INDUSTRYNEWS
70 % OF BUILDERS REPORT MATERIAL PRICE HIKES
70 % of UK builders have seen an increase in material prices due to the depreciation of the pound , new research from the Federation of Master Builders ( FMB ) has revealed .
|
»»
SARAH MCMONAGLE , Director of External Affairs at the FMB , said : “ Thousands of smaller building firms are grappling with the rising cost of materials caused by the depreciation of sterling since the EU referendum . More than 70 % of smaller building firms have experienced increased costs as a result of the weakened currency ,
|
with additional increases of 10 to 15 % expected as the new year unfolds . Anecdotally , construction SMEs are already reporting an increase of 22 % in Spanish slate and 20 % increase in timber . A quarter of all materials used by the UK construction industry are imported – this is significant and underlines the vulnerability of the industry |
to sudden fluctuations in the strength of our currency . The combined pressure of higher material prices and the rising cost of skilled labour represents a serious challenge to builders .” McMonagle concluded : “ What this means is that home owners could start to see the cost of their building projects increase . It also means that |
|
consumer choice may be reduced as some home owners face having to compromise on aspects of their project due to the fact that certain materials have become too expensive . There is also an added headache for the builder , as material price rises can come at short notice and if they are mid-project , the original costing is no longer accurate .” |
ACTIONS LEAD TO SERIOUS CENSURE
»»
THE DIRECTOR OF A WINDOW installation company has been banned from being a director for seven years after taking deposits from customers with no reasonable prospect of being able to deliver the goods .
Kelly Ord , of Coventry , the director of Emperor Windows Limited , signed a disqualification undertaking after an Insolvency Service investigation revealed he had taken deposits from 78 customers totalling £ 85,552 between January 2016 and 1 July 2016 , for goods and services that it then failed to supply .
Mr Ord had sought advice regarding debts owed by Emperor Windows by February 2016 , but still went on to take deposits .
Commenting on the disqualification , Kevin Read , Official Receiver at the Insolvency Service , said : “ Mr Ord caused Emperor Windows Limited to take deposits from customers when the company was insolvent and without a reasonable expectation that services would be provided . The company failed to provide services to these customers and losses were incurred as a result .
“ Company directors should note from this enforcement result that actions of this kind will lead to serious censure .
“ This disqualification is a reminder to others tempted to do the same that the Insolvency Service will rigorously pursue enforcement action and seek to remove from them the privilege of trading with limited liability to protect the public for a lengthy period .”
Reliability and Efficiency
»»
ASTRASEAL HAS INVESTED IN three new MAN TGL dropwell box vans .
The vehicles will be put to work delivering units to fitters at UK sites .
Mark McMullan , Astraseal Group managing director , said : “ We have a fleet of about 70 vehicles , the majority of which are vans , but we do have five trucks , four of which are MAN , for large deliveries out to our fitters .
“ We have had a long relationship with MAN and of the three new trucks two are replacements for old vehicles , while the third is an investment in expansion of our fleet .
“ The way we work we have teams of fitters allocated to different jobs and the trucks deliver the windows out to the sites . They are being used for our large contracts .
‘ a perfect fit for the work Astraseal will be setting ’
“ The vehicles we had before were all Euro 5 and we have seen that the new Euro 6s will deliver on economy . That , and our experience of our MANs always being reliable , is what helped shape our decision to invest in the brand again .”
Scott Munton , MAN sales executive , added : “ Mark knows he can count on MAN for reliability and economy and the TGLs are a perfect fit for the work Astraseal will be setting them .”
www . mantruckandbus . com
8 » FEB 2017 » CLEARVIEW-UK . COM