Winners and losers

The grown-up children of older homeowners may not be too thrilled at the news but the growing practice of Equity Release may bring rather more cheer to any home improvement retrofitters, with 10% more of such plans taken out in the space of just a month. This is all the more relevant as those young customers of the 80s and 90s double glazing boom might now be looking to how much the offering has moved on since then in terms of looks and security. Read Story

This comes in sharp contrast to the world of construction, which has recorded another milestone in its medium-term decline.

Elsewhere this week, two companies from the industry, Thermoseal and Origin have earned a spot in that exclusive business club that is the Sunday Times HSBC International Track 200 list.

And of course, congratulations to GM Fundraising and all those who made Circus Beserkus, their latest annual gala dinner the best yet, with nearly £67,000 raised for the industry’s favourite worthy cause. Read Story

We hope you enjoy this week’s issue.

Chris Church Editor

Please send all your news stories to news@the-glazine.com

This Week's News

Hartshorn to step down

Roger Hartshorn has announced he is to step down as CEO of the Flamstead Group, owner of HL Plastics with its Liniar brand, as well as Avantek Machinery, after 41 years with HL and the group.

His announcement adds that he will leave the role in October “in order to spend more time on other personal and business interests.”

He continued: “I’m incredibly proud to have been a part of the success that HL Plastics has achieved. But I feel that now is a good time to move away, safe in the knowledge that the Group will be left in a superb position under the guidance of a proven, stable management team.”

Read More Here

DHF praises Dr Barbara Lane for Grenfell report

The Door & Hardware Federation has welcomed a series of findings by Chartered Fire Safety Engineer Dr Barbara Lane given in evidence last week to Sir Martin Moore-Bick's public inquiry into the Grenfell Tower blaze. Dr Lane presented her conclusions in a comprehensive report, in which she listed a number of failed safety regulations that she believes contributed to the significant loss of life. 

In particular, DHF has praised her findings pertaining to the inadequacy of the tower’s fire doors, described by her as “a crucial element of the stay-put strategy, as they represent an opportunity for weak spots to form in the fire-resistant partitions that separate a flat fire from occupants either on that floor where the fire has started, or occupants in the flat above the floor where the fire has started.” The Federation says this is something it has been emphasising for many months. 

“Compartmentation is vital and plays an important role in passive fire protection”, said CEO Bob Perry. “The need for compliant fire-resistant doorsets is crucial, and as Dr Lane has stated, the non-compliance of the flat entrance fire doors would have contributed to the failure to prevent the spread of fire and hot smoke from the flat to the lobby”.

Read More Here

Equity release still
on the rise

Homeowners took out 10% more equity release plans last month compared with April, amounting to nearly 6% more in total cash over the same period, according to figures published this week.

While this resulted in a slight decline in the amount released per household, regional figures differ significantly. The biggest increase was in Yorkshire and Humber where the average per household grew by over a quarter in the month, from £39,688 to £50,575

Londoners, in contrast, released substantially almost a third less equity from their homes in May, than they did in April.
Steve Wilkie, managing director Responsible Equity Release, which published the figures, said: “The equity release market is proving extremely resilient to economic and housing market conditions. The number of homeowners taking out plans and the total amount of equity released were both up in May.

Read More Here

Construction dips to
five-year low

The value of new construction contracts in May reached £4.5 billion, a decrease of almost ten per cent compared to April and the lowest amount for over five years, with residential and infrastructure bearing the brunt of the decline, according to the latest figures from industry analyst Barbour ABI.

Industrial and education were the only sectors in May that produced positive growth in contract values, increasing by 2.2 and 4.6 per cent respectively. The biggest fall came from commercial and retail construction, which, fell by almost 30 per cent despite having the largest project of the month.

Michael Dall, Lead Economist at Barbour ABI, said: “Across May we continued to see the decline in housing and infrastructure construction, with the value of new work in construction reaching its lowest point since January 2013.

Read More Here