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JANUARY 2014 PRO INSTALLER
PRO BUSINESS
www.proinstaller.co.uk
WELCOME SUPPORT
FOR INSTALLERS
Synseal has received well over 300 applications from installers to join their Synseal Registered
Installer (SRI) scheme since the April launch at the FIT Show, and this impressive number includes
several K2 roof installers who purchase from Premier Conservatory Supplies, based in Bolton.
Premier’s Managing
Director, Peter Gray,
is pleased with the innovative support that
Synseal is now offering to K2 customers.
“When Synseal acquired
K2 last year I wasn’t sure
how things were going
to pan out, but like many
others I decided to adopt a
totally open mind and I’ve
been impressed with how
Synseal go about business,”
says Peter. “They have
adapted their SRI support
package to include installers of K2 roofs and the free
welcome boxes they provide are full of useful stuff
such as retail brochures
that really add value and
help my installer customers
sell to homeowners.”
Peter Gray, MD of Premier
Conservatory Supplies and Mark
Davenport, Synseal’s Northern
region Key Account Manager.
Funding boost for new
affordable homes
Housing Minister Kris
Hopkins welcomed a
deal that will release
£500 million additional
funding to build new
affordable homes
across the country.
This new investment,
secured through an agreement with the European
Investment Bank (EIB), will
help deliver up to 4,300
new affordable homes to
rent.
The funding will form
part of the £3.5 billion Affordable Housing
Guarantees programme,
which enables housing associations to use a government guarantee to secure
private investment at more
competitive rates than they
would otherwise.
Kris Hopkins said: “This
deal with the European
Investment Bank is a
vote of confidence in our
ongoing efforts to restore
confidence to our housing market and get Britain
building.
“This £500 million investment will help deliver up
to 4,300 new affordable
homes across the country, on top of the 170,000
affordable homes we’ve
already delivered since
2010.
Jonathan Taylor, European Investment Bank Vice
President responsible for
the UK said: “The initiative
will significantly enhance
construction of affordable housing by housing
associations across the
country.”
FIRST BORROWERS
Mr Hopkins also confirmed the first eight housing associations to receive
funding through Affordable
Housing Guarantees are:
• Devon & Cornwall Housing Limited, who will
borrow up to £85 million
to build 887 homes in
those counties.
• Hexagon Housing Association will borrow up to
£12.5 million to build 74
homes in Greater London
and the South East.
• First Wessex will borrow up to £88 million
to build 589 homes in
Hampshire and Surrey.
While the overall branding of SRI reflects the
Synseal group identity, the
scheme recognises that
many professional installers
have a long-term purchasing loyalty to the K2 and
Global conservatory roofing brands, so eye-catching
logo van stickers are also
available to promote these
popular products.
• Great Places will borrow
up to £50 million to build
674 homes in Manchester
and the North.
• Wales and West Housing
Association will borrow up to £25 million
to build 251 homes in
Wales.
• Adactus will borrow up
to £27 million to build
344 homes in Greater
Manchester and Lancashire.
• Home group will borrow up to £61 million
to build 642 homes in
England.
• Paradigm will borrow up
to £65 million to deliver
up to 594 homes across
South and East England,
and Greater London
Together, they will receive
up to £400 million to build,
own and manage up to
4,000 homes.
LET’S FINISH
THE JOB
Chancellor George
Osborne gave a keynote speech on the
economy setting out
the economic choice
facing Britain in 2014
and explaining the five
components of the
government’s longterm economic plan to
build a stronger, more
competitive economy.
The Chancellor was
speaking at component
manufacturer Sertec
Group’s new Head Office
in Coleshill, Birmingham,
on a day that the company
announced that it plans
to take on 400 additional
people over the next four
years.
The Chancellor pointed to
evidence that Britain’s hard
work is paying off and that,
“For the first time in a long
time, there’s a real sense
that Britain is on the rise.”
But as the New Year
begins, he also wanted to
warn against any complacency that the hard part of
the job is done. The Chan-
cellor said: “That’s why
2014 is the year of hard
truths. The year when Britain faces a choice. Do we
say: the worst is over; back
we go to our bad habits
of borrowing and spending and living beyond our
means – and let the next
generation pay the bill?
“Or do we say to ourselves: yes, because of our
plan, things are getting
better. But there is still
a long way to go – and
there are big, underlying
problems we have to fix in
our economy. More repairs.
More cuts. More difficult
decisions.
“That’s the choice in 2014:
to go on working through
a plan that is delivering for
Britain, putting us back in
control of our destiny with
the security and peace of
mind that brings; or squander what we’ve achieved
and go back to economic
ruin.
“Ultimately it’s your
choice – a choice for the
British people.”
He then set out the five
components of his longterm economic plan to
build a stronger, more
competitive, economy to
secure a better future for
hard-working families and
future generations by:
• cutting the deficit
• redu