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Builders Merchants sales during April  were down -76.3% compared with April 2019, according to the BMF’s Builders Merchants Building Index, showing the dramatic initial effect of the Government’s Covid-19 Lockdown measures on sales through UK builders’ merchants. Tools took the biggest hit (-90.0%), with Kitchens & Bathrooms (-86.8%) close behind. …

South Wales independent builders’ merchant LBS Builders Merchants opened its 26th branch yesterday (June 15). The branch, on the Ty Verlon Trading Estate in Barry, is the family-run company’s furthest east branch in Wales. The fully-refurbished site, off Cardiff Road, will consist of a builders’ merchant, a Total Plumbing outlet …

A cross-industry collaboration to support the sector’s road to recovery is keeping an eye on issues such as the current plaster shortage. The Builders Merchants Federation (BMF) and the Construction Products Association (CPA) are working to pinpoint and address the key issues as more builders return to site. As the joint leaders …

Brick manufacterers Ibstock and Forterra are to lose 600 jobs as a result of lower forecast demand following the Covid-19 pandemic. With despatches around half what they were this time last year both businesses said selective sites may close and the size and structure of support functions will change. Forterra …

The SILGRANIT® range of sinks from BLANCO has a granite surface that means it can be kept clean without hours of scrubbing with harmful cleaning products. With SILGRANIT®, often just running the tap will be enough to clean the sink. For anything more stubborn and marks that have already dried, …

A number of fundamental changes will be required to ensure that building sites can remain open and safe for their workers in the Covid-19 era, says Brendan Sharkey, head of construction and real estate at accountancy firm MHA MacIntyre Hudson. Following the prime minister’s active encouragement for construction workers to …

The Builders Merchants Federation (BMF) is working with the Construction Products Association (CPA) to monitor the manufacturing and distribution of their respective members in order to meet the needs of housebuilders, contractors and SME builders as sites re-open. They are heading up the Product Availability Group, set-up by the Construction …

The Covid-19 pandemic and the UK lockdown came on top of a February that was already lacklustre for builders merchants. That’s according to figures released in the BMF’s Builders Merchants Building Index (BMBI). February trading is unlikely to have been much affected by the emerging Coronavirus pandemic, pre-dating social distancing, …

Heating product manufacturer Baxi has announced a new partnership with MENTalk, an online community that encourages men to open up and support each other with mental health issues, to help raise awareness of personal wellbeing and provide support for plumbing and heating engineers. MENTalk was founded by three Expert Trades …

The BMF has circulated to members a letter from The Rt Hon Alok Sharma MP, the Secretary of State for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, personally paying tribute to them for working tirelessly during these challenging times and thanking them for their hugely valued and critical contribution to the resilience …