News

Keyline opens in Kirkby

Keyline Kirkby 1 LR

Keyline Civils Specialist, the largest supplier of civils and drainage products and solutions in the UK, is investing in its service to the East Midlands with its newly refurbished branch in Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire opening on the 29th March 2021. Keyline’s two and a half acre site in Kirkby-in-Ashfield will hold …

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Government axes Green Homes Grant

GREEN HOMES GRANT lr

The Government has pulled the plug on its Green Homes Grant energy efficiency scheme, just days after MPs slammed it as ‘woefully inadequate’.  First announced last summer, the GHG scheme was extended in November for another year until the end of March 2022. It was supposed to form part of the Government’s …

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SIG sales slide 13% for 2020

SIG RCOE

Building materials distributor SIG saw sales fall 13% to £1,974m for the year to December 31 2020, taking it into a pre-tax loss of £76.3m from a £17.7m profit last time. That said, the group reported a strong finish to 2020, ahead of expectations, with like-for-like sales up 4% in …

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Nevill Long opens in Thetford

Nevill Long Thetford Team 2

Specialist independent distributors Encon Insulation and Nevill Long have opened a new Nevill Long branch in Thetford, Norfolk. The Burrell Way Trade Park branch offers a complete range of leading interior brands available through Nevill Long including British Gypsum, Ecophon, Fermacell, Knauf, Knauf Ceiling Solutions, Rockfon, Siniat and Zentia | …

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John George and Henry Shaw re-link businesses

John George Main Stock Warehouse in Reading 1

  John George, the family-run wholesale distributor that’s been going since 1725, has joined forces formally with fellow long-running distributor Henry Shaw & Sons. Having worked closely together for more than two decades, the two companies are now coming together under common ownership, reversing a demerger that took place in …

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NMBS cancels 2021 Dinner Dance

NMBS 2018 Gala Dinner 1

The Covid-19 pandemic has caused a further event to be cancelled. Independent builders merchant buying group NMBS has announced the cancellation of its 2021 Dinner Dance. The event is regarded as one of the best social events in the industry, and usually sees 1200 guests come together at the Grosvenor …

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Merchant plumbing & heating sales slow up in January

indoor plumber work

Specialist plumbing & heating merchants’ sales in January were down 5.0% on January 2020 according to the second Plumbing & Heating Merchant Index report. Month-on-month sales were positive with sales up 18.5% in January compared with December 2020. This was helped by three more trading days in January, but after …

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Merchant sales stay strong through third lockdown

RMI work in domestic house low res for web 3

Builders merchants’ sales remained strong as the country went through the third lockdown caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the latest Builders Merchants Building Index report. Year-on-year growth was driven primarily by three product categories: Timber & Joinery sales were up 7.7% on January 2020, while Landscaping rose 3.7% …

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SIG re-opens Cambuslang branch

Front Cambuslang2

Specialist building products distributor, SIG UK, is re-opening its branch in Cambuslang, South Lanarkshire. The 30,000sq ft premises, just outside Glasgow, has been completely refurbished and will hold up to £1 million in stock and have 30 permanent members of staff when it opens on March 29, 2021. David Hope, …

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