About Us
About APP Wholesale Ltd
Our mission is “To be the nation’s local partner of choice for all heating, plumbing and renewable solutions”.
We’re built on a foundation of entrepreneurial spirit and colleagues who put the customer first and take immense pride in their results. In recent history, we have dealt with some significant disruption from COVID, the boiler shortage of 2022 and into 2023, and in early 2024, the Clean Heat Market Mechanism put further turbulence into the marketplace. Despite this, APP as part of the Lords Group has continued to invest in people, processes and technology.
Our values – Family, Empowerment, Customer Focus, Continuous Improvement, Adaptability, and Safety – guide every decision we make.
40k
Products
16
Locations
250
Employees
38 tonnes
C02 saved
60+
Fleet
Our Heritage
Started in 1969 with one store in Chelmsford, Essex, Allan Pierce set out to capture the burgeoning DIY market, inspired by the increasing trend to own your own house and the right to buy from a council tenancy. The store was called House of Heating and with a captive audience of DIY home improvers the company grew to four stores throughout the UK.
House of Heating
[1969 – 1982]
From this base, a joint venture was struck to place House of Heating branches in 25 concessions inside Texas Homecare as a specialist supplier of central heating. The benefits were mutual, and this led to Texas purchasing House of Heating as their brand and rolling out the concept in many stores.
Mr Central Heating
[1982 – to-date]
Texas Homecare’s acquisition of House of Heating in 1982 enabled Allan Pierce to reinvent the concept of supplying central heating to homeowners and trade alike, with a counter front and centre in six stores. This meant that stock was kept at the back of the store and targeted sales were at the front with a real customer-centric ethos that was widely accepted as the norm for plumbers’ merchants.
This new venture was branded Mr Central Heating, and from the initial six stores, it quickly increased in size with the addition of bathrooms trading under the Simply Bathrooms brand, boasting the largest bathroom showroom in Europe, with over 600 bathroom suites and shower enclosures on display.
Simply Bathrooms was sold in 1989, but Mr Central Heating’s store expansion continued to satisfy demand driven by the popularity of combi boilers, package deals with radiators, and all the accessories required to refit a central heating system.
APP Plumbing and Heating
[2008 – to-date]
In 2008 a separate division was created just to supply independent plumbers merchants. This was APP Plumbing and Heating, and this set about formulating a sales team directly targeting successful owner businesses in the plumbing and heating sector.
APP Wholesale Ltd
[2008 – to-date]
This was the same year that the APP Wholesale Ltd company was formed, and Allan Pierce became the chairman. The company has flexed and changed over the years but is still the same at its core, which is to offer the most competitive plumbing and heating products to all. Trading with an open and direct mindset without an overcomplicated or domineering attitude toward manufacturers and suppliers.
In 2019, Lords Group Trading led by entrepreneur Shanker Patel with a rich history of successfully running a generational business in the sector, acquired APP Wholesale Ltd, and the company continues to honour the vibrant and storied founding spirit by building deep, lasting relationships with our customers. Visit our news page for the latest business updates.
