Millboard, the outdoor flooring company, has launched two new products to make decking frustrations a thing of the past: DuoSpan and DuoLift. DuoSpan is landscape construction frame that combines the strength of aluminium with the design flexibility of recycled plastic.  It enables distinctive design opportunities for decking and outdoor structures …

The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme has been designed to help businesses that would otherwise be forced to lay off staff in the face of the unprecedented disruption caused by COVID-19. All businesses with a PAYE scheme in place on 28 February 2020, regardless of size or sector, will be able …

North London-based builders merchant MP Moran has been busy sourcing and distributing PPE donations to local hospitals and Hospices. Operations director Bart Murphy and his wife Marissa started a fundraising campaign last week to to get desperately needed PPE to local hospitals, hospices and front-lne NHS workers. He says: “Yesterday …

I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree, And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made; Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honey-bee, And live alone in the bee-loud glade.   Remember what we used to say about the aftermath of …

In the present uncertain times, it seems only sensible for merchants to protect their investment in timber and wood products by making sure they are stored in good condition until business perks up again. The key points are to: Keep it dry Keep it clean Keep it flat Avoid outdoor …

Plumbers merchant group Wolseley has increased the availability of heating spares to support installers as they complete essential repairs and maintenance during the Coronavirus pandemic. Since the beginning of the pandemic, Wolseley has seen demand for such products remain high. As a result, the company has made a stock of …

Merchant software provider Border Merchant Systems has added two new users of its CounterAct system: Alliance Sanitary Products Ltd and Talbot Block Ltd. Designed as a tailor-made system for merchants, ranging from small family-run single sites, to large multi-branch companies, CounterAct is designed to be one of the most user …

Civils & Lintels gets crafty to encourage the younger generation Specialist civils merchant Civils and Lintels has launched a competition to inspire children to think about engineering and help parents trying to juggle working from home and childcare during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown. The #GetCrafty competition challenges children to build …

The UK construction industry saw output drop in March to its lowest level since April 2009, according to the latest IHS Markit / CIPS construction PMI® The March report recorded the fastest downturn in UK construction output for almost eleven years as emergency public health measures to halt the spread …

Builders merchants trade association the Builders Merchants Federation  is launching two further Regional Training Centres in conjuncction with hard landscaping suppliers Marshalls.  The new Regional Training Centres will be hosted in Marshalls Design Space facilities in Birmingham and in Clerkenwell, London.  They will both open after COVID-19 restrictions are lifted. …