COMPAGNIE de Saint-Gobain, the French owner of British builders' merchant Jewson, has reportedly hired JP Morgan to explore the sale of its UK subsidiary.

People close to the matter told Sky News' Mark Kleinman yesterday that Jewson could be lossmaking if considered on a standalone basis.

CITYA.M. has approached Compagnie de Saint-Gobain for comment.

Founded in 1836, Jewson supplies construction materials to small and medium contractors through its 600 branches across the UK.

The firm was bought by the Parislisted company from the Meyer group in 2000 for over £1bn.

The news comes amid a turbulent period for the UK construction sector, in a sign that the country's economic malaise is spreading across all industries.

According to a survey published on Tuesday by S&P Global and CIPS, new order growth in 2022 slumped to its lowest since June 2020 due to soaring costs squeezing businesses.

(c) 2022 City A.M., source Newspaper