NEWSROUND


Jewson warns of further rises


Builders merchant chain Jewson has warned that prices of key building materials are rising by as much as 20% this month. In its January 2023 supplier update to customers, Jewson says that prices of building products are going up yet again due to the continuing rising costs of fuel, gas and energy impacting on both raw materials and manufacturers.


Bricks are going up by ‘up to’ 20%, as are drainage pipes. Block paving is going up by up to 19.5%. Aerated blocks, plaster and roofing materials are increasing by up to 18%; plasterboard and specialist board by up to 17%.


There are also double-digit price prices for aggregates, PIR insulation and for heating and plumbing materials.


All price rises are subject to local variations.


St Andrews Timber & Building Supplies opens fourth branch


Builders merchant St Andrews Timber & Building Supplies has opened its fourth branch, in Livingston, Scotland.


Established in 2002, St Andrews stocks over 100,000 timber and building products across locations in Edinburgh and Paisley, serving both trade and retail customers across the Scottish Central Belt, with a specialist distribution division offering expert advice, products and services for a range of insulation products from a specialist location at the company’s Prestonfield HQ in Edinburgh.


The new Livingston branch will also stock, sell and distribute a full range of heavy side building materials including insulation and drylining, concrete blocks lintels and slabs, structural steel, aggregates, and hard and soft landscaping.


The new Livingston branch has been built from the ground up by St Andrews and features car parking and a one entrance/


Tobermore sees sales and jobs rise


Paving manufacturer Tobermore saw pre-tax profits increase to just over £19 million last year. The latest accounts for the year ended April 30 2022 showed a 21.6% rise in turnover to £85.4m The company expanded its workforce from 263 in 2019 to 463 in 2022, on the back of the home improvement trend generated by the Covid-19


pandemic, which resulted in record demand for landscaping products. Tobermore’s turnover increased by 68% between 2019 and 2022,


with profit before tax up by 62% in those three years. The company has also invested £34k into the installation of energy- efficient LED lighting across their sites.


6 The company already has a


strong customer-base with regular deliveries in the Livingston area and the new depot will form an excellent strategic bridge between the companies Edinburgh and Paisley bases.


“This new branch has been conceived as a strategic step in our overall growth plans,” says St Andrews managing director Ronnie Robinson.


“Like the true independent


exit one way system to allow the branch to service trade and retail customers quickly and efficiently in one of Scotland’s fastest growing towns.


New Bathroom Trends Pulse survey launched


The Bathroom Manufacturers Association, in conjunction with MRA Research, has launched a new bathroom trends survey, The Bathroom Pulse. The new monthly trends survey is part of The Pulse series of market trends surveys and tracks plumbing and heating merchants’ and retail specialists’ sales expectations, confidence and prospects for the bathroom sector. It aims to establish similar credibility and exposure in the bathroom sector as the established The Pulse survey of builders’ merchants.


merchant that we are, we pride ourselves on offering unrivalled service and support to customers to give them a competitive edge in these uncertain times. This new depot will offer our customers a wide range of building materials, backed with a knowledgeable, experienced team offering excellent service. Support from h&b has helped us massively in establishing our new branch right from the beginning, and the h&b Group and its members have also been a great sounding board for us as we have moved forward.”


Yvette Kirk, Project Director at MRA Research, says: “We’re delighted to be working with the BMA on the new trends survey dedicated to the bathroom sector. Piloted in August, the first wave was completed in November 2022 in time to present the results to the BMA’s Marketing Committee in December. Tom Reynolds, CEO of the BMA, says: “The Bathroom Pulse will help the sector quickly learn more about trends and prospects now and for the future, particularly as we head into what could be a particularly challenging period for the industry.”


www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net January 2023


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