City Plumbing owner acquires PAB systems

The Highbourne Group, the owner of City Plumbing, has acquired Policy Administration Business (PAB) Systems. This is the first acquisition of the Highbourne Group, and it offers a multitude of benefits to plumbing and heating engineers, landlords and homeowners.

Users will be able to benefit from PAB systems to proactively identify the boiler fault and the required remedy, reducing the time the boiler is unavailable for use, the cost of solving the issue and the mileage and CO2 emissions for each engineer. The PAB system has a comprehensive boiler database with detailed fault code information about every boiler ever made and manufactured, and any required spare parts needed to remedy that fault.

The acquisition will enable City Plumbing to launch a diagnostic fault-finding service later this year – a subscription-based fault diagnostic service that will utilise PAB’s data and services to assist customers to diagnose faults quickly, improve first-time fix rates, and quickly source the spares they need through City Plumbing’s 370-strong branch network.

Set to be the first of its kind in the UK, the service will be a 24/7 nationwide support network that enables a ‘supply and fix’ service for trusted engineer and installer partners of City Plumbing to fix and repair any boiler efficiently, first time.

Dave Evans, chief executive officer at The Highbourne Group, said: “As one of the nation’s largest providers of spare parts to the plumbing and heating sector, we have observed that the ways in which our customers want to do business with us are changing. We recognise that many plumbing and heating businesses and their engineers are increasingly turning to technology to help them operate more effectively and therefore we are focusing on developing our strategies and solutions with a digital first mindset.

“Through the acquisition of PAB, we will combine data, diagnostics and digital technologies with our ability to effectively stock and distribute thousands of spare parts across the country. This partnership will ensure that almost every engineer in the country can have even quicker access to what they need; when they need it, meaning they can provide a better and ultimately more efficient service to their customers.”