NEWS Lawsons buys AVS Fencing
The Board of independent family-owned builders merchant Lawsons has announced that Lawsons Holdings Limited acquired AVS Group Holdings Limited on the 17th February.
AVS trades through its subsidiary company AVS Fencing Supplies Limited. The turnover of the combined group will be close to £125m with 565 employees and operates from 27 branches across the South East of England.
The acquisition will form a platform for future expansion in the fencing and landscaping market for Lawsons, which operates from 17 branches throughout London and the South East and has been trading for 99 years.
AVS has 10 branches employing over 120 members of staff in the South and East of England majoring in fencing and hard landscaping materials.
AVS will retain its brand identity and continue to operate separately under the direction of its managing director Stewart Pierce. Lawsons’ Simon Lawson Jeremy Norris and Paul Rushent will both join the AVS Holdings Limited Board.
BMF welcomes Pincher as housing minister
Builders merchants trade association the Builders Merchants Federation has welcomed the appointment of the Rt Hon Christopher Pincher as the Minister for Housing, following
Boris Johnson’s first post-election Cabinet reshuffle. John Newcomb, Chief
Executive, the Builders Merchants’ Federation, said: “I congratulate Chris Pincher on taking up the housing portfolio at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. Chris is an experienced minister, although he comes to domestic policy
from the Foreign Office where he was Minister for Europe and the
H&S investment at Russell Roof Tiles
Russell Roof Tiles has become one of the first concrete roof tile manufacturers to adapt to new health and safety standards ahead of schedule. The latest ISO 45001 Standard for occupational health and
safety, had its guidelines revised in 2018 to further support businesses in providing a healthy and safe working environment for employees. Companies were given a three-year transitional period and deadline of March 2021, allowing sufficient time to fully adapt to the new requirements. Russell Roof Tiles managed to achieve its aims in just 18 months, half the time of the transitional period.
March 2020
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Americas. The diplomatic skills he brings from that role will be put to good use in persuading local authorities to significantly increase the rate of much-needed new house building throughout England”.
The whole thrust must be implementation, he added, to enable BMF members to invest confidently in the people and materials and products needed.
UK holds back
Builders merchant group Grafton saw a decline of 1.5% in UK Merchanting, growth of 2.0% in Irish Merchanting, growth of 1.3% in Netherlands merchanting, a decline of 0.3% in Retailing and growth of 6.7% in Manufacturing, in the financial year ended December 31 2019. Selco Builders Warehouse annual revenue was over £0.5 bn though operating profit was marginally lower due to the weaker volumes. Civils & Lintels, made gains in the distribution of steel and concrete lintels, while trading conditions at Buildbase started to weaken in the second quarter and the rate of decline on the prior year intensified through to the year end.
Subdued economic growth and political uncertainty contributed to weak consumer sentiment leading households to hold off on spending on RMI projects. Gavin Slark, Chief Executive
Officer said the outlook for 2020 is of continuing but moderating growth in Ireland and the
Netherlands and that the group remains cautious about the speed of any recovery.
IN BRIEF
Selco Builders Warehouse has taken the wraps off a £1m-plus investment in its digital platforms by launching a new
website,
selcobw.com. The improvements mark the start of a range of investments in Selco’s digital programme to help tradespeople purchase materials and products in the most convenient way possible.
The Hultafors Group’s PPE portfolio has been extended with the acquisition of
EMMA Safety Footwear. The group already includes tools, workwear and protective wear brands Snickers
Workwear, Solid Gear and Toe Guard safety footwear.
Imperial Bricks’ feature wall Brick Tiles can now be seen in their full glory on
www.imperialbricktiles.
co.uk. It shows the full
range of products available. A coverage calculator,
installation instructions, and an FAQ section make it easy to measure up, cost and fit the tiles and panels, while project case studies help inspire visitors to the site.
Baxi Heating is calling on the Government to mandate hydrogen-ready boilers for all new gas boiler installa- tions by 2025. Responding to the report from the Hydro- gen Taskforce, the company is also calling for £1bn of investment to prepare the UK for hydrogen production, distribution and storage at scale, which will be neces- sary if the UK is to develop a hydrogen future and meet Net Zero. Jeff House, Head of External Affairs for Baxi Heating, says: “We call on the government to match our commitment with a clear message that hydrogen is one of the key solutions to deliver Net Zero by commit- ting £1bn towards readying the UK for hydrogen in the upcoming Spending Re- view.”
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