We sell building materials.We trade in trust.
Three generations of one family, 4,200 colleagues and a fleet that turns up before first brew. This is how Redstone Trade became Britain's largest independent builders merchant — and why the trade still rings us first.
Started with one lorry. Still answering the phone in person.
In 1962 Frank Redstone bought a struggling coal merchant on Trafford Road in Salford. He swapped the coal for timber, put his wife Margaret on the books, and promised the builders of Manchester that if they ordered before five, he'd deliver before eight.
Sixty-two years later, the lorries are electric, the books are on an app, and the family still owns every share. What hasn't changed is the promise: order before midnight, and it's ready when you pull onto the yard.
We've grown to 250 branches and 4,200 colleagues — but every trade counter is still staffed by someone who's swung a hammer for a living. That's not a marketing line. It's a hiring policy.
Six decades, one ledger.
- 1962A single yard in Salford
Frank Redstone takes over a coal merchant on Trafford Road and starts selling timber off the back of a flatbed.
- 1978First ten branches
Expansion across the North West. The red-and-cream livery becomes a fixture on building sites from Carlisle to Crewe.
- 1994National distribution
A central RDC opens in Daventry. Same-day collection becomes a promise, not a hope.
- 2011Trade app launches
First UK merchant with live branch stock on mobile. Quotes, invoices and PODs in one place.
- 2024250th branch
We open in Inverness — putting 96% of UK postcodes within 30 minutes of a Redstone counter.
Four things we won't compromise on.
Everything from how we hire to how we route our vans gets measured against these. If a decision breaks one, it doesn't happen.
Every counter is staffed by ex-trade. No call centres, no scripted answers — just people who've laid the bricks themselves.
Order before midnight, collect when the gates open. 98.4% of next-day promises kept last year.
Account-tier pricing, transparent rebates and no surprise charges. The quote is the bill.
FSC timber as standard, low-carbon cement options across all branches and a take-back scheme for off-cuts.
"A merchant's only as good as the call they take at 7am on a Monday. That's the call we're built around."
The people who answer the phone.
Third-generation. Started on the timber yard at 16. Leads from the road — visits 40 branches a year.
20 years in plumbing supply. Owns the relationship with our top 500 contract customers.
Runs the fleet of 1,400 vehicles. Obsessed with the gap between order placed and tail-lift down.
Joined from a circular construction startup. Building the route to net-zero across our supply chain by 2035.
Building it back better.
Construction accounts for 25% of UK emissions. We can't fix that on our own — but we can give the trade lower-carbon options at the same trade price, and measure every step.
Read our 2024 impact reportWhat the trade tells us.
Redstone are the only merchant I ring on a Sunday night. By Monday breakfast the timber's on site and the invoice is in the app.
We run 14 sites across the Midlands. Their contract pricing and the consolidated monthly statement saves my office manager two days a month.
Branch manager came out on a Saturday to open up when we ran short of OSB. That's the difference.
250 branches. 96% of UK postcodes within 30 minutes.
- Trade counters open from 6am Monday to Saturday
- Live stock visibility across every branch in the app
- Same-day collection on 1.2 million SKUs
- Next-day delivery on 98.4% of orders, on time and in full
Everything for the job, under one account.
Quick answers.
Talk to a human. Today.
Press, partnerships, contract enquiries or just a question about your account — the head office line is staffed Mon–Fri, 7am to 6pm.
Unit 12, Trade Park
Manchester M17 1AA
250 branches UK-wide