Primaflow F&P
Recruiting two Area Sales Managers for Primaflow F&P in Scotland and the West Midlands — sourcing from adjacent sectors when direct industry candidates were in short supply.
Client Overview
Primaflow F&P is one of the UK's leading specialist plumbing, heating and bathroom distributors, operating as a business unit within the wider Plumbing Trade Supplies group. The business serves independent and national plumbing and heating merchants, contractors and installers across the UK through a network of distribution centres, supplying a broad range of products including heating controls, bathroom products, pipework and ancillaries. With a strong merchant customer base and a focus on relationship-led field sales, Primaflow F&P's salespeople are expected to drive range expansion and wallet share growth across their territories.
The Brief
With a new Profit Centre Manager installed into a key business unit with a remit to boost profits and expand the footprint, his first priority was recruiting two Area Sales Managers to help deliver the business plan. Sales Recruit UK was tasked with filling the roles simultaneously — one covering Scotland and one covering the West Midlands — both focused on developing merchant relationships and driving sales growth across the territory.
The Challenge
The plumbing and heating distribution sector has a relatively contained talent pool, and with limited candidates available who had direct Primaflow-relevant experience, the search needed to look beyond the obvious. The risk of hiring from within the same tight-knit sector was also a factor — candidates moving between competing distributors bring established loyalties and sometimes restricted access to the same account base. Sales Recruit UK was asked to identify candidates from closely aligned sectors that shared the same route to market — merchant-facing field sales roles in adjacent building products categories — who could transition quickly without having to relearn the commercial dynamics of the sector.
What Sales Recruit UK Did
Sales Recruit UK mapped the merchant-facing building products market and identified candidates from sectors with directly comparable go-to-market models — electrical wholesale, drainage and civils distribution, and tools and fixings — where the merchant relationship dynamic closely mirrors that of plumbing and heating distribution. The SRUK Fit Score process assessed each candidate across merchant account management capability, territory sales track record, ability to drive wallet share from an established base, and motivational fit with a growth-focused, performance-oriented business unit.
The Outcome
Both roles were successfully filled. The West Midlands placement in particular proved to be a standout hire — the candidate made a significant early impact on sales in her territory, demonstrating that a well-defined brief and a broader search can deliver better outcomes than restricting a search to direct sector experience alone.