Builders Merchants Journal – BMJ Publishing to Builders Merchants and the UK merchanting industry for more than 95 years
A woman stole GBP32,700 from Parker Severn Builders Merchants in GBP500 a week chunks over 16 months.
Louise Wood, 40, was accounts manager at Parker Severn Builders Merchants in Bulwell, Nottinghamshire, which was bought out of administration last month by Nottingham builders merchants Frank Key Group.
She set up a false bank account to cover her tracks, but the scam was discovered when a colleague covered for her when she was on holiday in May 2008.
After she was caught, Wood admitted the theft and claimed that she had been struggling with serious money worries
She was jailed for 20 months at Nottingham Crown Court.
The family-owned Parker Severn was set up in 1983 and had a turnover of £2.5m. The administrators were called in in October, although this had little to do with Wood’s actions. The struggles have been blamed on the slowdown in the housing and construction market.
