The price of freedom is eternal vigilance We’ve become so reliant upon technology: our phones, our laptops, our emails that when we suddenly can’t use them, we feel bereft. Adrift and rudderless in a sea of information that we can’t access because our servers are down. We saw what happened …

Independent family-run North West’s builders’ merchants, Beesley & Fildes, will become a member of H&B Group from January 2025. Founded in 1820 by Robert Beesley, the company has grown from a single shop in Prescot, Merseyside, to a regional branch network serving a wide range of trades including civil engineering, …

Wrekin Products, has welcomed Paul Thompson as its new technical development and specification manager, accelerating its business ambitions and growth and supporting its specification of products and services. The company has also increased its workforce with the arrival of new product manager, John Kiernan.  

With the first Labour Budget in 14 years due to be delivered in just two weeks, Allan Wright, MD at Civils & Lintels, is calling on the Chancellor Rachel Reeves to announce tangible moves to bolster the construction and housebuilding sectors. The government’s industrial strategy has been published, with construction …

Builders merchant Chandlers Building Supplies has launched a high street timber and landscaping showroom in the heart of Windlesham in Surrey. The showroom, which is now branded Chandlers, used to be known as Pennyhill Timber, and is open to the trade and public, with the retail team helping to raise …

Welsh independent family-run builders merchant Robert Price Builders’ Merchant, has bought Willis Westcott Monmouth Ltd, one of three branches of roofing supplies specialist Willis Westcott. The acquisition does not affect Willis Westcott Worcester Ltd and Willis Westcott Stroud Ltd which will continue with the current owners, trading as usual. Willis …

Independent builders merchant the Builders Merchant Company has appointed Andrew Mackenzie and Laura Baxter of Begbies Traynor as joint administrators. The merchant, which has its headquarters in Scunthorpe, and branches in Rotherham, Goole and Hull was the subject of a winding up petition last month. Administrators were appointed after attempts …

Northern Irish quarrying and mineral processor Kilwaughter Minerals Limited is to be acquired by the Saint-Gobain group. The acquisition has been forwarded to the Competition and Markets Authority with closing of the transaction expected in the first half 2025. Kilwaughter, named as one of Ireland’s Best Managed Companies for the third …

Housebuilding will be high on the agenda at the BMF All Industry Conference in Barcelona next June, with keynote speeches from  Jennie Daly CBE, Chief Executive of Taylor Wimpey plc and Neil Jefferson, Chief Executive of the Home Builders Federation. Daly has been CEO of Taylor Wimpey, one of the …

Plumbers merchant Plumb Centre, part of the Wolseley Group, has opened a new branch in the centre of Swindon, Wiltshire. The new state-of-the-art trade counter, on the Elgin Industrial Estate, was opened by local Mayor, Councillor Imtiyaz Shaikh, who said: “I was delighted to officially open Plumb Centre Swindon. It’s …