Supply chain issues have affected businesses in every industry, both across the UK and globally. Some experts predict the continuation of backlogs and shortages for up to at least another year as the impact of volatile global markets continues to have an effect. Most recently, industrial action at the UK’s largest container port in Felixstowe…
More than a fifth (21%) of UK tradespeople will be working on Christmas Day this year due to the cost of living crisis, new research has revealed. The study by IronmongeryDirect, the UK’s largest supplier of specialist ironmongery, asked workers across the nation about their festive plans and almost a third (31%) said that they…
EDATA, the data pool for the UK’s electrotechnical sector, has recently launched a Dynamic Data Sheet service for electrical wholesalers. Until now wholesalers typically contacted each one of their manufacturer suppliers separately to request product information but this latest EDATA development means that full-colour data sheets for over 160,000 products can be printed on demand…
Access to mortgages is holding back small house builders from building, reveals the latest FMB House Builders’ Survey, which is launched tomorrow in Parliament. Restricted mortgage access, an issue that is rarely cited as a major barrier to development, has entered the list of top four barriers stopping development. Worryingly local house builders indicated this…
New data from small business insurance provider Simply Business and online construction community On The Tools has identified the UK’s tool theft hotspots amid a growing tool theft epidemic. The survey of over 2,000 tradespeople from across the UK reveals that South East England has the highest rate of tool theft, with almost one in…
Initiative to help struggling Northamptonshire families and young people in care this Christmas Travis Perkins’ and Northampton Saints’ Christmas Toy Collection returns for its ninth year. Ahead of Christmas, Travis Perkins, the UK’s leading distributor of building materials, has teamed up with Northampton Saints and the Northampton Saints Foundation to share donations from the club’s…
Screwfix, the omnichannel retailer, has launched a brand-new scheme which will fund the training of construction trade apprentices, in a bid to help tackle the skills shortage and encourage more people into the trade. Screwfix undertook extensive research among both apprentices and tradespeople, which revealed the costs associated with an apprenticeship are a significant barrier…
Electrical distributor Rexel has announced a partnership with last-mile, on-demand delivery network Gophr to offer customers a new 90 minute delivery service called ‘Rexel Rapid’. Rexel, a leading distributor in the UK, is working with Gophr to deliver to customers within a five mile radius of their local branch within 90 minutes or less. The…
Scotland’s largest construction trade body, SELECT, has warned that “significant investment” is needed to ensure there is a sufficiently skilled workforce to install new domestic heating technology and meet net zero targets safely. The campaigning electrical association says investment in “proper” apprenticeships and upskilling the existing workforce is essential – and it’s also vital to…
One of the UK’s leading builders merchants has delivered tonnes of materials to help build the second phase of the country’s only DIY skateboard park to be given formal status. Selco Builders Warehouse had already donated materials for the first phase of the Birmingham DIY Skate Park, located in Bournbrook Recreation Ground, Selly Oak, last…