On Oct. 17, Grainger announced it has agreed to sell its U.K.-based Cromwell business to private equity firm AURELIUS and is proceeding with plans to shut down its Zoro U.K. business.

The moves mark the industrial supplies distributor’s exit from the U.K. market after 10 years there. In conjunction with it, Grainger expects to record a one-time, non-cash after-tax loss in the range of $190 million to $205 million, most of which will hit in Q3 2025.

Financial terms weren’t disclosed for the transaction, which remains subject to customary regulatory approvals and is expected to close in the coming months.

In the Store: MDM’s U.S. MRO Market Trends Report 

In announcing the move, Grainger said it will sharpen its geographic focus on North America and Japan and concentrate resources on its core reporting segments: High-Touch Solutions (North America) and Endless Assortment (U.S./Japan).

“Over the past decade we’ve made a concerted effort to focus our portfolio on the geographies where we can deliver the greatest long-term impact. With this, we’ve altered our assumptions about our future potential in this region,” Grainger Chairman and CEO D.G. Macpherson said in a news release. “We remain committed to creating value for our customers and driving profitable growth through our High-Touch Solutions model in North America and our Endless Assortment businesses in the United States and Japan.”

The combined U.K. operations (Cromwell + Zoro U.K.) were relatively small in the context of Grainger’s global footprint. Grainger’s 2025 Fact Book indicates the “Other” businesses (i.e., these non-reportable units) generated about $0.4 billion in revenue in 2024. By comparison, Grainger’s total 2024 revenue was ~$17.2 billion.

Grainger’s 2024 annual report states that it has 33 branch and other facility locations and one distribution center in the U.K., with a combined footprint of 685,000 square feet.

MDM’s 3Q25 M&A Report (Premium access) 

What are Cromwell and Zoro U.K.?

Cromwell

• Cromwell Group Ltd is an industrial/MRO distributor based in Leicester that Grainger acquired in 2015 for approximately $482 million. Its roots date back to 1968
• At acquisition, Cromwell served ~35,000 industrial/manufacturing customers in the U.K. with more than 80,000 industrial product SKUs
• Post-acquisition, Cromwell’s product strength, supply chain footprint and customer relationships were intended to be a platform for Grainger’s growth and eCommerce expansion in Europe
• In 2020, Cromwell acquired Task N.I. Ltd. — a safety distributor in Northern Ireland. In 2023, it added the assets of absolvent engineering consumables distributor Monks & Crane, which netted Cromwell three U.K. branches, inventory and 40 employees.
• Cromwell’s website doesn’t state an employee count, but an ‘about’ on career platform Bright Network notes the company has sales of more than £250m and employs more than 1,600 people. Likewise, a 2021 company profile by Product Engineering Solutions noted that Cromwell had 1,550 employees at the time.

Zoro U.K.

• Zoro is Grainger’s online-only MRO/industrial supplies channel, originally launched in the U.S. (2011) and extended into other markets (e.g. Germany)
• In 2018, Grainger introduced Zoro U.K. under its Cromwell platform, offering more than 200,000+ industrial and MRO products via an e-commerce channel to U.K. businesses and trades
• Zoro U.K. catered to small and medium businesses (and some consumer/trade), offering next-day delivery on many SKUs, credit/trade terms, and a purely digital ordering experience
• Over time, Zoro U.K. functioned as Grainger’s “endless assortment” arm in the U.K. eCommerce space, integrating with Cromwell’s inventory and order fulfillment