Wolseley backs ‘Get Britain Building’
Merchant Wolseley UK is the latest business to lend its backing to the Get Britain Building (GBB) campaign.
Get Britain Building – launched in February 2009 – is a pan-construction industry campaign determined to get politicians of all parties to recognise the value of the sector to the nation, and to use it to rebuild the UK economy.
Latest recruit Wolseley UK – which trades under the Build Center, Plumb Center, BCG, Encon and William Wilson merchant and distribution brands, among others – officially joined the campaign at the end November. It is the UK operating subsidiary of Wolseley plc, which has a turnover of around £1.6bn.
Rob Marchbank, CEO Wolseley Europe and MD – Wolseley UK, said: “The unprecedented market conditions continue to be challenging and we fully support any campaign which provides a benefit to communities and the sector. We welcome the pledge by the government to invest £1.5bn in the housing sector, and encourage the government to ensure the investment materialises.
“Our nationwide network of branches will be given the opportunity to use Get Britain Building marketing materials to help raise awareness of the campaign on a local level and publicly show our support.”
It is GBB’s contention that government treats construction – which represents 9% of GDP and employs approximately 7,000,000 people – as an ‘invisible industry’, preferring to consider its manufacturing, distribution and contracting arms as disparate sectors.
By doing so, it can avoid accusations of neglect from one of the nation’s powerhouse industries; while being free to favour traditionally emotive, homogenized and unionized groups – such as automotive (which only accounts for 0.8% of GDP) – with headline-grabbing support that brings little to the UK.
Picture, from left: Chris Pateman, GBB and MD Builders Merchants Federation; Mike Leonard, GBB and Director, Modern Masonry Alliance; Rob Marchbank, CEO Wolseley Europe.
