Travis chief executive Geoff Cooper said: “The difficult market backdrop will continue to put pressure on weaker competitors and will lead to further consolidation in our markets, particularly in merchanting.”

The firm saw pre-tax profit rise 20.5% to £129.2m for the six months to June 2011 as turnover grew 54.2% to £2.34bn.

The leap follows the £800m acquisition of plumbing and heating specialist BSS late last year and an integration of the chain is on track to save £25m a year in running costs.

On performance in different sectors, Travis said: “The markets of most importance to our businesses, trade repair, maintenance and improvement and private housing new build, showed good resilience to the worsening economic conditions.

“However, as the period progressed it became apparent that, as predicted, public sector work, which represents around 20% of our revenue, was starting to slow down.

“Commercial and industrial markets, which represent 8% of our revenue, have been flat, but with significant variations in sub-sectors – industrial, and general commercial work has been growing, whilst office developments and refurbishments continue to be subdued.”