THE MONTH GPH welcomes local MP


He was shown around by chairman Mike Macauley and managing director Grant Shewan and directors Ken Findlay and John Glover.


The group discussed a


Colin Clark, the MP for Gordon, visited the Inverurie premises of builders merchant GPH on Friday 6 July.


number of issues relating to the merchanting industry, including Business Rates, Local Authority Contracts, Building of Affordable Housing and the Brexit Effect on NE Scotland. They also talked about the lack of support in public procurement for local SME


Keyline’s new Leeds branch


Civils and engineering specialist merchant, Keyline, part of the Travis Perkins group, has opened a new specialist branch in Leeds. The 3.5-acre site will provide an increased product range to customers in the surrounding area, from small tools to 1.5 tonne diggers.The company investment of over £1m to date includes Keyline’s first hire offering in Leeds which will run under the banner of Leeds Lockside Hire, managed by Michael Rokita.


suppliers and sub-contractors to benefit from large publicly funded construction projects, such as Aberdeen Exhibition & Conference Centre and Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route


Clark said “As MP for Gordon I am really keen to visit local companies to discuss issues that affect them. GPH is the largest independent merchants north of Dundee. A stalwart of the NE supplying trades people and DIY for over 30 years.”


Rembrand merges with Thornbridge


Scottish independent timber merchant Rembrand has merged with Thornbridge Sawmills and NY Timber.


Gibbs & Dandy offers business support


Gibbs & Dandy is offering free business skills training to custom- ers who run their own businesses. The Entrepreneurship Foun- dation will cover skills such as finance, team management, marketing and social media. Delegates will also be provided with a senior-level mentor from Gibbs & Dandy’s parent company Saint-Gobain. To be eligible for the scheme, participants must be recommend- ed by the Gibbs & Dandy sales


8


team, have been trading with Gibbs for three months or more and run a limited company. The Foundation will have a


year’s trial. Managing director Neil Law-


rence said: “At Gibbs & Dandy we are passionate about support- ing enthusiastic, hard-working tradespeople to improve their skillset and move forward in their careers. They are the future of our industry and this scheme will provide them with the tools they need to flourish.”


The move follows the retirement of George Low, Rembrand Timber’s founder and managing director and is supported by further investment from Cairngorm Capital Partners, a specialist private investment firm, which recently bought Parker Building Supplies. Thornbridge merged with NYTimber, in February 2018 and , with Rembrand, the newly extended business will be the leading independent timber distribution company in Scotland and the North of England, with 35 branches, revenues exceeding £100 million and over 600 employees.


Low said: “I have long been an admirer of Thornbridge and all that it has achieved. We have much in common in terms of our heritage.”


The enlarged group will now be run by incoming group chief executive, Rob Barclay, who joins from SIG plc, where he was group managing director for UK and Ireland.


www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net August 2018


Jewson driver saves life of


customer A driver from Jewson saved the life of an elderly woman he found slumped on her kitchen floor when he tried to deliver her parcel. When Dave Shearer knocked at ‘Bunty’ Petty’s door in Somerset to deliver the item she had ordered from Jewson,there was no answer. However, he could hear groans coming from the kitchen and went to check everything was okay. If he hadn’t, Petty says she ‘wouldn’t be here’. Shearer called the


ambulance and stayed with Petty until it arrived, keeping her talking. He said: “I’m qualified in first aid, so when I heard the groans I knew something wasn’t right. I am so please she has recovered.”


Revenue up at C&W Berry


Lancashire merchant C&W Berry turned over £48.1m in the year to October 31 2017, up 12% from the same period a year earlier, newly filed accounts have revealed. Pre-tax profit remained flat at


£3.8m.


The company said the turno- ver hike was down to increased demand in new housing, which accounted for nearly a third of the growth. The fact that direct to site orders increased, did have a negative impact on overall percentage margin.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52