recognised in the income 
statement where appropriate the attributable 
revaluation reserve remaining in respect of 
properties revalued prior to the adoption of ifrs is 
transferred directly to accumulated profi ts
leases
finance leases which transfer to the group 
substantially all the risks and benefi ts incidental 
to ownership of the leased item are capitalised at 
the inception of the lease at the fair value of the 
leased asset or if lower at the present value of 
the minimum lease payments lease payments 
are apportioned between the fi nance charges 
and reduction of the lease liability to achieve a 
constant rate of interest on the remaining balance 
of the liability finance charges are charged 
directly against income capitalised leased assets 
are depreciated over the shorter of the estimated 
useful life of the asset or the lease term leases 
where the lessor retains substantially all the 
risks and benefi ts of ownership of the asset are 
classifi ed as operating leases 
operating lease rental payments are recognised 
as an expense in the income statement on a 
straightline basis over the lease term 
reverse lease premia and other incentives 
receivable for entering into a lease agreement are 
recognised in the income statement over the life 
of the lease
impairment of tangible and intangible 
assets excluding goodwill
the carrying amounts of the group’s tangible 
and intangible assets are reviewed at each 
balance sheet date to determine whether there 
is any indication of impairment if such an 
indication exists the asset’s recoverable amount 
is estimated and compared to its carrying value 
where the asset does not generate cash fl ows 
that are independent from other assets the 
group estimates the recoverable amount of the 
cashgenerating unit ‘cgu’ to which the asset 
belongs where the carrying value exceeds the 
recoverable amount a provision for the impairment 
loss is established with a charge being made to 
the income statement
for intangible assets that have an indefi nite 
useful life the recoverable amount is estimated at 
each annual balance sheet date
impairment losses recognised in respect of 
a cgu are allocated fi rst to reduce the carrying 
amount of any goodwill allocated to the cgu and 
then to reduce the carrying amount of the other 
assets in the unit on a prorata basis
notes to the financial statements financial statements
tra vis perkins annual repor t and accounts 2011
83
inventories
inventories which consist of goods for resale 
are stated at the lower of average weighted 
cost and net realisable value cost comprises 
direct materials and where applicable direct 
labour costs and those overheads that have been 
incurred in bringing the inventories to their present 
location and condition net realisable value is the 
estimated selling price less the estimated costs of 
disposal
financial instruments
financial assets and liabilities are recognised 
in the balance sheet when the group becomes 
a party to the contractual provisions of the 
instrument
trade receivables
trade receivables are measured at amortised 
cost which is carrying amount less provision 
for irrecoverable amounts allowances for the 
estimated irrecoverable amounts are made in 
the income statement when the receivable is 
considered to be uncollectable
impairment of fi nancial assets
financial assets are treated as impaired when in 
the opinion of the directors the likelihood of full 
recovery is diminished either by events or change 
of circumstance
cash and cash equivalents
cash and cash equivalents comprise cash 
balances and call deposits with an original 
maturity of three months or less 
bank and other borrowings
interest bearing bank loans and overdrafts 
loan notes and other loans are recognised in 
the balance sheet at amortised cost finance 
charges associated with arranging a bank facility 
are recognised in the income statement over the 
life of the facility all other borrowing costs are 
recognised in the income statement in the period 
in which they are incurred
trade payables
trade payables are measured at amortised cost
foreign currencies
transactions denominated in foreign currencies 
are recorded at the rates ruling on the date of the 
transaction
at the consolidated balance sheet date 
unhedged monetary assets and liabilities 
denominated in foreign currencies are translated 
at the rate of exchange ruling at that date foreign 
exchange differences arising on translation are 
recognised in the income statement
derivative fi nancial instruments 
and hedge accounting
the group uses derivative fi nancial instruments 
to hedge its exposure to interest rate and foreign 
exchange risks arising from fi nancing activities 
the group does not enter into speculative 
fi nancial instruments in accordance with its 
treasury policy the group does not hold or 
issue derivative fi nancial instruments for trading 
purposes 
derivative fi nancial instruments are stated at 
fair value the fair value of derivative fi nancial 
instruments is the estimated amount the group 
would receive or pay to terminate the derivative at 
the balance sheet date taking into account current 
interest and exchange rates and the current 
creditworthiness of the counterparties 
changes in the fair value of derivative fi nancial 
instruments that are designated and effective as 
hedges of the future variability of cash fl ows are 
recognised directly in equity and the ineffective 
portion is recognised immediately in the income 
statement
for an effective hedge of an exposure to 
changes in the fair value of a hedged item the 
hedged item is adjusted for changes in fair value 
attributable to the risk being hedged with the 
corresponding entry in the income statement 
for derivatives that do not qualify for hedge 
accounting any gains or losses arising from 
changes in fair value are taken to the income 
statement as they arise
derivatives embedded in commercial contracts 
are treated as separate derivatives when their risks 
and characteristics are not closely related to those 
of the underlying contracts with unrealised gains 
or losses being reported in the income statement 
the fair value of hedged derivatives is classifi ed 
as a noncurrent asset or noncurrent liability if 
the remaining maturity of the hedge relationship 
is more than 12 months otherwise they are 
classifi ed as current
foreign currency forward contracts are not 
designated effective hedges and so are marked 
to market at the balance sheet date with any 
gains or losses being taken through the income 
statement
financial assets and fi nancial liabilities
financial assets are classifi ed into the following 
specifi ed categories fi nancial assets at ‘fair 
value through profi t or loss’ ‘fvtpl’ ‘available
forsale’ ‘afs’ fi nancial assets and ‘loans and 
receivables’ the classifi cation depends on the 
nature and purpose of the fi nancial assets and is 
determined at the time of initial recognition
financial liabilities are classifi ed as either 
fi nancial liabilities ‘at fvtpl’ or ‘other fi nancial 
liabilities’ and trade and other payables
the group has defi ned the classes of fi nancial 
assets to be other fi nancial assets cash and 
borrowings and derivative fi nancial instruments
financial assets and fi nancial 
liabilities at fvtpl
financial assets and fi nancial liabilities are 
classifi ed as at fvtpl where the fi nancial asset or 
the fi nancial liability is either held for trading or it 
is designated as fvtpl
a fi nancial asset or fi nancial liability is classifi ed 
as held for trading if it
● has been acquired principally for the purpose of 
selling or of disposal in the near future or
● is a part of an identified portfolio of financial 
instruments that the group manages together 
and has a recent actual pattern of shortterm 
profittaking or
● is a derivative that is not designated and 
effective as a hedging instrument
financial assets and fi nancial liabilities at fvtpl 
are stated at fair value with any resultant gain or 
loss recognised in the income statement unless 
it is an effective cash fl ow relationship the net 
gain or loss recognised in the income statement 
incorporates any interest earned or paid on the 
fi nancial asset and fi nancial liability respectively 84
loans and receivables
trade receivables and other receivables that have 
fi xed or determinable payments that are not quoted 
in an active market are classifi ed as loans and 
receivables loans and receivables are measured 
at amortised cost using the effective interest 
method less any impairment interest income is 
recognised by applying the effective interest rate 
except for shortterm receivables which applies 
to all amounts owed to the group when the 
recognition of interest would be immaterial 
other fi nancial liabilities
other fi nancial liabilities including borrowings are 
initially measured at fair value net of transaction 
costs other fi nancial liabilities are subsequently 
measured at amortised cost using the effective 
interest method with interest expense recognised 
on an effective yield basis the effective interest 
method is a method of calculating the amortised 
cost of a fi nancial liability and of allocating interest 
expense over the relevant period the effective 
interest is the rate that exactly discounts estimated 
future cash payments through the expected life 
of the fi nancial liability or where appropriate a 
shorter period
derecognition of fi nancial assets 
and fi nancial liabilities
the group derecognises a fi nancial asset only 
when the contractual rights to the cash fl ows 
from the asset expire or it transfers the fi nancial 
asset and substantially all the risks and rewards 
of ownership of the asset to another entity if the 
group neither transfers nor retains substantially all 
the risks and rewards of ownership and continues 
to control the transferred asset the group 
recognises its retained interest in the asset and an 
associated liability for amounts it may have to pay 
if the group retains substantially all the risks and 
rewards of ownership of a transferred fi nancial 
asset the group continues to recognise the 
fi nancial asset and also recognises a collateralised 
borrowing for the proceeds received
the group derecognises fi nancial liabilities 
when and only when the group’s obligations are 
discharged cancelled or they expire
taxation
the tax expense represents the sum of the tax 
currently payable and the deferred tax
the tax currently payable is based on taxable 
profi t for the year taxable profi t differs from 
net profi t as reported in the income statement 
because it excludes items of income and expense 
that are taxable or deductible in other years and it 
further excludes items which are never taxable or 
deductible the group’s liability for current tax is 
calculated using tax rates that have been enacted 
or substantially enacted by the balance sheet date
deferred tax is the tax expected to be payable 
or recoverable on differences between the 
carrying amounts of assets and liabilities in the 
fi nancial statements and the corresponding 
tax bases used in the computation of taxable 
profi t this is accounted for using the balance 
sheet liability method deferred tax liabilities are 
generally recognised for all taxable temporary 
differences and deferred tax assets are 
recognised to the extent that it is probable that 
taxable profi ts will be available against which 
deductible temporary differences can be utilised 
such assets and liabilities are not recognised if 
the temporary difference arises from goodwill 
or from the initial recognition other than in 
a business combination of other assets and 
liabilities in a transaction that affects neither the 
tax profi t nor the accounting profi t
deferred tax is calculated at the tax rates that 
are expected to apply in the period when the 
liability is settled or the asset realised deferred tax 
is charged or credited in the income statement 
except when it relates to items charged or credited 
directly to equity in which case the deferred tax is 
also dealt with in equity
pensions and other postemployment benefi ts
for defi ned benefi t schemes operating profi t is 
charged with the cost of providing pension benefi ts 
earned by employees in the period the expected 
return on pension scheme assets less the interest 
on pension scheme liabilities is shown as fi nance 
income or as a fi nance cost within the income 
statement
actuarial gains and losses arising in the period 
from the difference between actual and expected 
returns on pension scheme assets experience 
gains and losses on pension scheme liabilities 
and the effects of changes in demographics 
and fi nancial assumptions are included in the 
statement of recognised income and expense
recoverable pension scheme surpluses and 
pension scheme defi cits and the associated 
deferred tax balances are recognised in full in the 
period in which they occur and are included in the 
balance sheet
obligations for contributions to defi ned 
contribution pension plans are recognised as an 
expense in the income statement as incurred
employee share incentive plans
the group issues equitysettled sharebased 
payments to certain employees long term 
incentives executive share options and save as 
you earn these payments are measured at fair 
value at the date of grant by the use of the black 
scholes optionpricing model taking into account 
the terms and conditions upon which the options 
were granted the cost of equitysettled awards is 
recognised on a straightline basis over the vesting 
period based on the group’s estimate of the 
number of shares that will eventually vest 
provisions
a provision is recognised in the balance sheet 
when the group has a present legal or constructive 
obligation as a result of a past event and it is 
probable that an outfl ow of economic benefi ts will 
be required to settle the obligation provisions are 
measured at the directors’ best estimate of the 
expenditure required to settle the obligation at the 
balance sheet date and are discounted to present 
value where the effect is material
equity instruments and own shares 
the group has applied the requirements of ifrs 2 
– share based payments in accordance with the 
transitional provisions ifrs 2 has been applied to 
all grants of equity instruments after 7 november 
2002 that were unvested at 1 january 2005
equity instruments represent the ordinary 
share capital of the group and are recorded at 
the proceeds received net of directly attributable 
incremental issue costs
consideration paid by the group for its own 
shares is deducted from total shareholders’ 
equity where such shares vest to employees 
under the terms of the group’s share incentive 
schemes or the group’s share save schemes or 
are sold any consideration received is included in 
shareholders’ equity
dividends
dividends proposed by the board of directors and 
unpaid at the period end are not recognised in the 
fi nancial statements until they have been approved 
by shareholders at the annual general meeting
notes to the financial statements financial statements
tra vis perkins annual repor t and accounts 2011
85
3 critical judgements and 
key sources of estimation 
and uncertainty
these consolidated fi nancial statements have 
been prepared in accordance with ifrs as 
issued by the iasb the preparation of fi nancial 
statements requires the directors to make 
estimates and assumptions about future events 
that affect the reported amounts of assets and 
liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and 
liabilities future events and their effects cannot be 
determined with absolute certainty therefore the 
determination of estimates requires the exercise 
of judgement based on various assumptions and 
other factors such as historical experience current 
and expected economic conditions the directors 
constantly reevaluate these signifi cant factors and 
make adjustments where facts and circumstances 
dictate the directors believe that the following 
accounting policies are critical due to the degree 
of estimation required and  or the potential 
material impact they may have on the group’s 
fi nancial position and performance
income taxes
the group is subject to the income tax laws of 
the united kingdom these laws are complex and 
subject to different interpretations by taxpayers 
and tax authorities when establishing income 
tax provisions the directors make a number 
of judgements and interpretations about the 
application and interaction of these laws changes 
in these tax laws or in their interpretation could 
impact the group’s effective tax rate and the 
results of operations in a given period 
goodwill and intangible assets
in testing for impairment the directors have 
made certain assumptions concerning discount 
rates and the future development of the business 
that are consistent with its annual budget and 
threeyear plan whilst the directors consider 
these assumptions are realistic should these 
assumptions regarding the growth in profi tability 
be unfounded then it is possible that the value 
of goodwill and intangible assets included in the 
balance sheet could be impaired further details 
concerning the impairment of goodwill and 
intangible assets are given in note 14 
pension assumptions
the group has chosen to adopt assumptions that 
the directors believe are generally in line with the 
median for comparable companies if the future 
return on equities is lower than anticipated or if 
the difference between actual infl ation and the 
actual increase in pensionable salaries is greater 
than that assumed or if long term interest rates 
were lower than assumed or if the average life 
expectancy of pensioners increases then the 
pension defi cit would be greater than currently 
stated in the balance sheet
property leases
the group is party to a number of leases on 
properties that are no longer required for trading 
whilst every effort is made to profi tably sublet 
these properties it is not always possible where 
a lease is onerous to the group a provision is 
established for the difference between amounts 
contractually payable to the landlord and to local 
authorities and amounts contractually receivable 
from the tenant if any for the period up until the 
point it is judged that the lease will no longer be 
onerous
the directors believe that their estimates 
which are based upon the current state of the 
uk property market are appropriate however 
it is possible that it may take longer to dispose 
of leases than they anticipate as a result the 
provisions may be understated but in the opinion 
of the directors this is unlikely to be material
insurance provisions
the group has been substantially selfinsured 
since 2001 the nature of insurance claims is that 
they frequently take many years to fully crystallise 
therefore the directors have to estimate the 
value of provisions to hold in the balance sheet in 
respect of historical claims under the guidance 
of the group’s insurance advisors the value of 
incurred claims is estimated using the generalised 
cape cod method the provision is determined by 
deducting the value of claims settled to date from 
the estimated level of claims incurred whilst the 
generalised cape cod method is an insurance 
industry standard methodology it relies on 
historical trends to determine the level of expected 
claims to the extent that the estimates are 
inaccurate the group may be underprovided but in 
the opinion of the directors any underprovision is 
unlikely to be material 86
notes to the financial statements
4 revenue
 the group the company
 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
 2011 2010 2011 2010
 £m £m £m £m
sale of goods 47791 31528  
management charges   69 69
dividends from subsidiaries   791 403
 47791 31528 860 472
other operating income 205 154  
finance income 224 175 195 155
 48220 31857 1055 627
5 profit
a operating profit
 the group the company
 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
 2011 2010 2011 2010
 £m £m £m £m
revenue 47791 31528 860 472
cost of sales 33558 20815  
gross profi t 14233 10713 860 472
selling and distribution costs 8821 6758  
administrative expenses 2706 1890 171 288
other operating income 205 154  
share of results of associate 06 21  
operating profi t 2905 2198 689 184
add back exceptional items  98 190  134
add back amortisation of intangible assets 129 02  
adjusted operating profit  3132 2390 689 318
exceptional items
2011
the group incurred £98m of exceptional operating charges in 2011 2010 £190m as a result of integrating bss into the group the charges arose mainly as a 
result of the ongoing programme to integrate bss colleagues systems and processes into the group although there was a £22m charge due to the closure or 
disposal of businesses that were determined to be noncore to the group’s operations
2010 
on 14 december 2010 the group acquired 100 of the issued share capital of the bss group plc ‘bss’ for total consideration of £6239m as required by ifrs 
3 2008 £13m of costs incurred in making the acquisition and £81m of nonfair value charges incurred in respect of assets written out of the opening bss group 
balance sheet were charged to the income statement as exceptional items and included in administrative expenses offset against the exceptional charge was the 
release of £21m of onerous lease provisions which were originally established in 2008 as exceptional charges to the income statement the net total of exceptional 
items was £190m
£134m of costs incurred in making the acquisition of bss were charged to the company’s income statement in 2010 as an exceptional item and included in 
administrative expenses
to enable readers of the financial statements to obtain a clear understanding of underlying trading the directors have shown the exceptional items separately in 
the group income statement 
  financial statements
tra vis perkins annual repor t and accounts 2011
87
5 profit continued
operating profit has been arrived at after charging  crediting
 the group the company
 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
 2011 2010 2011 2010
 £m £m £m £m
movement of provisions against inventories 03 57   
cost of inventories recognised as an expense 33561 20758  
pension costs included in cost of sales 05   
pension costs in administration expenses 14 29 04  13
pension costs in selling and distribution costs 109 64   
depreciation of property plant and equipment 639 575  01
staff costs see note 7 5797 4125 124 86
gain on disposal of property plant and equipment 163 113   
rental income 42 43   
hire of vehicles plant and machinery 334 167   
other leasing charges – property 1643 1408   
amortisation of intangible assets 129 02  
auditor’s remuneration for audit services 04 04 01 01
during the year the group incurred the following costs for services provided by the company’s auditors 
  the group
  –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
   2011 2010
   £000 £000
fees payable to the company’s auditors for the audit of the company’s annual accounts    104 108
fees payable to the company’s auditors for the audit of the company’s subsidiaries    297 256
fees paid to the company’s auditors for other services  
 audit related assurance services    107 60
 other services relating to taxation  advisory    192 216
 corporate fi nance transactions – acquisition of bss     445
 other services     8
   700 1093
audit related assurance services includes £17000 2010 £10000 which was paid to the auditors by the travis perkins pension and dependents benefi t scheme 
a description of the work of the audit committee is set out in the audit committee report on pages 53 to 55 and includes an explanation of how auditor objectivity 
and independence is safeguarded when nonaudit services are provided by the auditors
b adjusted profit before and after tax
  the group
  –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
   2011 2010
   £m £m
profi t before tax   2696 1968
exceptional items    142 197
amortisation of intangible assets   129 02
adjusted profit before tax   2967 2167
  the group
  –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
   2011 2010
   £m £m
profi t after tax   2124 1413
exceptional items   142 197
amortisation of intangible assets   129 02
tax on exceptional items and amortisation   79 19
effect of reduction in corporation tax rate on deferred tax   126 24
adjusted profit after tax    2190 1569 88
notes to the financial statements
5 profit continued
c adjusted operating margin
 merchanting retail group prebss bss eliminations group
 ––––––––––––––– ––––––––––––––– ––––––––––––––– ––––––––––––––– ––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––
 2011  2010 2011  2010 2011  2010  2011  2010 2011  2010 2011  2010
 £m £m £m £m £m £m £m £m £m £m £m £m
revenue 23370 21065 10178 10029 33548 31094 14360 434 117  47791 31528
segment result 1958 1741 453 587 2411 2328 500 109   2911 2219
share of 
associate losses           06 21
amortisation of
intangible assets       129 02   129 02
exceptional items 60 103  06 60 109 38 81   98 190
adjusted segment 
result 2018 1844 453 593 2471 2416 667 26   3132 2390
adjusted 
operating margin 86 88 45 59 74 78 46 60   66 76
segmental information is shown in note 6 
6 business and geographical segments
as required by ifrs 8 the operating segments are identifi ed on the basis of internal reports about components of the group that are regularly reviewed by the chief 
executive to assess their performance for management purposes during 2011 the group was organised into three operating divisions – merchanting retailing 
and bss which operate mainly in the united kingdom it is on this basis that we report in the 2011 annual report and accounts on 1 january 2012 the group was 
reorganised into four divisions general merchanting specialist merchanting consumer and plumbing and heating in 2012 we will report segmental information 
on the basis of the new divisional structure
segment profit represents the profit earned by each segment without allocation of share of losses of associates finance income and costs and income tax expense
intersegment sales are eliminated during 2011 and 2010 other than in respect of fair value adjustments and exceptional charges made in respect of bss 
assets there were no impairment losses or reversals of impairment losses recognised in profit or loss or in equity in any of the reportable segments
  2011
  ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
 merchanting retail bss unallocated  eliminations consolidated
 £m £m £m £m £m £m
revenue 23370 10178 14360  117 47791
result      
segment result 1958 453 500   2911
share of associate losses    06  06
finance income    224  224
finance costs    433  433
profi t before taxation 1958 453 500 215  2696
taxation    572  572
profi t for the year 1958 453 500 787  2124
segment assets 19544 14988 8933 1925 3478 41912
segment liabilities 7911 3437 3902 9062 3478 20834
consolidated net assets 11633 11551 5031 7137  21078
exceptional items 60  38   98
capital expenditure 869 177 35   1081
amortisation   129   129
depreciation 453 133 53   639 financial statements
tra vis perkins annual repor t and accounts 2011
89
6 business and geographical segments continued
  2010
  ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
 merchanting retail bss unallocated  eliminations consolidated
 £m £m £m £m £m £m
revenue 21065 10029 434   31528
result      
segment result 1741 587 109   2219
share of associate losses    21  21
finance income    175  175
finance costs    405  405
profi t before taxation 1741 587 109 251  1968
taxation    555  555
profi t for the year 1741 587 109 806  1413
segment assets 18235 14442 9635 1973 3316 40969
segment liabilities 7389 3673 3176 10529 3316 21451
consolidated net assets 10846 10769 6459 8556  19518
exceptional items 103 06 81   190
capital expenditure 445 72  02  519
amortisation   02   02
depreciation 433 137 05   575
7 staff costs 
a the average monthly number of persons employed including executive directors
 the group the company
 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
 2011 2010 2011 2010
 no no no no
sales 15923 11880  
distribution 3240 2345  
administration 2260 1567 42 42
 21423 15792 42 42
b aggregate remuneration
 the group the company
 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
 2011 2010 2011 2010
 £m £m £m £m
wages and salaries 5190 3686 67 55
share based payments note 9 139 81 51 23
social security costs 468 358 06 05
other pension costs note 8 128 93 04 16
 5925 4218 128 99 90
notes to the financial statements
8 pension arrangements
defi ned benefi t schemes
prior to the acquisition of the bss group plc the group operated one fi nal salary scheme the travis perkins pensions and dependants benefi t scheme ‘the tp 
scheme’ which for the majority of members is a 160th scheme the tp scheme is funded by contributions from group companies and employees contributions 
are paid to the trustees on the basis of advice from an independent professionally qualifi ed actuary who carries out a valuation of the scheme every three years
employees are entitled to start drawing a pension based on their membership of the scheme on their normal retirement date if employees choose to retire early 
and draw their pension then the amount they receive is scaled down accordingly
a full actuarial valuation of the tp scheme was carried out on 30 september 2008 the full actuarial valuation as at 30 september 2011 is currently in progress
the ias 19 valuation has been based upon the results of the 30 september 2008 valuation then updated to 31 december 2011 by a qualified actuary the present 
values of the defined obligations the related current service costs and the past service costs for the scheme were measured using the projected unit method
following the acquisition of the bss group plc the group now operates three additional defined benefit pension schemes ‘the bss schemes’ based on final 
pensionable salary the assets of the schemes are held separately from those of the group in funds under the control of the schemes trustees all defined benefit 
schemes are closed to new members the most recent actuarial valuations of the scheme assets and the present value of the defined benefit obligation were carried 
out at 1 june 2009 for the main uk and irish schemes and 31 december 2008 for the secondary uk scheme the present value of the defined benefit obligation 
and the related current service cost and past service cost were measured using the projected unit method with a control period equal to the future working lifetime 
of the active members
in june 2010 an agreement was reached with the trustees of the travis perkins final salary pension scheme to fund £347m of the deficit using a group controlled 
special purpose vehicle the pension scheme will be entitled to receive the income of the spv for a period of up to 20 years subject to funding levels this income 
is backed by the security of 16 travis perkins freehold properties as the spv is consolidated into the travis perkins plc group accounts advantage has been taken 
of regulation 7 of the partnership accounts regulations 2008 and accounts for the spv will neither be audited or filed
a major assumptions used by the actuary at the balance sheet date in nominal terms 
    
  at 31 december 2011 at 31 december 2010 at 31 december 2011 at 31 december 2010
 tp scheme tp scheme bss schemes bss schemes
rate of increase in pensionable salaries 225 25 225 35
rate of increase of pensions in payment 25 24 25 35
discount rate 49 535 49 535
inflation assumption 31 35 31 35
in respect of longevity the valuation adopts the pmapfa92 tables with improvements in life expectancy to continue in the medium term with base year appropriate 
to the member’s date of birth this results in the following life expectancies at illustrative ages
weighted average life expectancy for mortality tables used to determine pension liability at 31 december 2011
   
 male years female years
member age 65 current life expectancy – tp scheme 215 241
member age 45 life expectancy on reaching age 65 – tp scheme 234 260
member age 65 current life expectancy – bss schemes 217 243
member age 45 life expectancy on reaching age 65 – bss schemes 236 263
b amounts recognised in income in respect of the defined benefit schemes
 tp scheme bss schemes 2011 group 2010 group
 £m £m £m £m
current and past service costs charged to operating profi t 
in the income statement 35 36 71 57
interest cost 325 122 447 322
expected return on scheme assets 434 131 565 384
total pension costs 74 27 47 05
the total charge to the profi t and loss account disclosed in note 7 of £128m 2010 £93m comprises defi ned benefi t scheme current and past service costs of 
£71m 2010 £57m and £57m 2010 £36m of contributions made to the defi ned contribution schemes
the directors have agreed with the scheme actuary and the trustees to pay contributions of £200m in 2012 in excess of the forecast charge to the income 
statement to the tp scheme in addition agreement has been made to pay £3m in respect of the bss schemes
note 5 shows where pension costs have been charged in the income statement actuarial gains and losses have been included in the statement of comprehensive 
income financial statements
tra vis perkins annual repor t and accounts 2011
91
8 pension arrangements continued
c assets and liabilities in the schemes and the expected rate of return net of allowance for administration expenses
tp scheme at 31 december 2011 at 31 december 2010
 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
 expected fair value expected fair value 
  return £m  return £m
equities 80 3352 825 3822
bonds gilts and cash  395 – 42 2150 450 – 570 1506
pensions spv 70 440 50 362
property 52 580 65 744
total fair value of assets  6522  6434
actuarial value of liability  6329  6117
surplus in scheme  193  317
related deferred tax liability  49  86
net pension asset  144  231
bss schemes at 31 december 2011 at 31 december 2010
 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
 expected fair value expected fair value 
 return £m  return £m
equities 80 1451 825 1517
bonds gilts and cash  395 – 42 172 450 – 570 140
property 52 41 62 38
total fair value of assets  1664  1695
actuarial value of liability  2314  2291
defi cit in schemes  650  596
related deferred tax asset  163  164
net pension liability  487  432
actual return on scheme assets 2011 2010
 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
 £m  £m 
tp scheme 50 08 729 138
bss schemes 53 31 121 77
d the amount included in the balance sheet arising from the group’s obligations in respect of its defined benefit schemes 
and the movements during the year
 2011 2010
 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
  tp scheme bss schemes group tp scheme bss schemes group
  £m £m £m £m £m £m
at 1 january 317 596 279 430  430
liability at date of acquisition     596 596
income  expense recognised in the
income statement 74 27 47 05  05
contributions received by the scheme 195 78 273 583  583
actuarial losses  gains recognised in
the statement of comprehensive income 393 105 498 159  159
at 31 december 193 650 457 317 596 279 92
notes to the financial statements
8 pension arrangements continued
e movements in the present value of defined benefit obligations in the current period
 2011 2010
 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
  tp scheme bss schemes group tp scheme bss schemes group
  £m £m £m £m £m £m
at 1 january 6117 2291 8408 5711  5711
liability at date of acquisition     2291 2291
service cost 35 36 71 57  57
interest cost 325 122 447 322  322
contributions from scheme members 52 01 53 55  55
actuarial losses  gain 09 79 70 186  186
foreign exchange  02 02   
benefi ts paid 209 55 264 214  214
at 31 december  6329 2314 8643 6117 2291 8408
f movements in the present value of fair value of scheme assets in the current period
 2011 2010
 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
  tp scheme bss schemes group tp scheme bss schemes group
  £m £m £m £m £m £m
at 1 january  6434 1695 8129 5281  5281
scheme assets at date of acquisition     1695 1695
expected return of scheme assets 434 131 565 384  384
actuarial losses  gains  384 184 568 345  345
contributions from sponsoring companies 195 78 273 583  583
contributions from scheme members 52 01 53 55  55
foreign exchange  02 02   
benefi ts paid 209 55 264 214  214
at 31 december  6522 1664 8186 6434 1695 8129
g cumulative actuarial gains and losses recognised in equity 
 tp scheme bss schemes
 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––––––––––
 2011 2010 2011 2010
 £m £m £m £m
at 1 january 1821 1980  
net actuarial losses  gains recognised in the year 393 159 105 
at 31 december 2214 1821 105  financial statements
tra vis perkins annual repor t and accounts 2011
93
8 pension arrangements continued
h history of experience gains and losses
tp scheme  2011 2010 2009 2008 2007
fair value of assets £m  6522 6434 5281 4207 5339
present value of obligations £m  6329 6117 5711 4906 5499
surplus  defi cit in the scheme £m  193 317 430 699 160
experience adjustments on scheme liabilities      
amounts £m     134 
percentage of liabilities      27 
experience adjustments on scheme assets       
amounts £m  384 345 623 1572 135
percentage of assets   60 54 118 374 25
bss schemes     2011 2010
fair value of assets £m     1664 1695
present value of obligations £m     2314 2291
defi cit in the schemes £m     650 596
experience adjustments on scheme liabilities
amounts £m     79 394
percentage of liabilities      34 172
experience adjustments on scheme assets
amounts £m     184 34
percentage of assets      111 21
i sensitivities
the estimated effects of changing the key assumptions discount rate inflation and life expectancy on the ias19 balance sheet position as at 31 december 2011
  tp scheme effect on   bss schemes effect on 
assumption change  2011 balance sheet position  2011 balance sheet position
  £m £m
discount rate increase of 10 1200 398
 decrease of 10 1500 534
infl ation increase of 10 900 422
 decrease of 10 550 399
longevity increase of 1 year 156 46
 decrease of 1 year 156 46
defined contribution schemes
prior to the acquisition of the bss group plc there were two defi ned contribution schemes in the group the group now operates a further three defi ned contribution 
schemes for all qualifying employees the pension cost which represents contributions payable by the group amounted to £57m 2010 £36m 94
notes to the financial statements
9 sharebased payments 
the following disclosures relate to share option and saye grants made after 7 november 2002
the blackscholes optionpricing model is used to calculate the fair value of the options and the amount to be expensed the probability of the performance 
conditions being achieved was included in the fair value calculations the inputs into the model for options granted in the year expressed as weighted averages are 
as follows 
 2011 2010
 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
  nil price  nil price
 saye options saye options
share price at grant date pence  group 833 975 819 734
option exercise price pence  group 657  691 
share price at grant date pence  company 833 975 819 734
option exercise price pence  company 657  691 
volatility  – group and company 486 614 595 621
option life years – group and company 35 30 35 30
riskfree interest rate  – group and company 09 17 16 13
expected dividends as a dividend yield  – group and company 18 19 06 06
volatility was based on historic share prices over a period of time equal to the vesting period option life used in the model has been based on options being exercised 
in accordance with historical patterns for executive share options the vesting period is 3 years if options remain unexercised after a period of 10 years from the 
date of grant these options expire options are forfeited if the employee leaves the group before options vest saye options vest after 3 or 5 years and expire 3½ 
or 5½ years after the date of grant 
the riskfree interest rate of return is the yield on zerocoupon uk government bonds on a term consistent with the vesting period dividends used are based on 
actual dividends where data is known and future dividends estimated using a dividend cover of 3 times 
the expected life used in the model has been adjusted based upon management’s best estimate for the effect of nontransferability exercise restrictions and 
behavioural considerations
saye options were granted on 1 december 2011 the estimated fair value of the shares at that date was £104m for the group and £01m for the company
shares were granted under the sharematching scheme on 15 march 6 september and 7 december 2011 the estimated fair value of the shares at those dates 
was £42m for the group and £21m for the company
shares were granted under the performance share plan on 4 march 4 april 21 june and 19 august 2011 the estimated fair value of the shares at those dates 
was £70m for the group and £46m for the company
shares were granted under the deferred share bonus plan on 2 march 2011 the estimated fair value of the shares at that date was £11m for the group and 
£05m for the company 
the group charged £139m 2010 £80m and the company charged £51m 2010 £23m to the income statement in respect of equitysettled sharebased 
payment transactions
the number and weighted average exercise price of share options is as follows
 the group
 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
 2011 2010
 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
 weighted  number of weighted  number of 
  average number of nil price  average number of nil price
 exercise price  options options exercise price  options options
in thousands of options p no no p no no
outstanding at the beginning of the period 582 8917 4454 680 9624 2959
forfeited during the period 778 1290 712 1247 1580 2
exercised during the period 392 2473 248 511 19 
granted during the period 657 2896 1381 691 892 1497
outstanding at the end of the period 636 8050 4875 582 8917 4454
exercisable at the end of the period 718 1656  1116 1004 
share options were exercised on a regular basis throughout the year the weighted average share price for options exercised during the year was 392 pence 2010 
511 pence financial statements
tra vis perkins annual repor t and accounts 2011
95
9 sharebased payments continued
details of the options outstanding at 31 december 2011 were as follows
 the group
 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
 2011 2010
 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
 executive   nil price  executive   nil price 
 options saye options options saye options
range of exercise prices pence 201 – 1611 442 – 1114  201 – 1611 442 – 1114 
weighted average exercise price pence 733 604  667 532 
number of shares thousands 1992 6058 4874 3302 5615 4454
weighted average expected remaining life years 07 26 12 14 21 15
weighted average contractual remaining life years 53 31 82 67 26 85
the number and weighted average exercise price of share options is as follows
 the company
 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
 2011 2010
 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
 weighted  number of weighted  number of
  average number of nil price  average number of nil price
 exercise price  options options exercise price  options options
in thousands of options p no no p no no
outstanding at the beginning of the period 698 473 2166 980 701 1480
forfeited during the period 362 55 361 1550 232 
exercised during the period 952 318 168   
transferred from other group companies    596 1 
granted during the period 657 11 560 691 3 686
outstanding at the end of the period 606 111 2197 698 473 2166
exercisable at the end of the period 713 33  1018 239 
share options were exercised on a regular basis throughout the year the weighted average share price for options exercised during the year was 952 pence
2010511 pence
details of the options outstanding at 31 december 2011 were as follows
 the company
 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
 2011 2010
 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
 executive   nil price  executive   nil price 
 options saye options options saye options
range of exercise prices pence 201 – 1611 442 – 1114  201 – 1611 442 – 1114 
weighted average exercise price pence 700 516  727 479 
number of shares thousands 54 56 2196 418 55 2166
weighted average expected remaining life years 10 22 11 08 25 15
weighted average contractual remaining life years 60 27 81 51 30 85 96
notes to the financial statements
10 net finance costs
 the group the company
 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––––––––
 2011 2011 2011 2010 2011 2010
 preexceptional  exceptional    
 items  items total   
 £m £m £m £m £m £m
interest on bank loans and overdrafts 266  266 285 264 315
interest payable to group companies     64 35
interest on obligations under fi nance leases 12  12 12  
unwinding of discounts 57  57 42  
amortisation of cancellation payment for 
swaps accounted for as cash fl ow hedges 42  42 49 42 49
other interest 12  12 02 12 02
net loss on settlement of private placement  44 44   
net loss on remeasurement of derivatives at fair value    15 16 20
finance costs 389 44 433 405 398 421
other fi nance income  pension scheme 118  118 62  
amortisation of cancellation receipt for swap 
accounted for as fair value hedge 11  11 09 11 36
net gain on remeasurement of derivatives at fair value 51  51  51 
interest receivable 44  44 104 133 119
finance income 224  224 175 195 155
net fi nance costs 165 44 209 230 203 266
adjusted interest cover   154x 189x  
includes £31m 2010 £57m of amortised bank fi nance charges
adjusted interest cover is calculated by dividing adjusted operating profit of £3132m 2010 £2390m less £15m 2010 £12m of specifically excluded 
ifrs adjustments by the combined value of interest on bank loans and overdrafts excluding amortised bank finance charges other interest payable and interest 
receivable which total £203m 2010 £126m 
the unwinding of the discounts charge arises principally from the property provisions created in 2008 and the pensions spv
during 2011 the group repaid 125m of the bss unsecured senior notes and terminated the associated derivatives this resulted in a net loss of £44m which 
is shown as exceptional
included within finance costs in 2010 is an exceptional charge of £07m due to writing off unamortised bank fees in respect of the bss loan facility which was 
repaid following the acquisition
11 t ax
 the group the company
 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––––––––
 2011 2011 2011 2010 2010 2010 2011 2010
 pre   pre    
 exceptional exceptional  exceptional exceptional   
 items items total items items total
 £m £m £m £m £m £m £m £m
current tax        
uk corporation tax         
current year 725 33 692 510 04 514 81 85
prior year 11 14 25 12  12 14 
total current tax 714 47 667 498 04 502 95 85
deferred tax        
current year 28 126 98 101 47 54 06 19
prior year 03  03 01  01  
total deferred tax 31 126 95 100 47 53 06 19
total tax charge 745 173 572 598 43 555 101 104 financial statements
tra vis perkins annual repor t and accounts 2011
97
11 t ax continued
the differences between the total tax charge shown above and the amount calculated by applying the standard rate of uk corporation tax to the profi t before tax 
are as follows
 
 the group
 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
 2011 2010
 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
 £m  £m 
profit before tax 2696  1968 
tax at the uk corporation tax rate  714 265 551 280
tax effect of expenses  credits that are not deductible  
taxable in determining taxable profi t 19 07 21 10
depreciation of nonqualifying property 23 08 15 08
exceptional costs not allowable for tax purposes 05 02 36 18
deferred tax rate change 126 47 24 12
property sales 41 15 32 16
exceptional prior period adjustment 14 05  
prior period adjustment 08 03 12 06
tax expense and effective tax rate for the year 572 212 555 282
the tax rate for the year of 265 is a blended rate of 28 up to 1 april 2011 and 26 thereafter the tax charge for 2011 includes an exceptional credit of £126m 
arising from the reduction in the rate of uk corporation tax from 27 to 25 on 1 april 2012 future changes reducing the corporation tax rate by 1 per annum 
to 23 by 1 april 2014 have been announced but not substantively enacted and therefore have not been taken into account
 
 the company
 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
 2011 2010
 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
 £m  £m 
profi t  loss before tax 486  82
intercompany dividends 791  403 
loss before tax and dividends received 305  485 
tax at the uk corporation tax rate 81 265 136 280
tax effect of expenses  credits that are not deductible  
taxable in determining taxable profi t 15 50 17 35
prior year  14 46  
deferred tax rate change 06 20  
exceptional costs not allowable for tax purposes   36 74
receipts in subsidiary taxable in company 03 10 13 27
tax expense and effective tax rate for the year 101 331 104 214 98
notes to the financial statements
12 earnings per share
a basic and diluted earnings per share
 2011 2010
earnings £m £m
earnings for the purposes of basic and diluted earnings per share being net profit attributable to equity holders of the parent company 2124 1413
number of shares no no
weighted average number of shares for the purposes of basic earnings per share pre bss acquisition share issue 235113837 201682453
issued in connection with the bss acquisition 37267 1444926
weighted average number of shares for the purposes of basic earnings per share 235151104 203127379
dilutive effect of share options on potential ordinary shares 8057058 7099195
weighted average number of ordinary shares for the purposes of diluted earnings per share 243208162 210226574
at 31 december 2011 796390 2010 2450045 share options had an exercise price in excess of the market value of the shares on that day as a result these 
share options are excluded from the calculation of diluted earnings per share
b adjusted earnings per share
adjusted earnings per share are calculated by excluding the effect of the exceptional items and amortisation from earnings
   2011 2010
   £m £m
earnings for the purposes of basic and diluted earnings per share being net profi t attributable to 
equity holders of the parent company   2124 1413
exceptional items   142 197
amortisation of intangible assets   129 02
tax on amortisation   32 
tax on exceptional items   47 19
effect of reduction in corporation tax rate on deferred tax   126 24
adjusted earnings   2190 1569
adjusted earnings per share   931p 772p
c adjusted proforma earnings per share
    2010
    £m
weighted average number of shares for the purposes of basic earnings per share pre bss acquisition share issue    201682453
issued in connection with the bss acquisition assumed 1 january 2010    33068032
weighted average number of shares for the purposes of proforma earnings per share    234750485
    2010
    £m
earnings for adjusted earnings per share    1569
bss post tax pre acquisition earnings    406
adjusted proforma earnings    1975
adjusted proforma earnings per share    841p financial statements
tra vis perkins annual repor t and accounts 2011
99
13 dividends
amounts were recognised in the financial statements as distributions to equity shareholders as follows
   2011 2010
   £m £m
final dividend for the year ended 31 december 2010 of 10p 2009 nil per ordinary share   235 
interim dividend for the year ended 31 december 2011 of 65p 2010 5p per ordinary share   153 101
total dividend recognised during the year   388 101
the company is proposing a fi nal dividend of 135p in respect of the year ended 31 december 2011
adjusted dividend cover of 47x 2010 51x is calculated by dividing adjusted earnings per share note 12 of 931 pence 2010 772 pence by the total dividend 
for the year of 200 pence 2010 150 pence
there are no income tax consequences in respect of the dividends declared but not recognised in the financial statements
the dividends declared for 2011 at 31 december 2011 and for 2010 at 31 december 2010 were as follows
   2011 2010
   pence pence
interim paid   65 50
final proposed   135 100
total dividend for the year   200 150
14 goodwill
 the group
  ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
  bss retail merchanting total
cost £m £m £m £m
at 1 january 2010  7199 6329 13528
recognised on acquisitions during the year note 30 1918  1532 3450
at 1 january 2011 1918 7199 7861 16978
recognised on acquisitions during the year  84  84
at 31 december 2011 1918 7283 7861 17062
the following is an analysis of goodwill by cgu ‘cash generating unit’ 
name of cgu    amount of goodwill
    £m
ccf    436
city plumbing supplies    1754
keyline    1015
travis perkins    4656
tile giant    268
wickes    7015
pts    1337
bss industrial    278
fp    303
    17062
on the acquisition of the bss group £1532m of goodwill which represented synergies derived principally from cost savings arising from the acquisition was 
allocated to the city plumbing supplies £1012m travis perkins £295m and keyline £225m cgu’s 100
notes to the financial statements
14 goodwill continued
the group tests goodwill and other non monetary assets for impairment annually or more frequently if there are indications that goodwill might be impaired 
the recoverable amounts of the cgus are determined from value in use calculations the key assumptions for the value in use calculations are those regarding 
the discount rates growth rates and forecast cash flows during the period management estimates discount rates using pretax rates that reflect current market 
assessments of the time value of money and the risks specific to the cgus 
the turnover growth rates in each cgu are based on the directors’ forecasts for the next 1 to 4 years changes in selling prices and direct costs used in the 
calculations are based on past practices and expectations of future changes in the market 
at the beginning and end of the financial period the fair value of goodwill and intangible assets in all segments was in excess of their book value the directors’ 
calculations have shown that no impairments have occurred the key assumptions applied in the value in use calculations were
● cash flow forecasts which were derived from the most recent financial budgets and plans which were approved by the directors cash flows for the following 
year are extrapolated from cash flows produced for the budget period using similar assumptions to those applied to the final year of the budget
● the weighted average cost of capital ‘wacc’ of the group which is used as the discount rate is 69 which is not significantly different for any individual cgu
●   longterm forecast growth rates of 25 in line with the average longterm gdp growth trend applied from 2017 onwards 
whilst management believe the assumptions are realistic it is possible that an impairment would be identifi ed if any of the above key assumptions were changed 
signifi cantly for instance factors which could cause an impairment are
● significant underperformance relative to the forecast results
● changes to the way the assets are used or changes to the strategy for the business
● a deterioration in the industry or in the economy
the impairment review calculations are based upon anticipated discounted future cash fl ows these calculations are sensitive to changes in future cash fl ows the 
discount rate applied and the terminal growth rate the directors believe the assumptions used are appropriate but have conducted a sensitivity analysis to determine 
the assumptions all other assumptions remaining the same that would result in an impairment to goodwill and intangibles of £1m and these are as follows
      
name of cgu   discount rate long term growth rate
  ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
ccf   275 180
city plumbing supplies   135 41
keyline   103 09
tile giant   133 64
travis perkins   191 97
wickes   87 03
pts   121 28
bss industrial   242 148
fp    181 87
the company has no goodwill financial statements
tra vis perkins annual repor t and accounts 2011
101
15 other intangible assets
 
 the group
 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
 brand computer software customer relationships total
cost or valuation £m £m £m £m
 
at 1 january 2010 1625   1625
on acquisition of subsidiary 1128 99 1350 2577
at 31 december 2010 2753 99 1350 4202
disposals 66 15 25 106
at 31 december 2011  2687 84 1325 4096
amortisation    
at 1 january 2010    
charged to operating profi t in the year   02 02
charged to exceptional item  81  81
at 31 december 2010  81 02 83
charged to operating profi t in the year 03 04 122 129
disposals  04 01 05
at 31 december 2011 03 81 123 207
net book value    
at 31 december 2011 2684 03 1202 3889
at 31 december 2010 2753 18 1348 4119
on the acquisition of the bss group plc the following brands were recognised 
● pts £409m
● bss industrial £493m
● fp £85m
● others £141m
these brands together with the wickes brand of £1625m are all considered to be leading brands in their sectors with signifi cant growth prospects they are 
considered therefore to have an indefi nite useful life and are reviewed annually for impairment acquired customer relationships are amortised over their estimated 
useful lives which range from 5 to 15 years
details of impairment testing are given in note 14 no impairments were identified in either year
the company has no intangible assets 102
notes to the financial statements
16 property plant and equipment 
 the group the company
 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– ––––––––––––––––––––
  long short plant   plant 
 freehold  leases  leases equipment total equipment
 £m £m £m £m £m £m
cost or valuation
at 1 january 2010 2581 250 1138 4112 8081 05
additions 108 27 21 363 519 02
additions from acquired businesses 71 10 61 234 376 
reclassifi cations to current assets 03 10   13 
disposals 11  10 136 157 01
at 1 january 2011 2746 277 1210 4573 8806 06
additions 282 13 94 692 1081 01
reclassifi cations  15 09 95 101  
disposals 31  54 296 381 
at 31 december 2011 3012 281 1345 4868 9506 07
accumulated depreciation      
at 1 january 2010 316 43 351 2381 3091 04
charged this year 40 06 70 459 575 01
reclassifi cations to current assets 01 03   04 
disposals 04  04 119 127 
at 1 january 2011 351 46 417 2721 3535 05
charged this year 45 06 101 487 639 
disposals 07 02 31 258 294 
at 31 december 2011 389 54 487 2950 3880 05
net book value      
at 31 december 2011 2623 227 858 1918 5626 02
at 31 december 2010 2395 231 793 1852 5271 01
the cost element of the fi xed assets carrying value is analysed as follows
 the group the company
 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––
  long short plant and   
 freehold leases leases equipment total total
 £m £m £m £m £m £m
at valuation 657 61 19  737 
at cost 2355 220 1326 4868 8769 07
 3012 281 1345 4868 9506 07
those freehold and leasehold properties included at valuation in the consolidated balance sheet were revalued at their open market value on an existing use basis 
the valuations were performed as at 31 december 1999 by an independent professional valuer lambert smith hampton consultant surveyors and valuers
included within freehold property is land with a value of £1150m 2010 £980m which is not depreciated financial statements
tra vis perkins annual repor t and accounts 2011
103
16 property plant and equipment continued
the carrying amount of assets held under finance leases is analysed as follows
 
 the group the company
 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––
  long short plant    
  leases leases equipment total total
  £m £m £m £m £m
2011  08 107  115 
2010  08 119 13 140 
comparable amounts determined according to the historical cost convention
 the group the company
 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––
  long short plant    
 freehold leases leases equipment total total
 £m £m £m £m £m £m
cost 2970 268 1431 4868 9537 07
accumulated depreciation 552 66 545 2950 4113 05
net book value
at 31 december 2011 2418 202 886 1918 5424 02
at 31 december 2010 2177 206 822 1842 5047 01
17 investment property 
  the group
  ––––––––––––––––––––––
    £m
cost 
at 1 january 2010    39
disposals    34
cost at 31 december 2010 and 31 december 2011    05
accumulated depreciation 
at 1 january 2010    06
provided in 2010    05
at 31 december 2010 and 31 december 2011    01
net book value 
at 31 december 2010 and 31 december 2011    04
investment property rental income totalled £nil 2010 £nil the group also receives income from subletting all or part of 100 extrading and trading properties the 
amount of which is not material
no external valuation has been performed and therefore the directors have estimated that the fair value of investment property equates to its carrying value 
the company has no investment property 104
notes to the financial statements
18 investments
a interest in associates and joint ventures
 the group the company
 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
 2011 2010 2011 2010
 £m £m £m £m
equity investment 180 175 179 174
loan facility 303 285 303 285
interest on loan facility 103 64 103 64
share of losses 73 67  
 513 457 585 523
on 4 april 2008 travis perkins plc acquired a 30 investment in toolstation limited for a total consideration of £52m with a further £120m paid in 2010 in 
addition travis perkins plc has provided a nonrevolving loan facility totalling £278m in the year to 31 december 2011 toolstation recognised total revenues of 
£1038m and a loss before tax of £22m at 31 december 2011 total aggregate assets were £343m and total aggregate liabilities including the loan facility 
provided by travis perkins plc were £632m on 3 january 2012 travis perkins plc acquired the remaining 70 of the issued share capital for a consideration of 
£242m note 30 travis perkins plc holds a 49 investment in the mosaic tile company limited and in 2011 acquired a 25 investment in rinus roofi ng limited
b shares in group undertakings
  the company
  –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
   2011 2010
   £m £m
cost at 1 january   27148 19121
reclassifi cation of loans and receivables note 25   1738 
additions   12 8027
cost at 31 december   28898 27148
provision for impairment    170 170
net book value at 31 december   28728 26978
the principal operating companies of the group at 31 december 2011 are as follows
travis perkins trading company limited builders merchants
keyline builders merchants limited builders merchants 
wickes building supplies limited diy retailers
city plumbing supplies holdings limited plumbers merchants
ccf limited ceiling  dry lining distribution
travis perkins properties limited property management company
benchmarx kitchens and joinery limited specialist distribution
tile giant limited ceramic tile merchants
pts group limited plumbing and heating merchants
direct subsiduary of travis perkins plc
the registered office for all the subsidiaries listed above is lodge way house harlestone road northampton nn5 7ug except for keyline builders merchants 
limited for which the registered office is suite s3 8 strathkelvin place kirkintilloch glasgow g66 1xt
the directors have applied s409 to s410 of the companies act 2006 and therefore list only signifi cant subsidiary companies
all subsidiaries are 100 owned each company is registered and incorporated in england and wales other than keyline builders merchants limited and eight 
dormant companies which are registered and incorporated in scotland city investments limited which is registered and incorporated in jersey and two dormant 
companies registered and incorporated in northern ireland financial statements
tra vis perkins annual repor t and accounts 2011
105
18 investments continued
c availableforsale investments
 the group the company
 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
 2011 2010 2011 2010 
 £m £m £m £m
fair value investment 15 15  
the investment represents a minority holding in a unit trust that acquired properties from the group in 2006 the investment presents the group with an opportunity 
to generate returns through both income and capital gains the directors consider that the carrying amount of this investment approximates its fair value
19 trade and other receivables
 the group the company
 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
 2011 2010 2011 2010
 £m £m £m £m
trade receivables 5857 5754  
allowance for doubtful debts 545 444  
 5312 5310  
amounts owed by subsidiaries   2081 2055
other receivables prepayments and accrued income 2118 1562 60 29
trade and other receivables 7430 6872 2141 2084
the group’s trade and other receivables at the balance sheet date comprise principally of amounts receivable from the sale of goods together with amounts due in 
respect of rebates and sundry prepayments the directors consider the only class of asset containing signifi cant credit risk is trade receivables the average credit 
term taken for sales of goods is 55 days 2010 55 days 
the amounts presented in the balance sheet are net of allowances for doubtful debts of £545m 2010 £444m estimated by the group’s management based on 
prior experience and their assessment of the current economic environment the directors consider the carrying amount of trade and other receivables approximates 
their fair values
no interest is charged on the trade receivable from the date of the invoice until the date the invoice is classified as overdue according to the trading terms agreed 
between the group and the customer thereafter the group retains the right to charge interest between 2 to 4 above the clearing bank base rate per annum on 
the outstanding balance the business has provided fully for all receivables outstanding for more than 90 days beyond agreed terms trade receivables not receivable 
for up to 90 days are specifically provided for based on estimated irrecoverable amounts 
movement in the allowance for doubtful debts
  the group
  –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
   2011 2010
   £m £m
at 1 january   444 345
arising on acquisition    52
amounts written off during the year   102 53
increase in allowance recognised in the income statement   203 100
at 31 december   545 444
in determining the recoverability of the trade receivables the group considers any change in the credit quality of the trade receivable that may have occurred 
between the date credit was initially granted and the reporting date the concentration of credit risk is limited due to the customer base being large accordingly the 
directors believe that no further credit provision is required in excess of the allowance for doubtful debts
included in the group’s trade receivable balance are unprovided against debtors with a carrying amount of £659m 2010 £704m which are past due at the 
reporting date for which the group has not identified a significant change in credit quality and as such the group considers that the amounts are still recoverable 
except for some instances of personal guarantees the group does not hold any collateral over these balances  106
notes to the financial statements
19 trade and other receivables continued
ageing of past due but not impaired receivables
days overdue
  the group
  –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
   2011 2010
   £m £m
0 – 30 days   530 547
31 – 60 days   92 94
61 – 90 days   37 63
   659 704
included in the allowance for doubtful debts are specifi c trade receivables with a balance of £307m 2010 £240m which have been placed into liquidation the 
impairment represents the difference between the carrying amount of the specifi c trade receivable and the amount it is anticipated will be recovered
none of the company’s debts are overdue the directors do not consider there to be any significant credit risk as the majority of the debt is due from subsidiaries
20 cash and cash equivalents
cash and cash equivalents comprise cash held by the group and company net of overdrafts the carrying amount of these assets approximates their fair value
21 share capital
 the group and the company
 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
 issued and fully paid
 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
ordinary shares of 10p    no £m
at 1 january 2010    208631466 209
allotted on acquisition of bss    33000681 33
allotted under share option schemes    69770 
at 1 january 2011    241701917 242
allotted in respect of acquisition of bss    67351 
allotted under share option schemes    2047265 02
at 31 december 2011    243816533 244
the company has one class of ordinary share that carries no right to fi xed income the holders of ordinary shares are entitled to receive dividends as declared from 
time to time and are entitled to one vote per share at meetings of the company all shares rank equally with regard to the company’s residual assets
22 own shares
 the group and the company
 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
   2011 2010
   no no
at 1 january    6961930 7000690
reissued during the year   656563 38760
at 31 december    6305367 6961930
allocated to grants of executive options   289142 289142
not allocated to grants of executive options   6016225 6672788
   6305367 6961930
the own shares are stated at cost and held by the employee share ownership trust to satisfy options under the group’s share option schemes all rights attaching 
to own shares are suspended until the shares are reissued  financial statements
tra vis perkins annual repor t and accounts 2011
107
23 reserves
details of all movements in reserves for both the group and company are shown in the statement of changes in equity a description of the nature and purpose of 
each reserve is given below
●
  the revaluation reserve represents the revaluation surplus that has arisen from property revaluations in 1999 and prior years
●
   the hedging reserve comprises the effective portion of the cumulative net change in the fair value of cash fl ow hedging instruments related to hedged transactions 
that have yet to occur 
●
   the own shares reserve represents the cost of shares purchased in the market and held by the employee share ownership trust to satisfy options under the 
group’s share option schemes
●
    the merger reserve represents the premium on equity instruments issued as consideration for the acquisition of bss
the cumulative total of goodwill written off directly to reserves for acquisitions from december 1989 to december 1998 is £401m the aggregate information for 
the accounting periods prior to this period is not available
24 borrowings
a summary of the group policies and strategies with regard to fi nancial instruments can be found in the finance director’s review of the year on pages 30 to 34 
at 31 december 2011 all borrowings were made in sterling except for the unsecured senior notes note 25 i
a summary
 the group the company
 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
 2011 2010 2011 2010
 £m £m £m £m
unsecured senior notes 2793 3660 2793 2864
liability to pension spv note 8 372 361  
bank loans note 24c 3232 4019 3850 4750
bank overdraft  120 16 19
finance leases note 24d 203 218  
loan notes note 24e 33 33 33 33
finance charges netted off bank debt  15 46 15 46
 6618 8365 6677 7620
current liabilities 636 756 749 752
noncurrent liabilities 5982 7609 5928 6868
 6618 8365 6677 7620
these balances together total the amounts shown as bank loans in note 24b 
b analysis of borrowings
 the group
 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
 bank loans 
  and overdrafts other borrowings
 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––––––––––
 2011 2010 2011 2010
 £m £m £m £m
borrowings repayable 
on demand or within one year 588 708 48 48
more than one year but not more than two years 2629 588 1385 15
more than two years but not more than fi ve years  2797 1472 1878
more than fi ve years   496 2331
 3217 4093 3401 4272 108
notes to the financial statements
24 borrowings continued
 the company
 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
 bank loans 
 and overdrafts other borrowings
 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––––––––––
 2011 2010 2011 2010
 £m £m £m £m
borrowings repayable     
on demand or within one year 716 719 33 33
more than one year but not more than two years 3135 700 1369 1422
more than two years but not more than fi ve years  3304 1424 
more than fi ve years    1442
 3851 4723 2826 2897
c facilities
at 31 december 2011 the group had the following bank facilities available
 the group the company
 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
 2011 2010 2011 2010
 £m £m £m £m
drawn facilities     
5 year term loan 3232 3820 3850 4550
5 year revolving credit facility  200  200
unsecured senior notes 2793 3660 2793 2864
bank overdrafts  120 16 19
 6025 7800 6659 7633
undrawn facilities    
5 year revolving credit facility 4750 4550 4750 4550
bank overdrafts 400 384 384 381
 5150 4934 5134 4931
the disclosures in note 24c do not include fi nance leases loan notes or the effect of fi nance charges netted off bank debt
d obligations under finance leases
 the group
 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
  present value
 minimum of minimum
 lease payments lease payments
 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––––––––––
 2011 2010 2011 2010
 £m £m £m £m
amounts payable under fi nance leases
within one year 27 27 15 15
in the second to fi fth years inclusive 100 103 64 63
after fi ve years 213 236 124 140
 340 366 203 218
less future fi nance charges 137 148  
present value of lease obligations 203 218 203 218
less amount due for settlement within 1 year shown under current liabilities   15 15
amount due for settlement after 1 year   188 203
the group considers certain properties to be subject to fi nance leases excluding 999year leases the average loan term for these properties is 49 years and the 
average borrowing rate has been determined at the inception of the lease to be 90 interest rates are fi xed at the contract date all lease obligations which are 
denominated in sterling are on a fi xed repayment basis and no arrangements have been entered into for contingent rental payments financial statements
tra vis perkins annual repor t and accounts 2011
109
24 borrowings continued
e loan notes 
included in borrowings due within one year are £33m 2010 £33m in respect of loan notes issued as consideration for the acquisition of broombys limited in 
1999 they are redeemable on 30 june and 31 december each year until the fi nal redemption date of 30 june 2015 
f interest
the weighted average interest rates paid were as follows
   2011 2010
    
unsecured senior notes   58 58
bank loans and overdraft   18 18
other borrowings   60 60
bank term loans and revolving credit facilities of £798m 2010 £857m were arranged at variable interest rates the 400m unsecured travis perkins senior notes 
were issued at fi xed rates of interest and swapped into variable rates this exposes the group to fair value interest rate risk as detailed in note 25 to manage the 
risk the group enters into interest rate derivatives arrangements which for 2011 fi xed interest rates on an average of £335m of borrowing for the year to 31 
december 2011 this had the effect of increasing the weighted average interest rates paid by 14
in respect of income earning financial assets and interest bearing financial liabilities the following table indicates their effective interest rates at the balance sheet 
date and the periods in which they reprice
 the group
 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
 2011 2010
 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
  6 months or less   6 months or less
 effective total effective total
 interest rate £m  interest rate  £m
unsecured senior notes 58 2793 58 3660
unsecured variable rate bank facilities 23 3232 18 4019
loan notes 60 33 60 33
bank overdraft   23 120
  6058  7832
 the company
 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
 2011 2010
 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
  6 months or less   6 months or less
 effective total effective total
 interest rate £m  interest rate  £m
unsecured senior notes 58 2793 58 2864
unsecured variable rate bank facilities 23 3850 18 4750
loan notes 60 33 60 33
bank overdraft 23 16 23 19
  6692  7666
g fair values
for both the group and the company the fair values of fi nancial assets and liabilities have been calculated by discounting expected cash fl ows at prevailing rates at 
31 december there were no signifi cant differences between book and fair values on this basis and therefore no further information is disclosed
details of the fair values of derivatives are given in note 25
h guarantees and security
there are cross guarantees on the overdrafts between group companies
the companies listed in note 18 with the exception of benchmarx kitchens and joinery limited tile giant limited and the bss group limited together with wickes 
limited are guarantors of the following facilities advanced to travis perkins plc
●
    £323m term loan
●
  £475m revolving credit facility
●
  400m unsecured senior notes note 24i
●
 interest rate and currency derivatives note 25
the group companies have entered into other guarantee and counterindemnity arrangements in respect of guarantees issued in favour of group companies by the 
clearing banks amounting to approximately £161m 2010 £211m 110
notes to the financial statements
24 borrowings continued
i unsecured senior notes
the us private placement carries fi xed rate coupons of between 130 bps and 140 bps over us treasuries as described in note 25 to protect itself from currency 
movements and bring interest rate exposures back into line with the group’s desired risk profi le the group entered into four cross currency swaps 
j forward start facility
on 14 december 2011 the group signed a new £550m forward start banking agreement with a syndicate of banks the £550m revolving credit facility which runs 
until december 2016 can be drawn from april 2013 the expiry date of the group’s existing £800m facility agreement
25 financial instruments
a significant accounting policies
details of the signifi cant accounting policies and methods adopted including the criteria for recognition the basis of measurement and the basis on which income 
and expenses are recognised in respect of each class of fi nancial asset fi nancial liability and equity instrument are disclosed in note 2 to the fi nancial statements
b the carrying value of categories of financial instruments
 the group the company
 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
 2011 2010 2011 2010
 £m £m £m £m
financial assets     
designated as fair value through profi t and loss fvtpl 31 01 31 01
derivative instruments in designated hedge accounting relationships 403 569 403 03
loans and receivables including cash and cash equivalents 7535 6799 2141 3952
availableforsale 15 15  
 7984 7384 2575 3956
    
financial liabilities     
designated as fair value through profi t and loss fvtpl 33 41 33 1247
derivative instruments in designated hedge accounting relationships 26 26 26 26
borrowings note 24a 6618 8365 6677 7620
trade and other payables at amortised cost note 28 8727  8356 190 267
 15404 16788 6926 9160
loans and receivables exclude prepayments of £681m 2010 £702m trade and other payables exclude taxation and social security and accruals and deferred 
income totalling £2156m 2010 £1689m
the carrying amount of financial assets recorded in the financial statements which is net of impairment losses represents the group’s maximum exposure to 
credit risk
c fair value of financial instruments
the fair values of fi nancial assets and fi nancial liabilities are determined as follows
●
 foreign currency forward contracts are measured using quoted forward exchange rates 
●
 interest rate swaps are measured at the present value of future cash flows estimated and discounted based on the applicable yield curves derived from quoted 
interest rates
the following table provides an analysis of fi nancial instruments that are measured subsequent to initial recognition at fair value grouped into levels 1 to 3 based 
on the degree to which the fair value is observable
●
 level 1 fair value measurements are those derived from quoted prices unadjusted in active markets for identical assets or liabilities
●
  level 2 fair value measurements are those derived from inputs other than quoted prices included within level 1 that are observable for the asset or liability either 
directly ie as prices  or indirectly ie derived from prices and
●
  level 3 fair value measurements are those derived from valuation techniques that include inputs for the asset or liability that are not based on observable market 
data unobservable inputs
there were no transfers between levels during the year financial statements
tra vis perkins annual repor t and accounts 2011
111
25 financial instruments continued
included in assets
 the group the company
 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
 2011 2010 2011 2010
 £m £m £m £m
level 2   
foreign currency forward contracts at fair value through profi t and loss 31 01 31 01
foreign currency forward contracts designated and effective 
as hedging instruments carried at fair value 01 03 01 03
cross currency interest rate swaps designated and effective
as hedging instruments carried at fair value 402 541 402 
cross currency interest rate swaps designated and effective
as cash hedging instruments  25  
 434 570 434 04
current assets 31 01 31 01
noncurrent assets 403 569 403 03
 434 570 434 04
included in liabilities 
    
level 2    
foreign currency forward contracts at fair value through profi t and loss  10  10
interest rate swaps at fair value through profi t and loss  33 41 33 41
interest rate swaps designated and effective as cash hedging instruments 26 16 26 16
cross currency interest rate swaps designated and effective
as hedging instruments carried at fair value     1205
 59 67 59 1272
current liabilities  25  25
noncurrent liabilities 59 42 59 1247
 59 67 59 1272
d interest risk management
the group is exposed to interest rate risk as entities in the group borrow funds at both fi xed and fl oating interest rates the risk is managed by the group by 
maintaining an appropriate mix between fi xed and fl oating rate borrowings by the use of interest rate swap contracts and forward interest rate contracts hedging 
activities are evaluated regularly to align with interest rate views and defi ned risk appetite ensuring optimal hedging strategies are applied by either positioning the 
balance sheet or protecting interest expense through different interest rate cycles
interest rate swaps
the group adopts a policy of ensuring that its exposure to changes in interest rates on borrowings either is on a fi xed rate basis or is subject to movements within 
predefi ned limits to achieve its desired interest rate profi le the group uses interest rate swaps 
as part of their interest rate management processes in respect of the facilities described in note 24 the group and the company at the commencement of the 
year were parties to four amortising swaps each with an initial notional value of £100m two amortising swaps with an initial notional value of £50m and two non 
amortising swaps each with a notional value of £50m all expiring on 11 may 2011 on the 11 may 2011 the group and the company entered into five amortising 
swaps each with an initial notional value of £45m contracts with notional values of £200m are designated as cash flow hedges with fixed interest payments at an 
average rate of 171 for periods up until may 2014 and have floating interest receipts equal to 1 month libor the nonamortising interest rate swap with a call 
option has a notional value of £50m with fixed interest payments at a rate of 4595 for periods up until october 2013 and has floating interest payments equal 
to 6 month libor
at 31 december 2011 the fair value of interest rate derivatives all of which terminate before three years from the balance sheet date to which the group and the 
company were parties was estimated at £59m 2010 £57m this amount is based on market values of equivalent instruments at the balance sheet date interest 
rate swaps excluding those with a call option are designated and effective as cash flow hedges and the fair value thereof has been deferred in equity a credit of 
£09m 2010 charge £07m in respect of the fair value movement on interest rate swaps with a call option has been taken to the income statement through net 
finance charges as the group has not applied hedge accounting 112
notes to the financial statements
25 financial instruments continued
interest rate swap contracts
under interest rate swap contracts the group agrees to exchange the difference between fi xed and fl oating interest rate amounts calculated on agreed notional 
principal amounts such contracts enable the group to mitigate the risk of changing interest rates on the fair value of issued fi xed rate debt held and the cash fl ow 
exposures on the issued variable rate debt held the fair value of interest rate swaps at the reporting date is determined by discounting the future cash fl ows using 
the curves at the reporting date and the credit risk inherent in the contract and is disclosed below the average interest rate is based on the outstanding balances 
at the end of the fi nancial year
the following table details the notional principal amounts and remaining terms of interest rate swap contracts as at the reporting date
cash fl ow hedges – outstanding receive fl oating pay fi xed contracts
  
  average contract fi xed interest rate  notional principle amount fair value
 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
 2011 2010 2011 2010 2011 2010
   £m £m £m £m
less than 1 year  152  4000  16
2 to 5 years 117  2000  26 
greater than 5 years  540  290  25
   2000 4290 26 09
the interest rate swaps settle on a monthly basis the fl oating rate on the interest rate swaps is 1 month libor the group will settle the difference between the fi xed 
and fl oating interest rate on a net basis all interest rate swap contracts exchanging fl oating rate interest amounts for fi xed rate interest amounts are designated as 
cash fl ow hedges in order to reduce the group’s cash fl ow exposure resulting from variable interest rates on borrowings the interest rate swaps and the interest rate 
payments on the loan occur simultaneously and the amount deferred in equity is recognised in the income statement over the period that the fl oating rate interest 
payments on debt affect profi t or loss
e currency swaps and currency forward contracts
in order to eliminate the currency risk associated with the 400m unsecured senior notes described in note 24i the group and company has four cross currency 
swaps in varying amounts between £23m and £58m to fi x the exchange rate at £1 equal to 173 for the entire lives of 290m of the unsecured loan notes the 
forward options fi xed the notional amount receivable and payable in respect of the unsecured senior notes to £168m as well as fi xing the exchange rate applicable 
to future coupon payments
the group and the company has three forward contracts with a notional value of 30m each and one with a notional value of £20m to hedge 110m of unsecured 
senior notes these contracts have a maturity date of january 2016 at 31 december 2011 the fair value of these forward contracts was estimated at £01m 
2010 £03m
the interest rate swaps settle on a halfyearly basis the floating rate on the interest rate swaps is 6 months libor the group will settle the difference between 
the fixed and floating interest on a net basis
the currency swaps manage the group’s and the company’s exposure to the fixed interest rate on the us dollar denominated borrowing arising out of a private 
placement on 26 january 2006 there are two interest rate swaps of £58m that convert the borrowing rate on 200m of debt from 577 to a variable rate on 6 
month libor plus a weighted average basis point increment of 819 at 26 january 2006 the variable rates were both at 543 a further two interest rate swaps 
of £29m and £23m convert the borrowing rates on us50m us40m of debt from 589 to a variable rate based on six month libor plus basis point increment 
of 865 and 867 respectively at 26 january 2006 the variable rates were at weighted average 547
in order to eliminate the currency risk associated with the bss private placement of 125m the bss group plc entered into three cross currency interest rate 
swaps to fix the exchange rate at £1 equal to 173 for the entire duration of the private placement the private placement was repaid in june and july 2011 and 
consequently all three cross currency swaps were settled the aggregate net loss from these transactions was £44m which is shown as an exceptional item
during 2010 the group and company novated one cross currency interest rate swap with a notional value of 110m and a sterling equivalent of £63m for total 
proceeds of £137m in the group and £163m in the company the proceeds are being amortised to the income statement over the remaining life of the unsecured 
senior notes
fair value hedges – outstanding receive fi xed pay fl oating contracts
  
  average contract fl oating interest rate  notional principle amount fair value
 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
 2011 2010 2011 2010 2011 2010
   £m £m £m £m
1 to 2 years 19  1156  235 
2 to 5 years 19 18 520 1586 167 387
greater than 5 years  18  520  154
   1676 2106 402 541 financial statements
tra vis perkins annual repor t and accounts 2011
113
25 financial instruments continued
interest rate swap contracts exchanging fi xed rate interest for fl oating rate interest are designated and effective as fair value hedges in respect of interest rates 
during the period the hedge was 100 effective in hedging the fair value exposure to interest movements and as a result the carrying amount of the loan was 
adjusted by £369m 2010 £384m which was included in the income statement at the same time that the fair value of the interest rate swap was included in 
the income statement
the group acquires goods for sale from overseas which when not denominated in sterling are paid for principally in us dollars the group has entered into 
forward foreign exchange contracts all of which are less than one year in duration to buy us dollars to hedge the exchange risk arising from these anticipated future 
purchases at the balance sheet date the total notional value of contracts to which the group was committed was us1203m 2010 us936m the fair value of 
these derivatives is £31m 2010 £09m these contracts have not been designated as hedges and accordingly the fair value movement has been reflected in 
the income statement
f liquidity analysis
the following table details the group’s liquidity analysis for its derivative financial instruments and other financial liabilities the table has been drawn up based on 
the undiscounted net cash inflows  outflows on the derivative instrument that settle on a net basis and the undiscounted gross inflows and outflows on those 
derivatives that require gross settlement when the amount payable or receivable is not fixed the amount disclosed has been determined by reference to the 
projected interest and foreign currency rates as illustrated by the yield curves existing at the reporting date
  2011
  ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
  01 year 12 years 25 years 5 years total
  £m £m £m £m £m
gross settled      
interest rate swaps – receipts  109 1393 630  2132
interest rate swaps – payments  33 1189 538  1760
  76 204 92  372
foreign exchange forward contracts  773  01  774
total gross settled  697 204 91  402
net settled     
interest rate swaps  14 06   20
total derivative fi nancial instruments  711 198 91  422
borrowings  770 4073 1574 372 6789
other fi nancial liabilities note 28  8727    8727
finance leases note 24d  27 27 73 213 340
total fi nancial instruments  10235 3902 1556 585 16278
  2010
  ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
  01 year 12 years 25 years 5 years total
  £m £m £m £m £m
gross settled      
interest rate swaps – receipts  108 108 1417 592 2225
interest rate swaps – payments  29 36 1220 526 1811
  79 72 197 66 414
foreign exchange forward contracts  574   04 578
total gross settled  495 72 197 62 164
net settled     
interest rate swaps  08 09 11 01 05
total derivative fi nancial instruments  503 63 208 63 169
borrowings  937 785 5082 2113 8917
other fi nancial liabilities note 28  8310    8310
finance leases note 24d  27 27 76 236 366
total fi nancial instruments  9777 749 4950 2286 17762 114
notes to the financial statements
25 financial instruments continued
g interest rate sensitivity analysis
the sensitivity analyses below have been determined based on the exposure to interest rates for both derivatives and nonderivative fi nancial instruments at the 
balance sheet date for fl oating rate liabilities the analysis is prepared assuming that the amount of liability outstanding at the balance sheet date was outstanding 
for the whole year a 10 increase or decrease is used when reporting interest rate risk internally to key management personnel if interest rates had been 10 
higher  lower and all other variables were held constant the group’s
●
   profit before taxation for the year ended 31 december 2011 would have decreased  increased by £21m 2010 increased  decreased by £02m including 
£07m 2010 £1m of movement on interest rate swaps with options
●
   net equity would have increased  decreased by £06m 2010 increased  decreased by £02m mainly because of the changes in the fair value of 
interest rate derivatives
the group’s sensitivity to interest rates has decreased during the current period mainly due to the increase in the nominal value of interest rate derivatives
h the company
on 15th october 2010 as part of financing arrangements in relation to the proposed reorganisation and integration of the group’s plumbing and heating businesses 
the company agreed to pay amounts equal to a proportion of future us receipts under certain cross currency interest rate swaps to a subsidiary as part of a 
contribution agreement entered into with it and a further subsidiary of the company the maximum amounts payable under the contribution agreement would have 
been us273m this transaction resulted in the derecognition of the fair value of these future us receipts from the balance sheet of the company 
on 8th december 2011 it was agreed by all relevant parties to terminate this contribution agreement early as a result of this early termination the company has 
made a payment to its subsidiary of £1682m in full and final settlement of the contribution agreement 
as a result of this early termination the company has rerecognised the fair value of the us amounts receivable on the 273m cross currency interest rate 
swaps in its balance sheet from the date of termination and has designated the swaps as a fair value hedge of the relevant proportion of the company’s us private 
placement debt
also on 8 december 2011 the company agreed with another of its subsidiaries to redenominate an investment by the company in us preference shares with a 
value of 273m to their sterling equivalent as well as this redenomination the preference shares were converted to ordinary shares ranking equally with its existing 
investment in the ordinary shares of the subsidiary up to the date of redenomination and conversion the company received accrued preference dividends of £92m 
and made a retranslation loss of £06m both of which have been recognised in the company’s income statement
26 provisions
 the group 
 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
 property insurance  other total
 £m £m £m £m
at 1 january 2010  583 288 22 893
arising on acquisition 51 20  71
additional provision in the year 02 26 08 36
exceptional provision release 21   21
utilisation of provision 80 19  99
unwinding of discount 28   28
at 31 december 2010 563 315 30 908
additional provision in the year 18 88  106
utilisation of provision 104 48 01 153
unwinding of discount 30   30
at 31 december 2011 507 355 29 891
    
included in current liabilities 218 355 29 602
included in noncurrent liabilities 289   289
 507 355 29 891
the group has a number of vacant and partly sublet leasehold properties where necessary provision has been made for the residual lease commitments after 
taking into account existing and anticipated subtenant arrangements  financial statements
tra vis perkins annual repor t and accounts 2011
115
26 provisions continued
it is group policy to substantially self insure itself against claims arising in respect of damage to assets or due to employers or public liability claims the nature of 
insurance claims means they may take some time to be settled the insurance claims provision represents management’s best estimate based upon external advice 
of the value of outstanding insurance claims where the final settlement date is uncertain the following table details the group’s liquidity analysis of its provisions 
the table has been drawn up based on the undiscounted net cash outflows
  01 year 12 years 25 years 5 years total
2011  £m £m £m £m £m
property  161 75 154 214 604
insurance  355    355
other  29    29
  545 75 154 214 988
     
2010     
property  170 87 181 285 723
insurance  315    315
other  30    30
  515 87 181 285 1068
the company has no provisions
27  deferred tax
the following are the major deferred tax liabilities and assets recognised by the group and movements thereon during the current and prior reporting periods
 the group
 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
  at 1 jan aquired recognised recognised  at 31 dec recognised recognised at 31 dec
  2010 in year  in income  in equity  2010 in income in equity 2011
provided £m £m £m £m £m £m £m £m
capital allowances 116 03 47  66 04  62
revaluation 121 03  04 120  09 111
share based payments 38 01 18 59 116 07 42 81
provisions 107 01 11  119 05  114
derivatives 46 06  21 19  07 12
business combinations 127 54 14  167 23  144
brand 455 645 16  1084 106  978
pension scheme surplus   39 47 86 29 66 49
pension scheme liability 120 164 120  164 11 10 163
deferred tax 508 539 53 05 1105 95 36 974
at the balance sheet date the group had unused capital losses of £560m 2010 £593m available for offset against future capital profi ts no deferred tax asset 
has been recognised because it is not probable that future taxable profi ts will be available against which the group can utilise the losses
other than disclosed above no deferred tax assets and liabilities have been offset 
 the company
 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
 at 1 jan recognised recognised  at 31 dec recognised recognised at 31 dec
  2010 in equity in income 2010 in income in equity 2011
provided £m £m £m £m £m £m £m
share based payments 38 59 18 115 07 41 81
derivatives 46 21  25  13 12
provisions 06  01 07 01  06
 90 38 19 147 06 54 99 116
notes to the financial statements
28 other financial liabilities
 the group the company
 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
 2011 2010 2011 2010
 £m £m £m £m
trade payables 7407 6847  
other taxation and social security 762 501  
other payables 1320 1509 190 267
accruals and deferred income 1394 1188  
trade and other payables 10883 10045 190 267
the group 
trade and other payables principally comprise amounts outstanding for trade purchases and ongoing costs the average credit period taken for trade purchases is 57 
days 2010 55 days the directors consider that the carrying amount of trade payables approximates to their fair value the group has fi nancial risk management 
policies in place to ensure that all payables are paid within the credit timeframe
the company
trade and other payables principally comprise amounts outstanding for trade purchases and ongoing costs the average credit period taken for trade purchases is 
30 days 2010 30 days the directors consider that the carrying amount of trade payables approximates to their fair value
29 disposal of businesses
on the 2 september 2011 the group disposed of its interest in the buck and hickman business shown below are the assets and liabilities disposed of and 
the resulting loss on disposal
    
   2011
assets and liabilities   £m
property plant and equipment    29
identifi able intangible assets    103
inventories    120
trade and other receivables    238
trade and other payables    214
net assets    276
loss on disposal    07
total consideration    269
satisfied by cash    269
30 acquisition of businesses
a the bss group plc 
on the 14 december 2010 the group acquired the entire issued share capital of the bss group plc the acquisition was accounted for using the purchase method 
of accounting the acquisition has created the leading plumbing and heating distribution business in the uk provisional fair values ascribed to identifi able assets as 
at 31 december 2010 have been adjusted during 2011 and the fi nal fair values acquired are shown in the table on page 117 the 2010 balance sheet has been 
amended to show the fi nal fair values acquired financial statements
tra vis perkins annual repor t and accounts 2011
117
30 acquisition of businesses continued
  2011
    fair value acquired
net assets acquired   £m
property plant and equipment    376
identifi able intangible assets    2577
derivative fi nancial instruments    149
investments    01
inventories    1994
trade and other receivables    3117
retirement benefi t obligations    596
trade and other payables    2463
provisions    71
deferred tax liabilities    539
current tax liabilities    06
bank overdrafts and loans    1746
    2793
goodwill    3450
amount payable    6243
satisfi ed by    
cash    2945
equity instruments closing price on 14 december 2010    3298
    6243
fair value adjustments
the directors have fi nalised the fair value exercise in respect of assets and liabilities of the bss group plc as the exercise is now complete further adjustments 
have been made to the 2010 opening balance sheet in respect of the acquisition accounting there are no impacts on the balance sheet at 31 december 2009
b t oolstation limited
on the 3 january 2012 the group acquired the remaining 70 of the issued share capital of toolstation limited for further consideration of £24m the group had 
previously acquired 30 in april 2008 which included an option to buy the remaining 70 the aggregate consideration following the payment on 3 january is 
now £41m future consideration dependent upon future performance and expansion of the business over the period to december 2013 is estimated to be £753m 
toolstation net liabilities including the £278m loan repayable to travis perkins plc were £289m at 31 december 2011 the net liabilities quoted are provisional as 
the fair value exercise has not been started due to the proximity of the acquisition to the 21 february 2012 it will be completed by the end of the year
31 operating lease arrangements
the group leases a number of trading properties under operating leases the leases at inception are typically 25 years in duration although some have lessee only 
break clauses of between 10 and 15 years lease payments are reviewed every fi ve years and increases applied in line with market rates the group also leases 
certain items of plant and equipment the company has no operating lease arrangements
a the group as lessee
   2011 2010
   £m £m
minimum lease payments under operating leases recognised in income for the year   1760 1434
at the balance sheet date the group had outstanding commitments for future minimum lease payments under noncancellable operating leases which fall due as 
follows
   2011 2010
   £m £m
within one year   1733 1674
in the second to fi fth years inclusive   5999 5767
after fi ve years   11944 11539
   19676 18980 118
notes to the financial statements
31 operating lease arrangements continued
b the group as lessor
the group sublets a number of extrading properties to third parties property rental income earned during the year in respect of these properties was £41m 2010 
£40m
at the balance sheet date the group had contracts with tenants for the following future minimum lease payments
   2011 2010
   £m £m
within one year   36 36
in the second to fi fth years inclusive   126 111
after fi ve years   173 141
   335 288
32 capital commitments
 the group the company
 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
 2011 2010 2011 2010
 £m £m £m £m
contracted for but not provided in the accounts 156 161  
33 related party transactions
the group has a related party relationship with its subsidiaries and with its directors transactions between group companies which are related parties have 
been eliminated on consolidation and are not disclosed in this note transactions between the company and its subsidiaries are disclosed below in addition the 
remuneration and the details of interests in the share capital of the company of the directors are provided in the audited part of the remuneration report on pages 
56 to 66
the remuneration of the key management personnel of the group is set out below in aggregate for each of the categories specified in ias 24 related party 
disclosures
   2011 2010
   £m £m
short term employee benefi ts   73 80
share based payments   49 30
   122 110
the company undertakes the following transactions with its active subsidiaries
●
 providing daytoday funding from its uk banking facilities
●
 paying interest to members of the group totalling £64m 2010 £35m
●
 levying an annual management charge to cover services provided to members of the group of £69m 2010 £69m
●
 receiving preference dividends totalling £92m 2010 £21m
●
 receiving annual dividends totalling £791m 2010 £403m
details of balances outstanding with subsidiary companies are shown in note 19 and on the balance sheet on page 77
there have been no material related party transactions with directors
details of transactions with toolstation are shown in note 18 the group advanced a total of £23m to all the group’s associate companies in 2011 operating 
transactions with all three associates during the year were not significant  financial statements
tra vis perkins annual repor t and accounts 2011
119
34 net debt reconciliation
 the group the company
 ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
 2011 2010 2011 2010
 £m £m £m £m
net debt at 1 january 7736 4672 7496 4779
increase  decrease in cash and cash equivalents 277 2963 121 3025
net debt arising on acquisition  1746  
cash fl ows from debt 1538 1676 900 343
decrease  increase in fair value of debt 10 31 60 21
fair value of bss loan notes repaid 124   
finance charges netted off bank debt 31 57 31 50
amortisation of swap cancellation receipt 11 10 11 36
discount unwind on pension spv 25 15  
net debt at 31 december 5832 7736 6677 7496
35 gearing  the group
  –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
   2011 2010
   £m £m
net debt under ifrs   5832 7736
ias 17 fi nance leases   203 219
unamortised swap cancellation receipt   40 51
pension spv   372 
fair value on debt acquired    124
fair value adjustment to debt   366 374
finance charges netted off bank debt   15 46
net debt under covenant calculations   4866 7014
total equity   21078 19518
gearing   231 360
36 free cash flow  the group
  –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
   2011 2010
   £m £m
net debt at 1 january   7736 4672
net debt at 31 december   5832 7736
decrease  increase in net debt   1904 3064
dividends paid   388 101
net cash outfl ow for expansion capital expenditure   544 290
net cash outfl ow for acquisitions   99 2949
disposal of business   269 
bank fees paid   61 
amortisation of swap cancellation receipt   11 09
discount unwind on spv   25 15
cash impact of exceptional items   178 76
interest in associate   23 125
shares issued and sale of own shares   106 03
decrease in fair value of debt   133 31
movement in fi nance charges netted off bank debt   31 57
net debt arising on bss on acquisition    1746
special pension contributions   201 526
free cash flow    2935 2778 120
notes to the financial statements
adjusted ratio of net debt to earnings before interest tax and depreciation ‘ebitda’ is derived as follows
  the group
  –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
   2011 2010
   £m £m
profi t before tax   2696 1968
net fi nance costs   209 230
depreciation and amortisation   767 577
ebitda under ifrs   3672 2775
exceptional operating items   98 190
bss 2010 preacquisition ebitda    713
ifrs adjustments not included in covenant calculations    27 26
adjusted ebitda under covenant calculations   3743 3652
net debt under covenant calculations   4866 7014
adjusted net debt to ebitda   13x 19x
38 adjusted return on equity and adjusted return on capital
adjusted return on equity 
  the group
  ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
   2011 2010
   £m £m
profi t before tax   2696 1968
amortisation of intangible assets   129 02
exceptional items   142 197
bss post acquisition loss before tax    28
adjusted profi t before tax   2967 2195
opening equity   19518 14604
net pension defi cit   201 310
goodwill written off   927 927
opening net assets   20646 15841
closing equity   21078 19518
bss post acquisition loss after tax    28
shares issued in respect of the bss acquisition    3292
net pension defi cit  surplus   343 231
goodwill written off   927 927
closing net assets   22348 16950
average net assets   21497 16400
adjusted return on equity   138 134
37 adjusted ratio of net debt to earnings before interest tax and depreciation financial statements
tra vis perkins annual repor t and accounts 2011
121
adjusted return on capital
  the group
  ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
   2011 2010
   £m £m
operating profi t   2905 2198
amortisation of intangible assets   129 02
exceptional items   98 190
bss post acquisition operating losses excluding exceptional items     26
adjusted operating profi t   3132 2416
opening net assets   19518 14604
net pension defi cit   201 310
goodwill written off   927 927
net borrowings    7736 4672
exchange adjustment   522 405
opening capital employed   27860 20108
closing net assets   21078 19518
bss post acquisition loss before tax    28
shares issued in respect of the bss acquisition    3292
net pension defi cit  surplus   343 231
goodwill written off   927 927
net borrowings    5832 7736
borrowings arising from the bss acquisition    4693
exchange adjustment   366 374
closing capital employed   27814 19619
average capital employed   27837 19864
adjusted return on capital   113 122
 2010 was adjusted only for the surplus in the travis perkins defi ned benefi t scheme 
38 adjusted return on equity and adjusted return on capital continued 122
five y ear record
consolidated income statement  2011 2010 2009 2008 2007
  £m £m £m £m £m
revenue  47791 31528 29309 31786 31867
operating profi t before amortisation and exceptional items  3132 2390 2246 2715 3199
amortisation  129 02   
exceptional items  98 190 327 562 
operating profi t  2905 2198 2573 2153 3199
net fi nance costs  209 230 446 690 585
profi t before tax  2696 1968 2127 1463 2614
income tax expense  572 555 553 444 761
net profi t  2124 1413 1574 1019 1853
adjusted return on capital   113 122 109 129 159
adjusted return on equity   138 134 131 176 236
basic earnings per share  903p 696p 884p 686p 1208p
adjusted earnings per share  931p 772p 752p 969p 1181p
dividend declared per ordinary share pence  200p 150p  145p 449p
branches at 31 december no  1868 1813 1238 1223 1125
average number of employees no  21423 15792 14528 15414 14580
basic and adjusted earnings per share for 2007 and 2008 have been restated for the impact of the rights issue
consolidated cash fl ow statement  2011 2010 2009 2008 2007
  £m £m £m £m £m
cash generated from operations  3451 2823 3198 3376 3039
net interest paid  235 160 290 630 725
swap cancellation receipt  payment   137 287  
income taxes paid  263 424 273 660 745
net purchases of investments property and plant  942 354 78 824 1189
interest in associates  23 125 129 207 
disposal of businesses  269    
acquisition of businesses net of cash acquired  99 2949 10 225 472
proceeds from issuance of share capital  106 03 3003 06 68
dividends paid  388 101  525 481
bank facility fi nance charges  61   147 
own shares acquired      760
payment of fi nance lease liabilities  16 13 15 21 19
repayment of unsecured loan notes   06 01 115 02
pension spv   347   
decrease  increase in bank loans  1522 2141 1600 337 986
net increase  decrease in cash and cash equivalents  277 2963 3518 309 300
net debt at 1 january  7736 4672 10174 9410 8044
non cash adjustment  89 31 368 928 24
loan notes issued      77
cash fl ow from debt and debt acquired   1538 70 1616 473 965
net debt at 31 december  5832 7736 4672 10174 9410
free cash flow  2935 2778 2944 1853 1578 financial statements
tra vis perkins annual repor t and accounts 2011
123
consolidated balance sheet 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007
  £m £m £m £m £m
assets     
noncurrent assets     
property plant and equipment 5626 5271 4990 5345 5050
goodwill and other intangible assets 20951 21097 15153 15139 14922
derivative fi nancial instruments 403 570 447 803 30
interest in associates 513 457 317 196 
retirement benefi t assets 193 317   
investment property and other investments 19 19 48 54 55
deferred tax asset   120 195 45
current assets     
inventories 5960 5714 3127 3219 3302
trade and other receivables 7461 6872 3754 3886 4226
assets held for resale  23   
cash and cash equivalents 786 629 3472 77 263
total assets 41912 40969 31428 28914 27893
issued capital 244 242 209 123 123
share premium account 4808 4715 4712 1795 1789
merger reserve 3265 3259   
own shares 752 834 837 837 839
other reserves 157 144 92 60 271
accumulated profi ts 13356 11992 10428 9041 9025
total equity 21078 19518 14604 10182 10369
noncurrent liabilities     
interest bearing loans and borrowings 5982 7609 7391 10073 8639
derivative fi nancial instruments 59 42 61 258 298
retirement benefi t obligations 650 596 430 699 160
long term provisions 289 360 437 478 137
deferred tax liabilities 974 1105 628 747 753
current liabilities      
interest bearing loans and borrowings 636 756 753 178 1034
derivative fi nancial instruments  25   
trade and other payables 10883 10045 6387 5822 5850
tax liabilities 759 365 281 91 323
shortterm provisions 602 548 456 386 330
total liabilities 20834 21451 16824 18732 17524
total equity and liabilities 41912 40969 31428 28914 27893 124
notice is hereby given that the fortyeighth 
annual general meeting of travis perkins plc will 
be held at northampton rugby football club 
franklin’s gardens weedon road northampton 
nn5 5bg on tuesday 22 may 2012 at 1145 am
the resolutions
resolutions 1 to 16 inclusive will be proposed 
as ordinary resolutions resolutions 17 to 19 
inclusive will be proposed as special resolutions
1 to receive the company’s annual accounts 
for the financial year ended 31 december 
2011 together with the directors’ report 
the directors’ remuneration report and 
the auditors’ report on those accounts 
and on the auditable part of the directors’ 
remuneration report
2 to declare a final dividend for the financial 
year ended 31 december 2011 of 135 
pence per ordinary share payable to 
shareholders on the register at the close of 
business on 4 may 2012
3 to appoint ruth anderson as a 
nonexecutive director of the company 
biographical details of ruth anderson appear 
on page 47
4 to reappoint robert walker as a director of 
the company biographical details of robert 
walker appear on page 46
5 to reappoint chris bunker as a 
nonexecutive director of the company 
biographical details of chris bunker appear 
on page 47
6 to reappoint john coleman as a 
nonexecutive director of the company 
biographical details of john coleman appear 
on page 47
7 to reappoint philip jansen as a 
nonexecutive director of the company 
biographical details of philip jansen appear 
on page 47
8 to reappoint andrew simon as a 
nonexecutive director of the company 
biographical details of andrew simon appear 
on page 47
9 to reappoint geoff cooper as a director of 
the company biographical details of geoff 
cooper appear on page 46
10 to reappoint paul hampden smith as a 
director of the company biographical details 
of paul hampden smith appear on page 46
11 to reappoint john carter as a director of 
the company biographical details of john 
carter appear on page 46
12 to reappoint deloitte llp  chartered 
accountants as auditors of the company 
to hold office from the conclusion of this 
meeting until the conclusion of the next 
general meeting of the company at which 
accounts are laid
13 to authorise the directors to fix the 
remuneration of deloitte llp 
14 that the directors’ remuneration report for 
the financial year ended 31 december 2011 
set out on pages 56 to 66 be approved
15 that the rules of the travis perkins 
sharesave scheme 2012 the ‘scheme’ 
produced in draft to this meeting and for the 
purposes of identification initialled by the 
chairman be approved and the directors be 
authorised to 
a make such modifications to the scheme 
as they may consider appropriate to take 
account of the requirements of hmrc and 
for the implementation of the scheme 
and to adopt the scheme as so modified 
and to do all such other acts and things 
as they may consider appropriate to 
implement the scheme and 
b establish further schemes based on the 
scheme but modified to take account of 
local tax exchange control or securities 
laws in overseas territories provided that 
any shares made available under such 
further schemes are treated as counting 
against the limits on individual or overall 
participation in the scheme
16 that in substitution for all existing 
authorities the directors be generally and 
unconditionally authorised in accordance with 
section 551 of the companies act 2006 to 
exercise all the powers of the company to 
allot
a shares as defined in section 540 of the 
companies act 2006 or grant rights to 
subscribe for or to convert any security 
into shares up to an aggregate nominal 
amount of £8132018 and
b equity securities as such phrase is 
to be interpreted in accordance with 
section 560 of the companies act 2006 
up to an aggregate nominal amount 
of £16264037 such amount to be 
reduced by the aggregate nominal 
amount of shares allotted or rights to 
subscribe for or to convert any security 
into shares in the company granted 
under paragraph a of this resolution 16 
in connection with an offer by way of a 
rights issue
i to ordinary shareholders in proportion 
as nearly as may be practicable to 
their existing holdings and
ii to holders of other equity securities 
as defined in section 5601 of the 
companies act 2006 as required 
by the rights of those securities or 
subject to such rights as the directors 
otherwise consider necessary 
and so that the directors may 
impose any limits or restrictions and 
make any arrangements which they 
consider necessary or appropriate to 
deal with treasury shares fractional 
entitlements record dates legal 
regulatory or practical problems in or 
under the laws of any territory or any 
other matter 
such authorities to apply until the end of the 
company’s next annual general meeting 
after this resolution is passed or if earlier 
until the close of business on 30 june 2013 
but in each case so that the company 
may make offers and enter into agreements 
before the authority expires which would or 
notice of annual general meeting shareholder information
tra vis perkins annual repor t and accounts 2011
125
might require shares to be allotted or rights 
to subscribe for or to convert any security 
into shares to be granted after the authority 
expires and the directors may allot shares 
or grant such rights under any such offer 
or agreement as if the authority had not 
expired
17 that in substitution for all existing powers 
and subject to the passing of resolution 
16 the directors be generally empowered 
pursuant to section 570 of the companies 
act 2006 to allot equity securities as such 
phrase is to be interpreted in section 560 of 
the companies act 2006 for cash pursuant 
to the authority granted by resolution 16 
andor where the allotment constitutes an 
allotment of equity securities by virtue of 
section 5603 of the companies act 2006 
in each case free of the restriction in section 
561 of the companies act 2006 such power 
to be limited
a to the allotment of equity securities in 
connection with an offer of equity securities 
but in the case of an allotment pursuant 
to the authority granted by paragraph b of 
resolution 16 such power shall be limited 
to the allotment of equity securities in 
connection with an offer by way of a rights 
issue only
i to ordinary shareholders in proportion 
as nearly as may be practicable to 
their existing holdings and
 ii to holders of other equity securities 
as defined in section 5601 of the 
companies act 2006 as required 
by the rights of those securities or 
subject to such rights as the directors 
otherwise consider necessary and 
so that the directors may impose any 
limits or restrictions and make any 
arrangements which they consider 
necessary or appropriate to deal 
with treasury shares fractional 
entitlements record dates legal 
regulatory or practical problems in or 
under the laws of any territory or any 
other matter and
b to the allotment of equity securities pursuant 
to the authority granted by paragraph a 
of resolution 16 andor an allotment which 
constitutes an allotment of equity securities 
by virtue of section 5603 of the companies 
act 2006 in each case otherwise than in 
the circumstances set out in paragraph 
a of this resolution 17 up to a nominal 
amount of £1219802 calculated in the 
case of equity securities which are rights 
to subscribe for or to convert securities 
into ordinary shares as defined in section 
5601 of the companies act 2006 by 
reference to the aggregate nominal amount 
of relevant shares which may be allotted 
pursuant to such rights such power to 
apply until the end of the company’s next 
annual general meeting after this resolution 
is passed or if earlier until the close of 
business on 30 june 2013 but so that the 
company may make offers and enter into 
agreements before the power expires which 
would or might require equity securities to 
be allotted after the power expires and the 
directors may allot equity securities under 
any such offer or agreement as if the power 
had not expired
18 that a general meeting other than an annual 
general meeting may be called on not less 
than 14 clear days’ notice
19 that the company be and is hereby 
generally and unconditionally authorised 
to make one or more market purchases 
within the meaning of section 6934 of the 
companies act 2006 of ordinary shares of 
10 pence each in the capital of the company 
‘ordinary shares’ provided that
a the maximum aggregate number 
of ordinary shares authorised to be 
purchased is 24396055 representing 
10 of the issued share capital of the 
company as at 21 february 2012
b the minimum price exclusive of 
expenses which may be paid for an 
ordinary share is its nominal value of 10 
pence
c the maximum price exclusive of 
expenses which may be paid for an 
ordinary share is an amount equal to 
105 of the average of the middle 
market quotations for an ordinary share 
as derived from the london stock 
exchange daily official list for the five 
business days immediately preceding 
the day on which that ordinary share is 
purchased
d this authority expires at the conclusion of 
the next annual general meeting of the 
company or 30 june 2013 whichever is 
the earlier and
e the company may make a contract to 
purchase ordinary shares under this 
authority before the expiry of such 
authority which will or may be executed 
wholly or partly after the expiry of such 
authority and may make a purchase of 
ordinary shares pursuant to any such 
contract
by order of the board
andrew pike
company secretary
lodge way house harlestone road 
northampton nn5 7ug
21 february 2012
registered in england no 824821
directions to northampton rugby football club 
can be found on page 129 126
summary of principal terms of the 
travis perkins sharesave scheme 
2012 the ‘scheme’
operation
the operation of the scheme will be supervised 
by the board of directors of the company the 
‘board’ it will be approved by hm revenue 
 customs ‘hmrc’ in order to provide uk 
taxadvantaged options to uk employees 
eligibility
employees and fulltime directors of the 
company and any designated participating 
subsidiary who are uk resident taxpayers are 
eligible to participate the board may require 
employees to have completed a qualifying period 
of employment of up to five years before the 
grant of options the board may also allow other 
employees to participate 
grant of options
options can only be granted to employees who 
enter into hmrc approved savings contracts 
under which monthly savings are normally made 
over a period of three or five years options 
must be granted within 30 days or 42 days if 
applications are scaled back of the first day by 
reference to which the option price is set the 
number of shares over which an option is granted 
will be such that the total option price payable for 
those shares will correspond to the proceeds on 
maturity of the related savings contract 
an option may not be granted more than 10 
years after shareholder approval of the scheme 
options are not transferable except on death 
options are not pensionable
individual participation
monthly savings by an employee under all savings 
contracts linked to options granted under any 
sharesave scheme may not exceed the statutory 
maximum currently £250 the board may set a 
lower limit in relation to any particular grant
option price
the price per share payable upon the exercise of 
an option will not be less than the higher of i 80 
per cent of the average middlemarket quotation 
of a share on the london stock exchange on 
the three days preceding a date specified in an 
invitation to participate in the scheme or such 
other day or days as may be agreed with hmrc 
and ii if the option relates only to new issue 
shares the nominal value of a share
the option price will be determined by 
reference to dealing days which fall within six 
weeks of the announcement by the company 
of its results for any period or at any other time 
when the board considers there to be exceptional 
circumstances which justify offering options 
under the scheme 
exercise of options
options will normally be exercisable for a six 
month period from the third fifth or seventh 
anniversary of the commencement of the related 
savings contracts earlier exercise is permitted 
however in the following circumstances
● following cessation of employment by reason 
of death injury disability redundancy 
retirement on reaching age 60 or any other 
age at which the employee is bound to 
retire under his terms of employment or the 
business or company that the employee works 
for ceasing to be part of the company’s group
● when an employee reaches 60
● where employment ceases more than three 
years from grant for any reason other than 
dismissal for misconduct and 
● in the event of a takeover amalgamation 
reconstruction or windingup of the company 
except in the case of an internal corporate 
reorganisation when the board may decide to 
exchange existing options for equivalent new 
options over shares in a new holding company
except where stated above options will lapse on 
cessation of employment or directorship with the 
company’s group 
shares will be allotted or transferred to 
participants within 30 days of exercise 
overall scheme limits
the scheme may operate over new issue shares 
treasury shares or shares purchased in the 
market
in any ten calendar year period the company 
may not issue or grant rights to issue more 
than 10 per cent of the issued ordinary share 
capital of the company under the scheme and 
any other employee share scheme adopted by 
the company
treasury shares will count as new issue 
shares for the purposes of these limits unless 
the institutional investors decide that they need 
not count 
variation of capital
if there is a variation in the company’s share 
capital then the board may subject to hmrc 
approval make such adjustment as it considers 
appropriate to the number of shares under option 
and the option price 
rights attaching to shares
any shares allotted when an option is exercised 
under the scheme will rank equally with 
shares then in issue except for rights arising 
by reference to a record date prior to their 
allotment
alterations to the scheme
the board may amend the provisions of the 
scheme in any respect provided that the prior 
approval of shareholders is obtained for any 
amendments that are to the advantage of 
participants in respect of the rules governing 
eligibility limits on participation the overall limits 
on the issue of shares or the transfer of treasury 
shares the basis for determining a participant’s 
entitlement to and the terms of the shares to be 
acquired and the adjustment of options
the requirement to obtain the prior approval 
of shareholders will not however apply to 
any minor alteration made to benefit the 
administration of the scheme to take account of 
a change in legislation or to obtain or maintain 
favourable tax exchange control or regulatory 
treatment for participants or for any company in 
the company’s group 
overseas schemes
the shareholder resolution to approve the 
scheme will allow the board without further 
shareholder approval to establish further 
schemes for overseas territories any such 
scheme to be similar to the scheme but modified 
to take account of local tax exchange control or 
securities laws provided that any shares made 
available under such further schemes are treated 
as counting against the limits on individual and 
overall participation in the scheme
appendix to notice of annual general meeting shareholder information
tra vis perkins annual repor t and accounts 2011
127
1 a form of proxy is enclosed and instructions 
for its use are shown on the form the 
appointment of a proxy will not prevent a 
member from subsequently attending voting 
and speaking at the meeting in person in 
which case any votes of the proxy will be 
superseded
2  a member of the company is entitled to 
appoint a proxy to exercise all or any of his 
rights to attend speak and vote at a general 
meeting of the company a member may 
appoint more than one proxy provided that 
each proxy is appointed to exercise the rights 
attaching to different shares a proxy need not 
be a member 
3  to appoint more than one proxy an 
additional proxy forms may be obtained 
by contacting the registrars or you may 
photocopy the form please indicate in the box 
next to the proxy holder’s name the number of 
shares in relation to which they are authorised 
to act as your proxy please also indicate by 
ticking the box provided if the proxy instruction 
is one of multiple instructions being given all 
forms must be signed and should be returned 
together in the same envelope
4  the right to appoint a proxy under note 
1 and 2 above does not apply to persons 
whose shares are held on their behalf 
by another person and who have been 
nominated to receive communication from 
the company in accordance with section 
146 of the companies act 2006 ‘nominated 
persons’ nominated persons may have a 
right under an agreement with the registered 
shareholder who holds shares on their 
behalf to be appointed or to have someone 
else appointed as a proxy alternatively if 
nominated persons do not have such a right 
or do not wish to exercise it they may have 
a right under such an agreement to give 
instructions to the person holding the shares 
as to the exercise of voting rights 
5  to be effective the instrument appointing 
a proxy and any authority under which 
it is signed or a notarially certified copy 
of such authority for the annual general 
meeting to be held at northampton rugby 
notes to the notice of annual general meeting
football club franklins gardens weedon 
road northampton nn5 5bq at 1145 
am on tuesday 22 may 2012 and any 
adjournments thereof must be returned to 
capita registrars pxs 34 beckenham road 
beckenham kent br3 4tu by 1145 am on 
18 may 2012 alternatively you may submit 
your proxy form online by accessing the 
shareholder portal at wwwcapitaregistrars
com logging in and selecting the ‘proxy 
voting’ link if you have not previously 
registered for electronic communications 
you will first be asked to register as a new 
user for which you will require your investor 
code which can be found on the enclosed 
proxy form your share certificate or dividend 
tax voucher family name and post code if 
resident in the uk 
6  crest members who wish to appoint a proxy 
or proxies through the crest electronic proxy 
appointment service may do by using the 
procedures described in the crest manual 
crest personal members or other crest 
sponsored members and those crest 
members who have appointed a voting 
service providers should refer to their 
crest sponsors or voting service providers 
who will be able to take the appropriate 
action on their behalf
in order for a proxy appointment made 
by means of crest to be valid the 
appropriate crest message a ‘crest 
proxy instruction’ must be properly 
authenticated in accordance with euroclear 
uk  ireland limited’s specifications and 
must contain the information required 
for such instructions as described in the 
crest manual the message regardless of 
whether it constitutes the appointment of a 
proxy or an amendment to the instruction 
given to a previously appointed proxy must 
in order to be valid be transmitted so as 
to be received by the company’s agent id 
ra10 by the latest times for receipt of 
proxy appointments 1145 am on 18 may 
2012 for this purpose the time of receipt 
will be taken to be the time as determined 
by the timestamp applied to the message 
by the crest application host from which 
the company’s agent is able to retrieve the 
message by enquiry to crest in the manner 
prescribed by crest after this time any 
change of instructions to proxies appointed 
through crest should be communicated to 
the appointee through other means
crest members and where applicable 
their crest sponsors and voting service 
providers should note that euroclear uk  
ireland limited does not make available 
special procedures in crest for any particular 
messages normal system timings and 
limitations will therefore apply in relation 
to the input of crest proxy instructions it 
is the responsibility of the crest member 
concerned to take or if the crest member 
is a crest personal member or sponsored 
member or has appointed a voting service 
providers to procure that his crest sponsor 
or voting service providers takes such 
action as shall be necessary to ensure that 
a message is transmitted by means of the 
crest system by any particular time in this 
connection crest members and where 
applicable their crest sponsors or voting 
service providers are referred in particular 
to those sections of the crest manual 
concerning practical limitations of the crest 
system and timings the crest manual can 
be reviewed at wwweuroclearcomcrest
the company may treat as invalid a crest 
proxy instruction in the circumstances set out 
in regulation 355a of the uncertificated 
securities regulations 2001
in each case the proxy appointments must 
be received by the company not less than 48 
hours before the time appointed for holding 
the meeting or any adjournment thereof
7 only those members entered on the register 
of members of the company as at 600 pm 
on 18 may 2012 shall be entitled to attend or 
vote at the meeting in respect of the number 
of shares registered in their name at that 
time changes to entries on the register of 
members after that time shall be disregarded 
in determining the rights of any person to 
attend or vote at the meeting
8 reference to the register means the issuer 
register of members and the operator register 
of members maintained in accordance with 
regulation 20 of the uncertificated securities 
regulations 2001 128
12 the statement of the rights of members in 
relation to the appointment of proxies in 
paragraphs 1 to 6 above does not apply to a 
nominated person the rights described in 
these paragraphs can only be exercised by 
registered members of the company
13 any corporation which is a member 
can appoint one or more corporate 
representatives who may exercise on 
its behalf all of the same powers as the 
corporation could exercise if it were an 
individual member
14 under section 527 of the companies act 
2006 members meeting the threshold 
requirements set out in that section have the 
right to require the company to publish on a 
website a statement setting out any matter 
relating to i the audit of the company’s 
accounts including the auditor’s report and 
the conduct of the audit that are to be laid 
before the meeting or ii any circumstance 
connected with an auditor of the company 
ceasing to hold office since the previous 
meeting at which annual accounts and 
reports were laid in accordance with section 
437 of the companies act 2006 the 
company may not require the shareholders 
requesting any such website publication to 
pay its expenses in complying with sections 
527 or 528 of the companies act 2006 
where the company is required to place a 
statement on a website under section 527 of 
the companies act 2006 it must forward the 
statement to the company’s auditor not later 
than the time when it makes the statement 
available on the website the business 
which may be dealt with at the meeting 
includes any statement that the company 
has been required under section 527 of the 
companies act 2006 to publish on a website
15 under section 338 and section 338a of the 
companies act 2006 members meeting the 
threshold requirements in those sections 
have the right to require the company i to 
give to members of the company entitled 
to receive notice of the meeting notice of a 
resolution which may properly be moved and 
is intended to be moved at the meeting and
9  the following documents will be available 
for inspection at the registered office of 
the company during usual business hours 
on any weekday saturdays sundays and 
public holidays excluded from the date of 
this notice to the date of the meeting and 
at northampton rugby football club from 
1115 am on the day of the meeting until the 
conclusion of the meeting 
● copies of contracts of service of directors 
and non–executive directors’ letters of 
appointment with the company or with 
any of its subsidiary companies 
● the register of directors’ interests kept by 
the company
● a copy of the company’s articles of 
association
● a statement giving particulars of directors’ 
relevant transactions
● a copy of the draft rules of the travis 
perkins sharesave scheme 2012 copies 
will also be available for inspection at 
the offices of new bridge street 10 
devonshire square london ec2m 4yp 
during usual business hours on any 
weekday saturdays and english public 
holidays excepted from the date of this 
notice until the conclusion of the meeting
10 at 21 february 2012 being the latest 
practicable date before publication of this 
notice the issued share capital of the 
company consisted of 243960557 ordinary 
shares carrying one vote each therefore 
the total voting rights in the company as at 
21 february 2012 was 243960557
11 a person to whom this notice is sent who is 
a person nominated under section 146 of 
the companies act 2006 to enjoy information 
rights a ‘nominated person’ may under 
an agreement between himher and the 
shareholder by whom heshe was nominated 
have a right to be appointed or to have 
someone else appointed as a proxy for the 
meeting if a nominated person has no such 
proxy appointment right or does not wish 
to exercise it heshe may under any such 
agreement have a right to give instructions 
to the shareholder as to the exercise of 
voting rights
or ii to include in the business to be dealt 
with at the meeting any matter other than a 
proposed resolution which may be properly 
included in the business a resolution may 
properly be moved or a matter may properly 
be included in the business unless a in 
the case of a resolution only it would if 
passed be ineffective whether by reason 
of inconsistency with any enactment or the 
company’s constitution or otherwise b it is 
defamatory of any person or c it is frivolous 
or vexatious such a request may be in hard 
copy form or in electronic form must identify 
the resolution of which notice is to be given 
or the matter to be included in the business 
must be authorised by the person or persons 
making it must be received by the company 
not later than 9 april 2012 being the date 
six clear weeks before the meeting and in 
the case of a matter to be included in the 
business only must be accompanied by a 
statement setting out the grounds for the 
request
16 shareholders and their proxies will have the 
opportunity to ask questions at the meeting 
when invited by the chairman if you wish to 
ask a question please wait for a company 
representative to bring you a microphone it 
would be helpful if you could state your name 
before you ask your question questions 
may not be answered at the meeting if they 
are deemed not to be in the interests of the 
company or the good order of the meeting 
would interfere unduly with the preparation 
for the meeting or involve the disclosure of 
confidential information or if the answer 
has already been given on a website the 
chairman may also nominate a company 
representative to answer a specific question 
after the meeting or refer the response to the 
company’s website
17 a copy of this notice and other information 
required by section 311a of the companies 
act 2006 can be found in the investor 
centre at wwwtravisperkinsplccom
notes to the notice of annual general meeting shareholder information
tra vis perkins annual repor t and accounts 2011
129
directions
from the south via the m1
exit off motorway at junction 15a and follow the 
signs towards sixfields at roundabout with tgi 
fridays on the right and a bp petrol station on 
the left carry straight on up the hill at cineworld 
roundabout turn right towards the town centre 
go straight over the next roundabout sainsbury’s 
is on the left before the roundabout and wickes 
on the right after the roundabout and set of 
traffic lights continue on that road weedon 
road the entrance to the saints is on the right 
immediately after beacon bingo follow signs for 
vip car park off weedon road
from the north via the m1
exit off motorway at junction 16 and follow the 
a45 to northampton at cineworld roundabout 
continue straight on and follow directions from 
the south
from the east peterborough cambridge 
wellingborough
follow a45 to m1 junction 15 head north 
to junction 15a then follow directions from 
the south
from welford market harborough
aim towards the kingsthorpe area of 
northampton turn right at the major set of 
traffic lights the cock hotel is on the corner 
signposted sixfields continue on this road until 
you get to cineworld roundabout approx 3 miles 
then continue as from the south
from the railway station
turn right out of the station continue past 
thomas a becket pub church and co factory 
and bus station at fork in road bear left and 
franklin’s gardens is on your left walk takes 
approx 15 minutes
nearest airports
london luton and nottingham east midlands
further information
for detailed directions you might want to try the 
following websites
multimap wwwmultimapcom
the aa wwwtheaacom
the rac wwwraccouk
for further details about the venue
wwwnorthamptonsaintscouk
directions to the annual general meeting 
the travis perkins annual general meeting is to be held in the captains lounge and the rodber suite 
northampton rugby football club franklin’s gardens weedon road northampton nn5 5bg
parking is directly outside in the vip car park follow vip car park signs off weedon road 130
shareholder enquiries
shareholder enquiries should be directed to the 
company secretary at the company’s registered 
office
lodge way house lodge way harlestone 
road northampton nn5 7ug 
telephone 01604 752424 
email cosectravisperkinscouk 
or to the company’s registrars 
capita registrars 
the registry 34 beckenham road 
beckenham kent br3 4tu 
telephone 0871 664 0300 – calls cost 10p 
per minute plus network extras lines are open 
830am to 530pm monday – friday
email ssdcapitaregistrarscom
should your query relate to a pensions matter 
please email pensionstravisperkinscouk or if 
your query relates to a marketing matter please 
email marketingtravisperkinscouk
financial diary
announcement of 2011 
annual results 22 february 2012
exdividend date 2 may 2012
record date 4 may 2012
annual general meeting 22 may 2012
payment of final dividend 31 may 2012
announcement of 2012 
interim results july 2012
announcement of 2012 
annual results february 2013
annual general meeting – 
catering arrangements
it has always been the company’s custom 
to provide a light luncheon for shareholders 
following the agm and a buffet luncheon will be 
available you need not notify the company in 
advance if you would like lunch
internet
there are sites on the internet that carry a range 
of information about the group and its principal 
brands products and services at the following 
addresses 
wwwccfltdcouk  
www4tradeproductscouk 
wwwbenchmarxkitchenscouk
wwwbenchmarxshowroomcouk end user site
wwwbirchwoodpricetoolscom
wwwbmpublicsectorcouk
wwwbssgroupcom
wwwbssindustrialcouk
wwwbuytilescouk
wwwcityheatingsparescouk
wwwcityplumbingcouk
wwwdefenderpowercom
wwwdhssparescouk
wwwfponlineorderingcouk
wwwfpwholesalecouk
wwwfressshbathroomscouk
wwwhavelockcontrolscouk
wwwhiretravisperkinscoukhire  
wwwiflocouk
wwwinsulationgiantcouk – going live in march 
wwwkeylinecouk 
wwwkeylinecoukhire
wwwmisparescom 
wwwmywickescardcouk
wwwpremiumstonecouk
wwwproheatcouk 
wwwptsonlineorderingcouk
wwwptsplumbingcouk
wwwptsrenewablescouk
wwwscruffscom
wwwselfbuildgroupcouk 
wwwsoutherndarwentcouk 
wwwsustainablebuildingsolutionscouk
wwwtilegiantcouk  
wwwtilehqcouk
wwwtilemagiccouk
wwwtimberdirectcouk
wwwtoolstationcouk
wwwtpcareerscouk
wwwtpmanagedservicescouk 
wwwtradematecouk  
wwwtravisperkinscouk
wwwtravisperkinsplccom investor relations site
wwwvanvaultcouk
wwwwickescouk
wwwwickescareerscouk
wwwwickeskitchenscouk
 these sites allow credit account holders 
to order online through trademate with 
the exception of the wickes tile giant and 
toolstation sites which allow online ordering by 
secure card transaction 
most of the sites provide information about 
branch locations and allow access to prices and 
the product range available customers are also 
able to construct their own price quotation that 
includes any special price arrangements that 
have been negotiated with the group
electronic communication
in accordance with the companies act 2006 
and the company’s articles of association the 
company is allowed to use its website to publish 
statutory documents and communications to 
shareholders such as the annual report and 
accounts and the notice of the agm you can 
therefore view or download a copy of the annual 
report and accounts and the notice of the agm 
by going to our website at wwwtravisperkinsplc
com see section called ‘investor centre’ if 
you received a hard copy of this report in the 
post then you will not have consented to this 
method of publication should you now wish to 
consent to this method of publication you should 
contact capita registrars freepost rlyxgztu
krrg sas the registry 34 beckenham road 
beckenham br3 9za by reducing the number 
of communications sent by post it will not 
only result in cost savings to the company but 
also reduce the impact that the unnecessary 
printing and distribution of reports has on the 
environment please note that if you consent 
to website publication you will continue to be 
notified each time that the company places a 
statutory communication on the website this 
notification will be sent to you by post however 
you may also choose to receive notifications by 
email and we would encourage you to do so if 
you wish to receive these notifications by email 
you should register at wwwcapitashareportal
com and follow the instructions see registrar’s 
online service below
please telephone capita registrars on 
0871 664 0391 within the uk calls cost 10p 
per minute plus network extras lines are open 
900am to 530pm monday – friday or 44 20 
8639 3367 nonuk if you have any queries
notes
1 before consenting to receive documents and 
communications via the website shareholders 
should ensure that they have a computer with 
internet access and the adobe acrobat reader 
facility the adobe acrobat reader software may 
be obtained via the website free of charge
other shareholder information shareholder information
tra vis perkins annual repor t and accounts 2011
131
2 if you elect to receive notifications of 
the publication of the documents and 
communications on the website electronically 
it will be your responsibility to notify our 
registrars capita of any subsequent change 
in your email address or other contact 
details
3 if you are not resident in the united 
kingdom it is your responsibility to ensure 
that you may validly receive documents and 
communications electronically either generally 
or in relation to any particular document or 
communication without the company being 
required to comply with any governmental 
or regulatory procedures or any similar 
formalities the company may deny electronic 
access to documents and communications 
relating to certain corporate actions in respect 
of those shareholders who it believes are 
resident in jurisdictions where it is advised 
that to provide such access would or may be a 
breach of any legal or regulatory requirements
4 the company’s obligation to provide 
shareholder documents to you is satisfied 
when it transmits an electronic message the 
company is not responsible for any failure in 
transmission for reasons beyond its control 
any more than it is for postal failures in the 
event of the company becoming aware that 
an electronic communication to you has not 
been successfully transmitted a further two 
attempts will be made if the transmission is 
still unsuccessful a hard copy of the relevant 
notification will be posted to your registered 
address
5 your registration to receive electronic 
communications and your relevant contact 
address details will stand until such time as 
the company receives alternative instructions 
from you by email or in writing
6 the company takes all reasonable precautions 
to ensure no computer viruses are present 
in any electronic communication it transmits 
but the company shall not be responsible for 
any loss or damage arising from the opening 
or use of any email or attachments sent by 
the company or on its behalf the company 
recommends that shareholders subject 
all messages to computer virus checking 
procedures any electronic communication 
received by or on behalf of the company 
including the lodgement of an electronic proxy 
form that is found to contain any computer 
virus will not be accepted
7 the company reserves the right irrespective 
of your election to revert to sending hard copy 
documentation by post whenever it considers 
it necessary or desirable to do so
 
capita registrars
the company’s registrars capita registrars 
‘capita’ provide a number of services that as a 
shareholder might be useful to you
registrar’s online service
by logging onto wwwcapitashareportalcom and 
following the prompts shareholders can view 
and amend various details on their account 
please note that you will need to register to use 
this service for which purpose you will require 
your unique investor code which can be found 
on your share certificate proxy card or dividend 
tax voucher
dividend reinvestment plan ‘drip’
this is a scheme which allows you to use 
your dividends to buy further shares in travis 
perkins for any shareholders who wish to 
reinvest dividend payments in the company a 
facility is provided by capita irg trustees ltd in 
conjunction with capita registrars under this 
facility cash dividends are used to purchase 
additional shares shares are bought on the 
dividend payment date at the then current market 
price any cash left over which is insufficient to 
purchase a whole share will be carried forward 
and held without interest in a client money 
bank account any shareholder requiring further 
information should contact capita on 0871 
664 0381 calls cost 10p per minute plus any 
network extras from within the uk lines are open 
from 900 am to 530 pm monday  friday if 
nonuk 44 0208 639 3402 fax 0208 639 
1023 email sharescapitaregistrarscom or 
visit wwwcapitaregistrarscom 
duplicate share register accounts
if you are receiving more than one copy of our 
report it may be that your shares are registered 
in two or more accounts on our register of 
members if that was not your intention you 
might consider merging them into one single 
entry please contact capita who will be pleased 
to carry out your instructions
overseas shareholders
capita are able to provide you with a service that 
will convert your sterling dividends into your local 
currency at a competitive rate you can choose to 
receive payment directly into your bank account 
or you can be sent a draft in your local currency 
further details are available from capita 
registrars freepost rlyxgztukrrg sas the 
registry 34 beckenham road beckenham kent 
br3 9za telephone uk 0871 664 0385 calls 
cost 10 pence per minute plus network extras 
lines are open to 900am to 530pm monday 
– friday or 44 208 639 3405 nonuk or by 
logging on to 
wwwcapitaregistrarscominternational
share dealing services
there are two share dealing services that you 
may wish to use to buy or sell shares in travis 
perkins but alternatively there are many other 
options that you could use
1 capita offers an online and telephone share 
dealing service which is available by logging 
on to wwwcapitadealcom or telephoning 
0871 664 0346 calls cost 10p per minute 
plus network extras lines are open 800am 
to 430pm monday – friday for the online 
service capita’s commission rates are 1 of 
the value of the deal minimum £20 maximum 
£75 and for the telephone service capita’s 
commission rates are 150 of the value of 
the deal minimum £25 maximum £10250 
2  stocktrade offer a telephone share dealing 
service which is available by telephoning 0845 
6010 995 nonuk 44131 240 0414 and 
quoting reference ‘low cost 335’ stocktrades 
commission will be 05 to £10000 and 
02 on the excess thereafter subject to 
minimum of £1750 please note that uk 
share purchases will be subject to 05 
stamp duty there will also be a ptm ‘panel 
for takeovers and mergers’ levy of £1 for 
single trades in excess of £10000 when 
buying shares you will be required to pay for 
your transaction at the time of the deal by 
debit card and you should ensure that you 
have sufficient cleared funds available in your 
debit card account to pay for the shares in full 132
warning regarding unsolicited calls and mail
we have been made aware that several of 
our shareholders have received unsolicited 
calls or mail regarding their shareholding in 
travis perkins and offering to buy shares at an 
attractive price typically these approaches come 
from overseas companies
such approaches are invariably ‘scams’ and 
usually the people involved will ask you to provide 
them with your bank details or send them money 
often referred to as a ‘bond’ and send them 
your share certificate no reputable company 
would behave in this way and so if you do 
receive an approach we would suggest that you 
ignore it or treat it with caution – if it sounds too 
good to be true it probably is further details of 
these so called ‘boiler room’ scams can be found 
on our website wwwtravisperkinsplccom
shareholder notes  this document is important and requires your immediate attention if you are in any doubt as to what action you should take you are recommended to seek your own ﬁ nancial 
advice from your stockbroker or other independent adviser authorised under the financial services and markets act 2000 if you have sold or transferred all of your shares in 
travis perkins plc please forward this document together with the accompanying documents as soon as possible either to the purchaser or transferee or to the person who 
arranged the sale or transfer so they can pass these documents to the person who now holds the shares
printed on
revive 50 silk a recycled paper containing 50 recycled waste and 50 virgin ﬁ bre and manufactured at a mill certiﬁ ed with iso 14001 environmental 
management standard the pulp used in this product is bleached using an elemental chlorine free process ecf and
tauro offset made from virgin wood ﬁ bre sourced mainly from sustainable forests in the ec it is bleached using a totally chlorine free tcf process 
this material can be disposed of by recycling or incineration for energy and composting
 designed by rwh design consultants photography by charles ward
printed by jones and palmer
general merchanting
travis perkins midlands 
and north west
travis perkins northern
travis perkins south east
travis perkins south west 
and wales
consumer
tile giant
toolstation
wickes
specialist merchanting
benchmarx
ccf
keyline
plumbing and 
heating
birchwood price tools
bss
city plumbing
dhs
fp wholesale
pts
spendlove c jebb
 travis perkins plc
tpcoverartworkindd   2 tpcoverartworkindd   2 10042012   1150 10042012   1150 adjust spine if necessary
 travis perkins plc lodge way house harlestone road northampton nn5 7ug t elephone 01604 752 424
wwwtravisperkinsplccom
 travis perkins plc  annual report and accounts 2011
 travis perkins plc
t r avis p erkins
the largest 
supplier of 
building 
materials 
in the uk
annual 
report and 
accounts
2011
 travis perkins plc
tpcoverartworkindd   1 tpcoverartworkindd   1 10042012   1150 10042012   1150


Summary:
 24
introduction
we aim to grow and develop the operating 
businesses that make travis perkins the largest 
and most economically rewarding provider of 
building material solutions to anybody in the 
uk wanting to construct maintain improve or 
repair the built environment we believe that 
this will ensure that we achieve our overall 
strategy of improving returns for the group’s 
shareholders the business model we deploy 
to execute this strategy is shown on the table 
on page 29
in 2011 the approach we have taken to 
meeting our aims has been to 
● increase our investment in colleague training 
and development
● improve our health and safety and 
environmental credentials
● make many small improvements throughout 
our organisation rather than putting all our 
efforts into large projects 
● successfully integrate bss into the group
● concentrate on maximising the benefits from 
existing initiatives
● maximise the purchasing and overhead 
synergies arising from the acquisition of bss
● target expansion in emerging channels 
by expanding our newest businesses and 
seeking opportunities to add new channels 
in areas that are complementary to our 
existing businesses
in developing our business it is important 
that we do not overlook the influence that our 
colleagues customers suppliers and other 
stakeholders can have on results for that 
reason it is an imperative that we strive to 
make our work environment a better place to 
do business
operationally we measure our success 
through a comprehensive ‘balanced scorecard’ 
of key performance indicators ‘kpi’ which are 
aligned to achieving our strategy
“proof that our inclusive culture 
works is evidenced by those 
employees who have been 
employed by the business for 
almost their entire working lives”
  2011 2010
likeforlike revenue growth – merchanting 94 76
likeforlike revenue growth – retail 13 09
likeforlike revenue growth – bss proforma 29 62
likeforlike revenue outperformance 50 35
employee retention 870 860
revenue from expansion  20 26
environment – see separate report on pages 38 to 42
health  safety – see separate report on pages 43 and 44
deputy chief executive’s review of the y ear
for the year ended 31 december 2011
john carter
deputy chief executive reports
tra vis perkins annual repor t and accounts 2011
25
people
engagement
building colleague engagement is of great 
importance to the success of our business 
because committed employees improve 
performance which has a positive rippledown 
effect on customers to monitor progress we 
regularly survey our colleagues to seek their 
opinions about what is working well and what 
prevents them from performing at their best 
and feeling connected
this year we sought feedback from all of the 
bss colleagues who joined the group late last 
year and were delighted when the engagement 
score matched the 60 registered by the rest 
of the group in mid 2010 however to ensure 
that we remain informed between groupwide 
surveys in 2011 we launched an online 
survey panel called voice box intended to test 
where we are on issues that might influence 
engagement all employees were invited to take 
part and within weeks 2700 had registered 
we also embrace a variety of twoway 
communication channels to maintain 
employee involvement and engagement in 
group activities these include open forums 
for employees to ask any questions about the 
business colleague liaison forums employee 
nominated special achievement awards and 
our popular quarterly magazine the bridge
proof that our inclusive culture works is 
evidenced by those employees who have been 
employed by the business for almost their 
entire working lives some employees have 
given 50 years’ continuous service whilst 
more than 80 have been with travis perkins’ 
companies for more than 40 years
training and development
the primary objectives for the business over 
the past two years have been to maximise sales 
opportunities protect margin and out perform 
the market to achieve those targets we needed 
a learning and development strategy that gave
● colleagues the confidence and expert 
product knowledge to offer the service and 
advice trade customers expect 
● managers the leadership skills and 
commercial acumen to motivate our people 
and drive results 
● leaders the creativity and inspiration to set 
the agenda and facilitate change
during the year in support of our strategy we 
have undertaken many projects to improve the 
abilities of colleagues at all levels throughout 
the group these are designed to give them 
the confidence and skills needed to exercise 
the authority they are given to compete in the 
market the projects included
● establishing an executive development 
group of senior managers with potential for 
leadership roles forging a link with ashridge 
the leading management school to deliver 
programmes to this group in 2012
● delivering leadership and coaching 
programmes to upskill our regional 
directors and their peers 
● developing job skills and product knowledge 
expertise amongst branch and store 
colleagues through sales and service 
workshops
● relaunching as an apprenticeship scheme 
our management training scheme which 
many current directors and i went through 
on originally joining the group 
the success we have achieved in recent 
years culminated in our being positioned as 
a finalist in the hr excellence awards 2011 
for ‘best learning and development strategy’ 
which confirms that learning and development 
activity within the group delivers bottom line 
business benefits
careers and talent pipeline
the ongoing challenge is to build the 
capability of the talent pipeline and leverage 
internal knowledge skills networks and 
experience for the benefit of the group as a 
whole the hard work and abilities of many 
colleagues have been recognised this year 
through promotions and new opportunities 
to work in different parts of the business but 
in those cases where we have to seek talent 
from outside the existing internal talent pool 
we need to be positioned as an ‘employer of 
choice’ among candidates
during the year we have invested in a new 
centralised it recruitment platform to bring 
more efficiency to our recruitment processes 
and increase hire quality to attract the best 
candidates we believe we need to offer a rich 
candidate experience and to let candidates 
know where they are in the process at all 
times our new system allows us to do this 
furthermore as part of this investment we 
have added a bespoke recruitment site that 
colleagues within our business can use to 
seek out career opportunities before many 
of the vacancies are placed on external 
recruitment sites 
stay safe
we have an absolute commitment to 
continuously improving our health and safety 
record which in recent years has resulted in 
our approach to safety in our business evolving 
from one which was ‘stay legal’ to one which 
is now ‘stay safe’ in achieving this change 
each year our safety team have developed a 
large number of initiatives to promote the stay 
safe message 
driven by the business’ desire to progress 
the stay safe journey more quickly and 
effectively we have realigned our stay safe 
team to our new divisional structure this 
will strengthen the awareness and personal 
ownership of each business board which in 
turn will accelerate the development of the stay 
safe culture in our branch and store managers 
in restructuring the health  safety team we 
have created
● four stay safe business partner roles 
each supporting one of the four operating 
divisions
● a stay safe central services team which is 
responsible for reviewing and developing 
health  safety policy managing incidents 
and providing advice and guidance to 
operational management and
● a team of stay safe training advisors that 
will support the business by developing 
and delivering stay safe training across all 
divisions
sales and margin management
it is our aim to outperform our main markets 
on a likeforlike basis by communicating and 
delivering a superior offer to our customers 
customer service continues to be an area of 
focus for all colleagues 26
one aspect of increasing sales and customer 
satisfaction is ensuring that our prices are 
transparent consistent and understandable 
to our customers in our merchanting brand 
we are trialling new pricing structures with 
the intention of rolling them out during 2012 
we have also invested in our sales force 
and focussed them through incentivisation 
on increasing active trading accounts as a 
result we opened or reactivated a number of 
customer accounts during the year 
in 2011 we saw merchanting gross margins 
come under pressure due to a combination 
of high input inflation and our own strategy 
to gain market share in the early part of the 
year our actions were supported by investing 
a proportion of the gains from our sourcing 
initiatives into prices however from quarter 
2 onwards as markets became more difficult 
we adjusted our stance in favour of achieving 
a consistent yearonyear gross margin by the 
end of the year 
the category management team undertook 
projects to investigate returns on timber 
and sheet materials this involves looking at 
all aspects of product holding pricing and 
merchandising later in 2012 branches will be 
able to order and stock timber by specific length 
we have started to benefit from new ranges 
being crosssold between bss businesses and 
the rest of the group a particular success was 
the introduction into wickes of the scruffs 
workwear range supplied by birchwood price 
tools the new products which already have 
proved to be very popular will be introduced to 
replace an existing range in the merchanting 
division during 2012 furthermore we are 
now piloting toolhire in bss industrial with the 
intention of rolling it out to more branches later 
in the year
our supply chain operations are wide 
reaching with many products now sourced 
direct from global manufacturers we operate 
24 warehouse facilities covering nearly 3m 
square feet which supply over 1800 branches 
that utilise 2500 vehicles to deliver product 
to customers worksites and homes over 
1500 colleagues across the group now 
support internal supply chain solutions picking 
48000000 separate items per annum
our customers are rightly becoming ever 
more demanding expecting us to provide 
consistent and timely access to a broad 
range of products this provides us with a 
significant sales and margin opportunity as we 
can leverage our unique multi brand scale to 
improve customer service and reduce costs 
therefore we continue to invest successfully 
in our supply chain as a key enabler to our 
organic growth programme
additional focus on our timber and heavyside 
bulky goods supply chains now allows our 
smaller branches to access a broader range of 
products regardless of their space constraints 
the implementation of a feeder network from 
larger branches has improved sheet materials 
availability by 5 whilst after a year of 
operation our heavyside consolidation operation 
in the northwest now services 110 branches 
with an extended range of 3000 products as 
a result our branches can consistently promise 
customers 24 hour delivery for product that 
would otherwise have come direct from 
suppliers on much longer lead times 
our performance in supply chain has been 
recognised externally with the team beating 
many major european retail and merchant 
businesses to win two prestigious awards in 
2011– the ligenta european retail supply 
chain award and retail week’s distribution 
development award
investment this year focused on further 
centralisation of our lightside and plumbing 
 heating product ranges with an additional 
500000 square foot warehouse facility being 
added to our northampton campus the new 
site has allowed us to extend the number 
of centrally stocked products available to 
branches and so has improved our overall 
levels of service and product availability the 
facility is also an enabler to our commercial 
team’s direct sourcing programme 
as part of our drive to increase direct 
sourcing we opened a new office in shanghai 
to manage the flow of product from factories 
located in the far east forty colleagues 
deputy chief executive’s review of the y ear
“our performance in supply 
chain has been recognised 
externally with the team beating 
many major european retail and 
merchant businesses to win two 
prestigious awards in 2011”
eliot longhorn at travis perkins bedford reports
tra vis perkins annual repor t and accounts 2011
27
“our merchanting division has performed strongly with each of our businesses recording impressive growth” 28
deputy chief executive’s review of the y ear
from china and the uk work in shanghai and 
shenzhen to ensure that goods are delivered to 
our uk warehouses to the right specification in 
the correct quantities as efficiently as possible 
this has enabled us to capture the margin 
previously made by the third party distributors 
and agents
although we are now purchasing £450m 
of goods from approximately 90 factories 
located in 15 countries across five continents 
our analysis suggests that as more product is 
direct sourced we could realise a further £25m 
of annual profits by 2016 consequently we 
plan to expand further our team in china during 
the coming year
the introduction of new product ranges is 
fundamental to the growth of the business 
during 2011 we completely relaunched iflo 
our own brand plumbing range supported 
by a new fully priced catalogue sales have 
increased 22 yearonyear at the same time 
as margins have increased we predict further 
growth in 2012 when additional ranges and 
a new pricing structure will be introduced in 
addition we are actively seeking new sales 
opportunities in areas such as fire protection 
renewables drainage and water recovery
our most important project in 2011 has 
been to deliver the bss synergies identified at 
the time of the acquisition a team comprising 
colleagues from across the group exceeded our 
2011 expectations of £8m by delivering £15m 
of purchasing synergies in 2011 and putting 
in place a process that will lead to our £25m 
initial target being achieved one year early in 
2012 we will be concentrating on maximising 
synergies by consolidating purchases where we 
currently have multiple suppliers
in bss we acquired a group that was part 
way through a project to implement a new 
operating system throughout the business our 
assessment of the programme resulted in a 
change of course whereby we will implement 
new systems into bss based upon existing 
group systems our it colleagues have spent 
most of 2011 rewriting system programmes so 
that they meet the specific needs of both the 
bss and pts businesses we have trialled the 
new systems in seven pts branches during the 
year we plan new systems in pts to improve 
the information available to branch managers 
to enable them to trade better reduce credit 
risk and help collect debts more rapidly
tight cost control and 
asset management
in these difficult economic times we have 
continued to place emphasis on finding ways 
of improving our efficiency exploiting the 
economies of scale delivered by centralising 
group services and managing our cost base 
we have also taken the decision to concentrate 
on maximising the returns from existing 
initiatives rather than investing heavily in new 
ones initiatives where due to market conditions 
returns were found to be more marginal have 
been delayed or cancelled
in wickes we have changed the store 
structure by removing some management 
roles but at the same time increasing 
colleague hours to facilitate a greater focus 
on customer service whilst some colleagues 
were redeployed into other roles unfortunately 
the reorganisation has resulted in some 200 
colleagues leaving the business towards the 
end of the year 
our delivery fleet based at branches 
has benefited from further investment in 
automated delivery planning and scheduling 
technology this improves our ontime delivery 
performance for customers while reducing 
vehicle costs by optimising the delivery route
our synergy programme was not 
confined only to product purchases through 
implementing new systems and processes 
switching suppliers and combining bss teams 
with those in northampton we achieved almost 
£5m of overhead synergies during the year 
improve return on capital
managing stock levels whilst improving stock 
availability is one of the key initiatives being 
undertaken by the supply chain team at 30 
june stock levels were higher than we planned 
due to a combination of holding more stock 
due to direct sourcing advance buying due 
to favourable preinflation increase deals with 
suppliers and increasing sales levels however 
by the yearend we had reduced stock from 
its peak levels by approximately £50m whilst 
we continue to target additional areas where 
stock can be reduced without impacting upon 
availability we are also investing in preprice 
increase deals where appropriate
we are now trialling stock autoreplenishment 
in our wickes business this will yield working 
capital and productivity gains and stronger sales 
through better availability
external expansion
the closure of focus in the first half of the 
year presented us with a great opportunity to 
expand selectively our store base in a number 
of new catchment areas that had previously 
proved difficult to penetrate in what was the 
largest project of its kind ever undertaken by 
wickes a crossfunctional team of colleagues 
responded magnificently to the challenge of 
engaging 350 new colleagues and opening 13 
new stores within four and a half months the 
early results from what was our largest single 
investment of the year have exceeded our 
expectations with all stores trading profitably 
we have continued to leverage our existing 
estate by seeking opportunities to expand our 
smaller businesses by establishing implants 
within our existing merchanting branches this 
approach minimises set up costs and improves 
returns through utilising spare capacity within 
our network
● turnover for toolhire rose 22 in the year 
we now trade from 196 toolhire outlets in 
our merchanting business having opened 
a further nine during 2011 and we expect 
to trial our first toolhire outlet within a bss 
branch in early 2012 before rolling it out 
further later in the year
● benchmarx opened 27 new implanted 
outlets in 2011 so we now trade from 84 
our local and uk staff based in shanghai and shenzhen 
ensured our fi rst far east team day was a success