Wolseley could sell French business in European U-turn The company, which owns Plumb Center in the UK, has been hit by the eurozone debt crisis and flooding on the continent, forcing French building sites to suspend work and causing a 6.1pc fall in third-quarter group sales. In this context, we have decided to explore strategic options for the future of our businesses in France. In the year ended July 31, 2011, the businesses generated revenue of £1.3bn and employed net assets of approximately £500m, including £136m of goodwill. In light of this review the appropriate carrying value of these assets will be assessed at year-end and this is likely to give rise to a non-cash impairment charge. This announcement is being made in order to enable us to commence consultation with our employees in France. Wolesley also admitted it has taken a one-off restructuring hit of £20m since August 1 last year, in an attempt to reduce long-term costs. This will have a knock-on effect on full year profits, the it said. Operations in Denmark have also "remained challenging," resulting in a writedown of "goodwill and intangible assets of £393m." The decision to review operations in France is a surprise, as in May the group said it was committed to all of its European businesses. We are urging caution on Europe but we think things will get better. We are not planning to pull out of any of our businesses there," John Martin, Wolseley's chief financial officer, had said. Things change and we are confident that there will be improvements ahead. In France, the weather had a negative impact, there's not much that can be done about that. The French business, which makes up 10pc of the group, employs 5,420 people. Twelve months ago Wolseley sold French plumbing and heating distributions business Brosette to Saint-Gobain, leading to speculation among analysts that a larger sale could materialise. Wolesley shares fell 4pc to £22.36 in early trading.