NEWSROUND BMF drives net zero agenda at Parliamentary Reception


The Builders Merchant Federation unveiled its new “Race to Zero” policy document at a Parliamentary Reception attended by 140 guests including members of both Houses of Parliament as well as builders merchants and building materials manufacturers.


With the theme Building a Sustainable Britain, the reception was held on the same day the government announced its Heat and Buildings Strategy. This outlined plans to drive down the cost of clean energy, including £5,000 grants for those replacing gas boilers with heat pumps to help decarbonise their homes, as well as a range of other measures. Speaking at the event, both Rt Hon Christopher Pincher MP, Secretary of State for Housing and Paul Scully MP, Minister for


CMO Group taps into plumbing market with new acquisition


As part of its continued growth and expansion, online building merchant CMO Group PLC is set to diversify into the plumbing and heating market following the acquisition of JTM Plumbing Limited in a deal worth up to £5.7m.


Founded in 2007, JTM Plumbing Limited is a pure play digital retailer of first fix plumbing and heating supplies including copper pipe and fittings, plastic pipe and pushfit fittings, water filters, heating (thermostats/ tanks and heaters/radiator valves), lagging, insulation and accessories, based in Darlington,


Plumbing & heating merchants maintain year-on-year growth


The latest figures from the Plumbing & Heating Merchant Index (PHMI) report, published in October, show value sales through specialist plumbing and heating merchants up 8.3% in August compared to August 2020. Like-for-like average sales a day, which take trading day differences into account, were 3.2% higher than August 2020. Measured against the same


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period in 2019, a pre-pandemic year, monthly sales for August 2021 showed marginal growth (+0.8%), with no difference in trading days. Compared to July, total


merchants August sales were down -6.6% with no difference in trading days. Value sales in the three months


County Durham. CMO’s acquisition of the company will extend the company’s already extensive product offering and will be marketed under the name– www.plumbingsuperstore. co.uk


Dean Murray, CEO of CMO said: “The acquisition of JTM Plumbing Limited is exciting for us: not only does it take us into a new category expanding our capability into heating and plumbing products but it also expands our addressable market to a swathe of professional tradespeople that we had not targeted previously.


Small Business, Consumers & Labour Markets acknowledged the vital role the building materials industry will play in the development and delivery of heat pumps, insulation and other new technologies required to drive down carbon emissions, expressing the government’s commitment to supporting the building supply chain to build more skills and more homes.


BMF CEO, John Newcomb, said: “We cannot achieve net zero without addressing the building


James Latham buys IJK


Timber Group


Timber and materials supplier James Latham has strengthened its position in Northern Ireland with the acquisition of IJK Timber Group Ltd. Offering a comprehensive range of panel products, softwoods and hardwoods from two established sites, IJK is a division of Sarcon (No155) Limited and trades as IJK Timber and Northern Hardwood. The companies have now become part of the Latham Group, but will continue to trade in the same way with no


June to August 2021 were 17.9% higher when compared to the same three months last year, with one less trading day this year. Average sales a day were 19.7% higher.


Comparing the same three- month to a more normal period in June to August 2019, sales were 2.7% higher, with no difference in trading days. Total sales in June to August 2021 were down 8.1% compared with the previous three months (March to May), even with two more trading days. Year-to-date sales (January to August 2021) were up 29.2% on


environment, and houses in particular. Our homes use 35% of all the energy in the UK and emit 20% of the carbon dioxide emissions. Most are heated by gas, and many are not well insulated. We welcome the announcement to support the start of the decarbonisation of homes with a three-year grant programme to help suitable homes transition to heat pumps, but with 28 million existing homes to upgrade sustained longer-term support will be required.”


disruption to regular service. Former owners and directors of the


company,


Graham Knox and Peter Elwood will continue to run the business as part of the Latham management team.


This is a strategic acquisition for James Latham to strengthen its business footing in the region and provides the platform along with an experienced team to provide an excellent ex-stock service for both existing and new customers from stocks held in Northern Ireland.


the same period last year, with two less trading days this year, and 2.9% up on the same eight months in 2019, with two less trading days. Like-for-like sales were 30.7% higher compared to 2020, and 4.1% up on 2019. Over the last 12 months (August 2020 to July 2021), specialist plumbing and heating merchant sales were 17.8% higher than the same period a year before, with no difference in trading days. August’s PHMI Index, which contrasts sales with the base period of January to December 2019, was 93.0.


www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net November 2021


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