Blogs

According to the latest polls from 2014, it's fair to state that the general feeling amongst those in the bathroom industry - from merchants through to distributors - has been largely optimistic and, even during the early stages of this year, this looks set to continue.

Over the last three years, I have seen some suppliers raise their prices to an absurd level that has not even been in line with current levels of inflation. In some cases, supplier prices have risen by 20-30%, attributing it to the cost in metal or currency changes. In the same period the cost in…

Government help seems to be like buses: you wait forever and then they all roll up at once.

Listening to the radio the other day, I heard a 'housing market expert' talking about the current state of the market. He came up with two theories, both of which I have issues with.

So the stock market is looking slightly more favourably upon the somewhat beleaguered Wolseley now that they have finally found someone who's going to take Stock Building Supply off their hands. Or at least half of it, since 100% of the Stock shares have been transferred to a joint venture company, in which Wolseley will…

It seems as though the question of whether we are coming out of recession has just been answered. Certainly in terms of the merchant sector, the recovery that has been mooted in the press in the last weeks is still a long way away. Wolseley sustained a £766m pre-tax loss in the last financial year;…

Last week, Huws Gray left the NBG buying group on the grounds that the company's expansion plans simply won't allow it to comfortably remain a partner in the group. The news took many people by surprise as Huws Gray's John Jones and Terry Owen have always been some of the most enthusiastic of the group's…

So already under the new coalition government we have had action. Housing minister Grant Shapps has metaphorically put his money where his mouth is and scrapped the need for controversial Home Information Packs. Apparently this has already boosted the housing market with estate agency website RightMove claiming to have seen a 34% increase in houses…

According to the consumers organisation Which, the deals offering 'free' solar panels aren't such a great thing.

So, we have the long-awaited RHI. The Renewable Heat Initiative. And like the poor old curate, I'm a bit of disappointed with it in parts.