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Wincanton chief executive Graeme McFaull says last week's acquisition of Swales Haulage is by no means the end of its buying spree. "We've had a good track record of integrating acquisitions and we wouldn't rule out any further acquisitions in the future," he says. The logistics firm announced its purchase of Reading-based brick haulier Swales Haulage for a debt-free consideration of £5.3m last week.

The acquisition of Swales - one of the top five businesses in the building services market  - strengthens Wincanton's position in the building materials transport sector and follows last year's purchase of RDL Distribution. McFaull says Wincanton had been in talks with Swales "for a number of months." He adds: "It's a good company and we are delighted because Swales is a very good fit for us.

"We bought it as a going concern, the existing management team will stay in place and all depots will be retained." Swales has 28 vehicles, 42 employees and operates 11 depots around the UK. Its 2006 results report a leap in pre-tax profit to £357,750 from £153,705 the previous year. Wincanton is believed to have approached a number of other brick hauliers prior to sealing the Swales deal.

John Manners-Bell, analyst at Transport Intelligence, believes Wincanton bought Swales because construction "is a very profitable sector. Profit margins in this sector are around 8%-9% as opposed to 2%-2.5% in other areas." He adds: "I believe Win-canton is looking at specific areas,  where there is more money to be made than the consumer goods industry."

Meanwhile, Wincanton has announced a 19% rise in underlying first-half profits for 2007 compared with 2006. The firm says pre-tax profit was £20.2m in the six months to September, on revenue up 10.6% at £1bn.