Grafton Group is also being tipped at the moment by NCB Stockbrokers.

In a new report on the company the brokers has raised its profit estimates after Grafton reported results which were well ahead of expectations.

Profits at the Irish operations grew by 20 per cent with turnover and profit margins both rising.

NCB says the key drivers of success which have underpinned its performance remain in place with economic growth and demographic factors still strong.

The UK market also provides significant further consolidation opportunities. NCB has raised its forecasts for 2001 and 2002 by 7 per cent and points out that Grafton is still not an expensive stock. It has set a price target of €35 per share for the group.