Wolseley, the materials producer, this week made three more acquisitions worth a total of 拢49m.

The FTSE 100 company is expecting these to contribute an extra 拢82m to its annual turnover.

Two of the companies are based in the USA - a plumbing and electrical services company in Las Vegas and a waterworks distributor in Wisconsin.

The third purchase was a builders merchant in France.

Since the start of Wolseley's financial year on 1 August 2005, it has bought 42 firms in Europe and North America worth a total of 拢714m.

Wolseley also moved a step closer to its 拢71.9m acquisition of Brandon Hire on Wednesday after securing the blessing of 89.5% of shareholders. Brandon Hire, which hires out tools and equipment, will add 143 branches to Wolseley.