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Wolseley buys back Irish businesses

heat merchants 75L

Plumbers merchant Wolseley UK has bought Irish heating, plumbing, tiling and bathroom businesses The Heat Merchants, and Hevac Group, and their subsidiaries. The Heat Merchants business comes with Tubs & Tiles, the largest tile and bathroom retailer in Ireland, with 12 showrooms nationwide plus established ecommerce an commercial channels. Heat …

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CPA hits back at Gove accusations

Warehouse 5 Internal 005 Print

 The Construction Products Association (CPA) has defended itself and its members against  Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Michael Gove, who had accused materials manufacturers of using the scale of the cladding crisis as an “excuse to do nothing”. A statement by the association said that there was “uncertainty and …

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Marshalls makes leadership changes

Marshalls leadership

Marshalls plc, the landscaping and concrete products manufacturer, has announced a number of significant leadership changes. which demonstrate its commitment to growth, development and innovation. Simon Bourne has taken on the role of Chief Operating Officer. Now appointed to the Marshalls plc board, Bourne has worked for the business for …

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BMF Conference to look at MMC opportunities and threats

modern methods of construction paper rics 19

Are Modern Methods of Construction a threat to builders merchants’ business, or do they present untapped opportunities? That’s a question that the Builders Merchants Federation’s Annual Members Conference in September will take a closer look at answering. MMC is high on the Government’s agenda to fast-tracking energy efficient new homes, …

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The horrible cost

Me edit pic for web

But he did not understand the price. Mortals never do. They only see the prize, their heart’s desire, their dream… But the price of getting what you want, is getting what you once wanted. It was International Women’s Day last week and it rather passed me by. I was busy …

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SIG posts return to profit

SIG 3 copy lr

Distribution giant SIG plc has shown a return to underlying profit in its results for the financial year ended December 31 2021. The rise was driven by market share gains and margin discipline in what remains a challenging market, and was ahead of expectations. Group like-for-like sales were up 24% …

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Lords moves further north with purchase of AW Lumb

A.W. Lumb

Builders merchant group Lords has extended its reach northwards with the acquisition of independent builders merchant A W Lumb. The total consideration is £23.1 million, payable in cash, consisting of £19.5 million due on completion and deferred consideration of £3.6 million payable in equal annual instalments over the next five …

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The Pallett LOOP adds more companies

Green pallets

Marshalls, SISK, Countryside, Tobermore and the Wolseley Group are among the latest organisations join the Pallett LOOP system, which works to  reduce the consumption of single-use pallets and switch the sector to a distribution model founded on the principles of recover, repair and reuse. Launched in November, The Pallet LOOP …

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BMJ TRAILBLAZERS 2022: INFORMATION REQUIRED

TB advert 2022

BMJ really needs your help in compiling the annual BMJ Trailblazers supplement. The annual tracker of the top UK builders merchants’ latest statistics and information, it’s the hymn sheet for the industry in terms of who’s who and how everyone is doing. Trailblazers includes the top 52 builders, plumbers and …

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CPA forecasts output up by 4% in 2022

2 building site lr

 Construction output in the industry will grow by a 4.3% in 2022, according to the latest forecasts from the Construction Products Association, slowing to 2.5% in 2023 compared to the 13.3% seen in 2021. Housebuilding  is expected to remain buoyant while infrastructure will be the major driver for growth. Projects …

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