Company History
Selco was originally formed as Sewell & Co (Timber) Ltd in 1895. From a small, family owned business in Birmingham, the company has grown into a highly competitive and highly respected trade only builders’ merchant with branches spanning four regions in England and Wales and plans for further growth in the coming months. Keep an eye out for new branches and services near you!
See below to find out how far we've come!
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2023– Giving back to the community
2023 saw the opening of a brand-new Selco in Peterborough and we invested into updating some of our existing branches, as well as delivering better value for customers through Quote Lock and Everyday Low Prices. Selco continued its efforts in giving back to the community – several of our branches donated materials to local organisations and we raised over £100k for Cancer Research UK. We announced our third Selco Forest to offset our carbon emissions, and many of our branches were kitted out with solar panels. We’ve also nurtured the progress of many colleagues with apprenticeship schemes: Rising Stars, Driver Academy and Sales Academy. We launched The Brick Store, a brick matching service with Chiltern Bricks, as well as partnering with HSS Hire in select branches.
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2022– Sustainable Selco
This year we strived to increase the sustainability of our branch network. We introduced 24 electric forklift trucks across several branches, and the vehicles at our Delivery Hubs in Birmingham and Edmonton now run on Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO). We even kitted out our Barking branch with more than 220 solar panels, and introduced a new recycling policy across all branches. This all came alongside the creation of our Selco Forest, where we planted over 100,000 trees across 100 acres. 2022 saw us launch two new branches in Exeter and Cheltenham. We continued to support the PDC, as well as supporting many other sports and charities through schemes such as our Selco Community Heroes campaign. We also introduced our brand new Dial & Deliver service, allowing customers to place their orders directly over the phone.
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2021– Continuing our expansion
We continued to expand in 2021 with the opening of 2 new branches in Liverpool and Canning Town. This came alongside the successful opening of a brand new Delivery Hub in Birmingham to help with local deliveries. We didn’t stop there - our Distribution Centre in Oxford, which delivers to all branches on a daily basis, has been extended from 65,000 to 110,000 sq ft. Our passion for supporting sports and charities is going strong as we are now official partners of the Rugby League World Cup 2021 as well as the Salford Red Devils. We are also continuing our long-standing relationship with the Professional Darts Corporation.
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2020 – 125 years serving the trade
Our 125th anniversary year got off to a flying start when we opened our first distribution centre - a 65,000 sq. ft. warehouse space in Cowley, Oxfordshire. Our branch network grew to 69 with new stores opening in Orpington and Salford, as well as the relocation of our Bristol Bedminster branch to Bishopsworth. To top it all off, we proudly achieved ‘Superbrands’ status - 2020 is certainly a year we’ll never forget for many reasons!
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2019 – Click & Deliver launches
We hit the ground running with the successful launch of our Click & Deliver service, allowing customers to purchase bulky items for direct delivery to site. We opened the doors to a new branch in Kingston, as well as our Heavyside Delivery Hub in Edmonton - a first for the business – delivering to customers on behalf of six branches across London. We also stepped up to the oche as a sponsor for the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC).
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2018 – Seven new branches
York opens, another new area for Selco. As well as new branches in Leicester, St Albans, Bristol Filton, Leeds Roundhay Road, Milton Keynes and Chelmsford.
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2017 – Twelve new branches
Selco opens a further twelve branches: Solihull, Basildon, Poole, Cardiff Hadfield Road, Thurrock, Crayford, Beckton in established areas from Hayes, Hemel Hempstead, Warrington, Camberley, and Guildford in new areas.
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2017 – The Project Tool App
The Project Tool App is released and becomes transactional.
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2016 – Seven new branches
Selco opens seven new branches: Chessington, Watford, Wolverhampton, Portsmouth, Mitcham, South Croydon & Wembley bringing the branch total to 47!
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2015 – New transactional website
Selco enhances its service offer by launching a new transactional website, giving tradespeople the ability to buy online for next working day courier delivery, or to buy online and collect in-branch with Click & Collect.
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2015 – Five new branches
Selco opens five new branches; Redhill, Coventry, New Southgate, Southampton & Brooklands Weybridge, bringing the branch total to 40!
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2014 – Isleworth Branch Opens
35th branch opens in Isleworth and the hire service is rolled out across our London branch network.
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2013 – Two new branches for London
Selco continues to grow in 2013 with two new branches at Old Kent Road and Wimbledon. This gives us 18 branches all serving the London area.
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2012 – Continued London expansion
New Selco branches open up in Hanworth and Tottenham. Selco now have 16 branches within the M25, serving the greater London area.
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2011 – Opening in Catford & Slough
Selco Builders Warehouse continues to grow, opening up new branches in Catford, South London and at Slough in Berkshire. The existing Swansea branch also relocated to new larger premises and the Minworth branch in Birmingham relocated to new premises at Tyburn in Erdington.
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2009 – East Midlands
Selco Builders Warehouse continued to grow, opening a further three new branches in Romford (East London), Nottingham (the first branch in the East Midlands) and in the Ruxley area of Sidcup, in South London.
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2008 – Opening in Yorkshire
2008 saw Selco moving further across the country, opening up in Leeds and Bradford as well as at Ardwick in Manchester.
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2007 – North London expansion
New Selco branches open up in Kingsbury, Southall and Cricklewood, all in North London. Selco now has 10 branches within the M25, serving the greater London area.
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2006 – Expanding into the North West
Selco expands its geographical coverage to include the North West, opening up in Baguley and Ashton Moss in Manchester. Selco also opens up in South Ruislip in North London, Charlton in South London and Reading. Tyseley (Birmingham) branch undergoes a complete refurbishment and a 10,000 square foot extension is added.
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2005 – Two new London branches
Selco Enfield and Selco Hanger Lane both open their doors to the trade, taking the number of Selco branches in Greater London to five.
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2004 – Expansion into London continues
Selco opens at Barking in North East London. Selco's Cardiff branch also relocates to new larger premises, doubling in size.
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2003 – Opening in Croydon
Selco opens in Croydon for the first time and its Stirchley branch in Birmingham relocates to new larger premises, doubling in size.
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2002 – London
Selco opened up its first branch in London at Walthamstow in North London.
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2001 – More Midlands Expansion
Selco opens up in Dudley, the first Selco store in the Black Country and at the time the fourth in the Midlands.
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2000 – Expansion in Birmingham
Selco opens up a third store in Birmingham, this time in Tyseley, south Birmingham.
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1998 – Grafton Group Plc
Selco is purchased by merchanting and DIY group Grafton Group Plc.
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1995 – South West expansion
Selco opens up for the first time in Bristol, continuing it's expansion into the South West.
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1993 – Relocation for Minworth
Minworth branch in Birmingham relocates to larger premises from the Fort Industrial Park.
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1992 – Expansion in Wales
Selco continues to expand into Wales, opening up in Cardiff.
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1990 – Opening in Wales
Selco expanded, opening it's first store outside of the Midlands in Swansea, South Wales.
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1990 – British Dredging Plc
Selco is purchased by British Dredging Plc.
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1986 – Management Buy Out
One of the Birmingham branch managers takes over the company as Managing Director through a management buy out.
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1982 – Selco
Sewell & Co (Timber) change their name to Selco and begin to format a new business model akin to retail cash and carry but exclusively for the bonafide builder.
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1938 – Builders Merchants
The company develops itself into a fully fledged builders merchants.
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1895 – Sewell & Co (Timber) Ltd
Selco's history begins with Sewell & Co. (Timber) Ltd., a small family business operating a modest timber mill and caravan fit-out business in Birmingham.