Insulation manufacturer Knauf Insulation has donated products to Monkey World, the animal rescue centre in Dorset. Home to 54 chimpanzees and over 200 other primates, Monkey World’s 30 year old pavilions required refurbishment to expand and upgrade the accommodation in preparation for a new rescue. As chimpanzees are native to …

It is a tale told by an idiot. Full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.   I tried. Truly, honestly, I tried to stick with it. But it was just so irritating and predictable. I ended up switching over to Italy v Brazil. At least that meant I was watching …

Industry focus was the main part of the second day of the Builders Merchants Federation conference in Dubrovnik last weekend (June 13 to 16 2019). The session opened with presentations from a national merchant, a major independent, and manufacturer, followed by the opportunity to attend two of four break-out sessions …

Builders merchants buying organisation the National Merchant Buying Society has announced the venue and dates for its 2020 bienniel conference. Revealed by NMBS commercial director Andy Hextall, during the 2019 BMF All Industry Conference, the conference will be held from June 18th to 21st at the Hilton Sorrento Palace. The …

Merchants and suppliers learned of the importance of focusing on their employees – and their own – mental health at the  opening session of the BMF All-Industry Conference 2019 last weekend (June 13 – 16). TV presenter Nick Knowles, mental health campaigners Jonny Benjamin MBE and Neil Layborne, security expert …

Parker Building Supplies, the Sussex-based independent builders’ merchant, has acquired fellow NBG member Stamco, based in Hastings. The acquisition, funded by Parkers’ strategic partner, Cairngorm Capital, is a key step in Parkers’ strategy to expand its business through a combination of acquisitions, new site development and organic growth. Established in …

The centerpiece performance of the gala dinner at the closing night of the BMF All-Industry Conference this Saturday (June 15th) will be by British singer Heather Small. Small, whose iconic solo track “Proud” became the soundtrack to London’s successful 2012 Olympic bid, the 60th anniversary of VE Day in Trafalgar …

A Weksh developer collapsed into administration leaving more than 200 creditors and 40 workers yet to be paid, when it lost a contract worth 34% of its business. GM Jones, in Llanrwst, had been carrying out commercial and public sector schemes across the Conway region. Yet the end of the …

A continuing increase in UK housebuilding was not enough to offset a decline in UK construction companies’ output during May, according to the latest monthly statistics from the  IHS Markit/CIPS UK Construction Total Activity Index. A renewed decline in total business activity during May included lower volumes of commercial work …

No creature in the Jungle will call fire by its proper name. Every beast lives in deadly fear of it, and invents a hundred ways of describing it Almost exactly two years to the day after the devastating fire that befell the Grenfell Tower in Kensington, the flames tore through …