UK government and green bank support £74m Scottish renewables plant

Posted on by Posted in Renewable Energy

renewablesThe UK government and the Green Investment Bank plan to invest in a new renewable energy plant in Scotland, which will help power a well-known whisky distillery, Reuters has reported.

The project will cost a total of £74m. The UK Treasury will raise up to £48m from a bond issue, while the Green Investment Bank and asset manager John Laing will each invest around £13m.

The contributions from the bank and John Laing depend on the successful conclusion of the bond process, the Treasury said in a statement.

The Green Investment Bank was created in 2012 by the government to back green energy projects in Britain and to spur private sector investment in the low-carbon energy sector.

The combined heat and power plant in Moray, Scotland, will use biomass to generate around 87 gigawatt hours (GWh) per year of renewable electricity, which is enough to power more than 20,000 homes.

The plant will also produce nearly 77 GWh per year of heat, which will be sold to the nearby Macallan distillery to use in its processes to make Scotch whisky.

Macallan is one of the world’s largest-selling single malt whiskies and is owned by the Edrington Group.

The project, which is being developed by Estover Energy, is expected to be operational in 2016. The biomass used in the plant will be by-products from the local forestry industry.

Scotland votes on independence on Sept. 18 and many businesses have expressed concerns about what currency would be used in an independent Scotland. Financial regulation, taxation, and EU membership are also hot topics.

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Get in early for plumbers and heating home improvements

Posted on by Posted in Heating, Plumbing Industry News

earlyplumbfixQualified plumbers and heating engineers are among UK tradesmen whose diaries are getting full up, with many expecting to get even busier over the next 12 months according to new research by trade supplier, Plumbfix.

Nearly half (42%) of all tradesmen including qualified plumbers and heating engineers questioned by Plumbfix’s umbrella organisation, the Screwfix Group, in its Trade Pulse report were surprised by how busy they were. With nearly one in five (17%) saying they already have more work than they can handle and even more (58%) expecting their business activity to increase over the next 12 months.

It seems this expectation is well-founded, with more than one in three (38%) tradesmen providing more quotes than this time last year. The vast majority (82%) are currently working on projects with more work scheduled – this compares to 73% who were in the same position in 2013 and 68% who said they were being kept busy two years ago.

Not only does the research reveal that tradesmen are increasingly optimistic about their own workload, but it also demonstrates how they feel about the general economy, with more than half (58%) confident that it will continue to improve over the next 12 months.

Andrew Livingston, CEO of Plumbfix, said:

“We have seen increasing optimism among our trade customers for some time now, so these latest findings support what we’ve been experiencing.  The fact that nearly one in five tradesmen are saying they have more work than they can handle represents potential growth across the industry, as well as increasing employment opportunities in all sectors, which is great news for the UK economy. It also means that the industry as a whole needs to consider how it can better support tradesmen in helping them to grow their businesses at this time of opportunity.

“We know our customers are busy and time is money, that’s why we’re working hard to make things easy for them so they’ve got more time on the job; like our mobile site, which provides tradesmen with the opportunity to take advantage of our five minute ‘Click & Collect’ service whether they are on site or in their van.”

Trade Pulse is a monthly index which surveys more than 500 UK tradesmen including qualified plumbers and heating engineers and tracks work levels and optimism among the trade.

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Construction: Second quarter housing starts up 18 percent on last year

Posted on by Posted in Construction

1322033635_generic-housingThe level of England’s new housing construction activity in the April to June quarter of 2014 was unchanged on the first quarter but up 18% year-on-year.

The latest statistics show that there were 36,230 new housing starts in England between April and June. Although this is the same amount that was seen in the previous quarter, it represents an increase of 18% on the same quarter last year.

It brings the total number of starts over the last 12 months to 137,780, which is a 22% increase on the previous year and the highest level of house building since 2007.

The government said that the construction sector had now been growing for 15 consecutive months, and is currently experiencing the sharpest rise in house-building orders since 2003. Companies are taking on new workers at the fastest rate since 1997, it said.

Seasonally adjusted house-building starts are now 112% above the trough in the first quarter of 2009 but remain 26% below the last peak seen that was seen in the first quarter of 2007, just before the bubble burst.

Seasonally adjusted completions are estimated at 29,540 in the second quarter of 2014, 6% higher than the previous quarter and 7% higher than the same period last year.

Annual housing completions in England totalled 114,440 in the 12 months to June 2014, an increase of 7% compared with the previous 12 months

Last year successful applications for major housing schemes were up 23%, and planning permission was granted for 216,000 new homes.

Housing minister Brandon Lewis said that the figures were evidence that the government’s long-term economic plan to improve the housing market is working.

He said:

“Wherever you look across the housing market, the signs of progress are clear. House-building in England is up by over a fifth compared to last year, orders for building materials are rising at the quickest pace for 11 years, and companies are hiring new staff at the fastest rate since 1997

“improving the housing market will remain a vital part of our long-term economic plan”.

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New UK distributor for De Dietrich

Posted on by Posted in Bathrooms and Kitchens

Richard-Broderick-400Dublin-based distribution company, KAL Group has been appointed by Groupe Brandt (France) S.A.S., to promote and distribute De Dietrich kitchen appliances throughout the UK.

As part of the agreement, KAL Group will honour all warranty obligations for the De Dietrich brand. The Group has also has appointed key members of staff from the former FagorBrandt-owned subsidiary company, De Dietrich Kitchen Appliances Ltd. including Stuart Frost, and it says that a re-stocking project is already underway.

KAL Group is no stranger to high-end appliance distribution. It is already a significant player in the Irish white goods market, distributing brands such as AGA, Bauknecht, Elica, Haier, Neff, NordMende and Sharp, together with related brands such as Franke and InSinkErator.

Established in 1981, KAL Group is a member of the Gowan Group, a family-owned holding company directly controlling many successful trading companies as well as significant property holdings and financial investments.

The business trades under the company name of AB Distributors in Northern Ireland, which is now expanding into the mainland UK market following the partnership agreement with Groupe Brandt (France).

Richard Broderick, managing director, KAL Group (seen here) said:

“We are delighted to be working in partnership with Groupe Brandt (France) to distribute the premium De Dietrich brand throughout the UK. Our first commitment is to honour all warranties and our second is to restore absolute confidence to retailers in this excellent and technologically advanced appliance brand and we have the manpower, service and support structure to make that happen.”

www.abdistributors.co.uk/

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Plumbing industry enthusiastic about the future

Posted on by Posted in Plumbing Industry News

uponorWith rising optimism in the construction and house building sectors, research by Uponor has shown that the heating and plumbing industry is following suit with 90% of installers enthusiastic about the year ahead.

In the survey of Uponor’s supplier network, 45% of respondents thought that the biggest factor affecting their business would be customers wanting more efficient systems to help them to save money, while over half (52%) said simply the recovering economy.

Chris Greaves, head of offerings and markets at Uponor UK, said:

“It is no surprise that as the house building and construction markets begin to improve, installers’ order books also expand as more and more homeowners have the extra cash to invest in new heating systems or extensions.”

Interestingly, installers also responded to say that there is a shift in demand for different technologies with a cool 73% of installers highlighting underfloor heating (UFH) as a key solution in the year ahead. This was closely followed by heat pumps and solar thermal with 59% and 39% respectively. Combined heat and power and cooling technologies however featured bottom, with less than one per cent of the vote each.

In fact, when installers were asked why UFH had received such a low uptake compared to Europe, over two thirds said it was because consumers had very little understanding of the technology. Remarkably, just under a quarter (24%) said that they and other installers had limited knowledge of the technology and how to install it while 31% said they didn’t think it was suitable for UK homes.

Chris said:

“The research provides a great snapshot of the plumbing industry and the rising optimism within the market. What’s great to see is the rising importance of technologies such as UFH but also the need for education within the marketplace.

“Many European countries already utilise UFH systems for both heating and cooling, so if temperatures continue to rise here in the UK, as predicted, it could be an interesting new development for the plumbing industry.”

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