It is with great sadness that BMJ reports that  Howard Broomby, former managing director of Broombys, died last week on January 23, at the age of 81. Howard joined the family business, Broomby’s, in 1961, when it was trading from depots in Sandside and Ulverston. In 1969 he relocated to …

Independent family-owned and family-run builders merchants Tippers, based in Lichfield, have celebrated raising  £200,000 over the past five years for a local children’s hospice charity. The company has been supporting the charity’s Walsall hospice, Acorns in the Black Country, through donations and fundraising since 2018. All money raised has gone …

To lose one parent is unfortunate. To lose two seems like carelessness Why it is so hard for people in public service to just, you know, do their jobs. Properly. Thoroughly. With some idea of consequences, either for them or other people if they get it wrong. Is that so …

Improvements to the clubhouse and facilities at North Bristol rugby club are on the cards, thanks to funding from builders merchant Selco Builders Warehouse.   North Bristol RFC, a thriving not-for-profit rugby club runs sessions for hundreds of men, women, boys and girls every week, has secured £500 worth of …

Kieran Griffin, currently managing director of Travis Perkins General Merchant, is leaving the group after 28 years to explore new opportunities. He being replaced by James Mackenzie, who has led the Toolstation UK business over the last six years.  Mackenzie’s vacant seat at Toolstation is being taken by Angela Rushforth. …

it provokes, and unprovokes; it provokes the desire but takes away the performance. We’ve all had it. That slightly sweaty feel at the base of your spine, the wobbly feeling in your abdomen as you wonder whether it’ll be as good as expected, whether it’ll last long enough, or once …

Construction sector distributor TIMCO, has appointed Craig Varey to the role of managing director as TIMCO. He replaces Simon Midwood, who becomes chairman. Varey has a wealth of experience, having previously led Banner (part of the EVO Group); a successful stationery wholesaler for the last six years. His appointment further strengthens …

 Wolseley group has bought air conditioning equipment distributor Kooltech. The family-owned company will continue to operate as a standalone business within the Wolseley Group under its current management team. In addition a 10-year lease extension has been signed on Kooltech’s Glasgow headquarters. “We’re really excited about the opportunity and the …

The 2023 edition of BMJ’s Trailblazers will be published with the April edition. Once again, it will feature the top UK builders merchants, those turning over more than £28m in their last financial year. Trailblazers has long been used to benchmark the industry, comparing the performance, size and structure of …

the result of a series of choices, the sum of state neglect and corporate wrongdoing across a variety of areas, the epicentre of myriad defects in our social fabric I’m reading a fantastic book at the moment. Honestly, it’s one of those books that has the reader gasping with every …