This Week's News

Industry heads call for new national push on retrofitting

Industry leaders have urged the government to embark on a national retrofitting push, calling it the most effective way to cut carbon from the built environment.

At a debate on retrofitting at the Ecobuild conference, Mike Putnam, co-chair of the UK Green Construction Board and chief executive of Skanska UK, called for a greater focus on retrofitting but acknowledged the industry would need outside help to better sell its appeal to the public.

Putnam said: “People like me to tend to be more comfortable talking about financial and technical merits but we need help from people outside the industry who can communicate these benefits to the public.”

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Report points to renewed market confidence – for now

Market growth and renewed confidence are highlighted in a new report by D&G Consulting Ltd, but it adds the caution that the era of austerity is still with us.

“The PVC window, door and conservatory market is growing overall and as a result there is a renewed confidence spanning the industry, but we can’t quite relax yet,” said D&G’s Principal David Amos.

“In the main the news is good for the next few years. Thanks to the increased confidence in the market, we have already seen a renewed interest from investors in M&A activity. But there do remain risks as the Government warns that austerity is still with us. This report details of all of this, as well as some cold hard statistics and analysis about market value and volume.


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New £70m Green Deal injection “not enough” says GGF

The Glass & Glazing federation has reacted immediately to the announcement of a further £70m available for the Green Deal fund, saying it is ‘not nearly enough’.

Nigel Rees, GGF Group Chief Executive said: “Of course it is positive to see funding for homeowners wanting to make their properties more energy efficient but we still feel the incentives are not nearly enough for homeowners wanting to install glazing.”

Referring to the revelation that, out of 15,000 measures installed under Green Deal Home Improvement Fund only 47 windows have been installed, he added:

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Trade fabricator is inspirational, says London Stock Exchange

Trade fabricator Glazerite Windows Ltd has earned a place on the London Stock Exchange’s ‘1000 Companies To Inspire Britain’ list, recognising high-growth companies that have outperformed industry peers and played a part in creating ‘an entrepreneurship revolution’.

Glazerite was chosen as one of the country’s ‘fastest-growing and most exciting and dynamic small and medium sized businesses’, according to London Stock Exchange Group Chief Executive Xavier Rolet, who added:

“This report is a significant part of London Stock Exchange’s broader campaign to support UK high growth companies in their journeys from Start-up to Stardom and to create an entrepreneurship revolution. I’m delighted that a strong alliance between UK Government, financial market participants, investors, entrepreneurs and companies has been created to support these inspiring businesses.”


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RegaLead named as one of ‘1000 Companies to Inspire Britain’

RegaLead has been named by the London Stock Exchange as one of 1000 Companies to Inspire Britain in the second edition of its report for 2015.

Launched in 2013, the report was designed to celebrate those companies which serve as a driving force behind the UK economy and, as such, this second edition identifies the UK’s fastest-growing and most dynamic small and medium sized businesses. Companies included in the list have demonstrated consistent revenue growth over a minimum of three years, significantly outperforming their industry peers.

Guy Hubble, Joint Managing Director at RegaLead said: “We’re delighted to be identified as one of the 1000 Companies to Inspire Britain for 2015. We’ve always made it our business to provide the very best solutions for adding value to glass, windows and doors through decoration.

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Windows on prescription? ‘not so daft’ maybe

“Replacement double glazing on prescription may not be as daft as it sounds if one clinical commissioning group has anything to do with it.” So says Gerald Allen, Marketing Manager at Swish Window and Door Systems.

He explained that pilot project where chronic chest disease sufferers received window and heating upgrades showed a significant decrease in both GP and hospital attendances – as well as a reduction in home heating bills.

In the trial, in Sunderland, where patients had up to £5,000 per house spent on the improvements, initial results showed a 28% drop in GP visits in the winter months, a 40% decrease in hospital visits and an average 30% reduction in heating bills.
He asked: “Is this the first case of the Government taking a joined-up approach to improving the thermal efficiency of housing stock to help the vulnerable?

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Federation calls for urgent action on NI skills exodus

The Northern Ireland Executive has been urged to stem the tide of construction workers leaving the province by committing to more capital spending and ensuring that announced projects go ahead.

The call, from the Federation of Master Builders (FMB).forms part of its Northern Ireland “Programme for Government” due to be launched at a high profile cross-party event in Stormont.

Maire Nawaz, Northern Ireland Director of the FMB, said: “The Northern Ireland construction industry is trailing behind the rest of the UK and today we’re calling on the Executive to put a number of measures in place to boost workloads. While the construction sector stutters in Northern Ireland, we’re seeing stronger and more consistent growth in England, Scotland and Wales so it’s no surprise our skilled workers are being enticed over to the mainland. Our concern is: will they return to NI if and when we begin to catch up?”

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Fire door safety concerns taken to Parliament

The issue of fire door safety was raised in Parliament when MP Jonathan Evans recalled the tragic death of a young architect in a Docklands apartment building.

Supporting the British Woodworking Federartion’s recent Fire Door Safety Week, Evans paid tribute to the bravery of young architect Sophie Rosser and highlighted the Coroner’s later indictment of fire safety at the Meridian Place building, where she died in 2012.

The Cardiff North MP secured the Westminster Hall debate to draw attention to the Coroner’s comments on fire safety issues at Meridian Place, which included untested fire alarms and problems with self-closing fire doors.

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More Priority Schools Building recipients revealed

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Education Secretary Nicky Morgan have announced the second wave of the government’s Priority School Building Programme (PSBP).

Some 277 schools were named as recipients of grants from a £2 billion fund to rebuild or refurbish buildings across England. This follows the 261 allocated grants announced in the first wave of the initiative. The first schools rebuilt under the PSBP opened in May 2014, with the government claiming that the programme is faster and cheaper than its predecessor, Labour’s Buiolding Schools for the Future.

Glenigan figures show that, out the first wave of 261 PSBP projects, 16 school buildings are already open or under construction and the remaining projects are well into the development or planning stages. 

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Chancellor urged to tackle housing shortfall, skills gaps and sustainable construction

The British Woodworking Federation (BWF) has again urged the Government to put support for small businesses and skills growth in the UK at the centre of its financial plans for the year and demanded more sustainable action to boost housebuilding after the next Election.

Chief Executive Iain McIlwee, in a letter ahead of the March 18 Budget repeated the Federation’s calls to scrap proposed changes to the administration of funding for apprentices. He said:

“We know Government has made some inroads into supporting skills growth through apprenticeships, but we also know this is still a huge area of risk to the UK with significant skills shortages across the manufacturing and construction industries.

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