LONDON: Shares in retailers performed well this morning on the stock exchange. Kingfisher, which owns B&Q, added 4.5p at 221.2p and midcap Wickes owner Travis Perkins rose 4.5p at 726p.

SOUTH WEST: Connells Land and New Homes in South West England reported a three-fold increase in demand for new properties at the beginning of 2010 when compared to the same period last year.

BIRMINGHAM: Building firm Rok’s results for the year ended 31 December 2009 showed a successful repositioning of business with increased focus on repairs and maintenance.

BELFAST: Wienerberger has opened its first dedicated sales and distribution centre in Ireland. 

UK: A major campaign by the UK Construction Group is under way, aimed at all three political parties.

Any cuts to state spending, it said, should not fall on public building projects. This would have too great an impact on jobs and the wider economy.

LONDON: The London 2012 Olympic Park Enabling Projects in Stratford have been awarded the top honour at the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) London Civil Engineering Awards 2010.

LONDON: Balfour Beatty reported underlying pre-tax profit up 7% to £267m last year, beating a forecast of City analysts of £266m.

DUBLIN: Late payment continues to be an issue for businesses in Ireland, according to the latest Payment Performance report from Experian.

LONDON: House prices grew last month at their slowest pace since August with property coming on to the market growing faster than the number of new buyers, a survey indicated on Tuesday.

UK: One of Britain largest manufacturers of solar panels is predicting a tenfold rise in demand for solar panels over the next two years.

LONDON: Nottingham University's H.O.U.S.E (Home Optimising the Use of Solar Energy) timber-based building project won the inaugural TTJ/Timber & Sustainable Building Timber Ecobuild prize.

BRISTOL/LINCOLN: Lafarge Plasterboard and Jackson Building Centres have launched a World Cup competition for UK customers.

STOKE-ON-TRENT: Dunlop Adhesives' website includes Professor Dunlop's Bug Blaster, where players can win prizes.

HAMPSHIRE: B&Q and Wickes are participating in a police crime prevention programme.

BRISTOL: SIG Sustainable Solutions welcomed the announcement of the Government's Pay As You Save scheme which addresses one of the key problems people face when considering making green upgrades to their home – the availability of upfront capital.

LONDON: Galiform, the trade kitchen supplier, reported a 13% fall in pre-tax profit and warned that demand would remain constricted throughout 2010. The owner of Howden Joinery said poor weather limited sales during the first part of 2010. It nevertheless plans to increase its market share.

OXFORDSHIRE: Builders' merchants have been warned to expect no help from the next government, according to Steve Clarke, general manager of The Fuelcard People.

LEICESTER: Twenty members of the National Merchant Buying Society have already taken up the opportunity to create their own space on a free web system, designed to give those without a site an opportunity to have an online presence.

UK: Eighty-seven social housing projects across the UK are set to benefit from a share of £17m of government funding to test low carbon building technology, Housing Minister John Healey announced. 

DUBLIN: Grafton group today announced full-year pre-tax profits down 79% in 2009 with revenue down by 26%.

WORCESTER: Leading boiler manufacturer Worcester, Bosch Group, is publicly calling on the Government to extend its boiler scrappage scheme once the initial 125 000 vouchers have been used up.

UK: Travis Perkins Group, supplier to the building and construction industry, has selected the DataFlux technology platform to improve the quality of data within its product database. 

EAST SUSSEX: HPS Heating Plumbing Supplies announced a year of record sales for 2009. Sales were up on 2008 by 8% to £33 334 000, although profits were slightly down (£1.2m), reflecting the tougher market conditions.

LEICESTER: BSS Industrial has teamed up with Geberit to become the largest national distributor of the Silent-db20 – the lightweight drainage system which features acoustic properties. 

GRANTHAM: A barcode from a Wickes DIY store helped police catch a thief who smashed through a shop wall to steal £33 000 in cash.

LONDON: UK construction activity contracted in February although at the lowest rate so far in two-year contraction.

DYSERTH: Thorncliffe Building Supplies is supporting the 'Plasterboard Pledge' campaign to encourage builders to be more environmentally aware.

DUBLIN: Building materials maker CRH revealed a 55% drop in full year pre-tax profit and expects a difficult demand backdrop through much of 2010.

LONDON: Over 75% of small businesses believe that they could grow their business if the UK tax system was simplified, according to the Federation of Small Businesses.

WORCESTER: Heating manufacture Worcester, Bosch Group has added a comprehensive boiler controls section to its website to aid installers and consumers with any queries.

EAST YORKSHIRE: Ten staff at MKM builders' merchants on Bessingby Industrial Estate cycled 1008 miles on an exercise bike – the distance between the company's most northerly outlet in Scotland, to their most southerly site in Chelmsford, Essex.

KINGSTON UPON HULL: Ideal Standard, provider of design-driven bathroom solutions, has pledged to add 100 more products to the Bathroom Manufacturers’ Association's water efficient labelling scheme by this time next year.

LONDON: Pimlico Plumbers plans to expand its workforce by 25% throughout 2010. The move to add to its 165-strong workforce will help meet growing demand for its services, the company stated.

UK: Over 13 000 homes will have to be refurbished every week if the Government is to reach its refurbishment target, according to the Energy Saving Trust.

LEICESTER: Leading merchant PTS has launched a range of lever ball valves and straight manual radiator valves under its own Tradesave brand.

ABERDEENSHIRE: Scotframe Timber Engineering has achieved a hat-trick with BM TRADA Certification – gaining ISO 14001:2004 Environmental Management as well as FSC and PEFC Chain of Custody certification in the last two months.

SLOUGH: The British Rally Championship has named Dulux Trade, as its title sponsor for the 2010 season.

BELFAST: Patrick Gerard Small and Mary Elizabeth Small, a husband and wife team trading as Greystone Builders’ Merchants in Dungannon, have been jailed for six years and ordered to pay £4m in unpaid taxes after admitting a £4.6m tax fraud.

HAMPSHIRE: Michelmersh Brick Holdings announced that it has conditionally agreed to acquire Freshfield Lane Brickworks (FLB), an independent manufacturer of clamp-fired stock bricks based in Danehill, Sussex, for a total consideration of £10m.

LONDON: ICI Paints AkzoNobel is launching legal proceedings against PPG Architectural Coatings, following Johnstone's Paints ongoing 'No 1' advertising campaign.

LONDON: Wolseley plc is sufficiently confident that it has raised its earnings guidance for the first time in three years.

UK/SWEDEN: For every customer who switches to electronic billing, Buildbase is sponsoring the planting of 10 sapling trees in a dedicated area of SCA Timber’s FSC-certified forests in Sweden.

PETERBOROUGH: The Deepings Trading Company has joined forces with discount card issuer TradePro to offer its customers more spending flexibility.

MANCHESTER: HMG Paints is celebrating its 80th anniversary with the announcement that it intends to be the number one supplier to the domestic industrial coatings market.

DUBLIN: Ikea will make its second splash in the Irish advertising market this weekend premiering a 'reality TV' advertisement to promote its kitchen range.

RIPON: Wolseley's Boroughbridge Road depot is providing 48 volunteers to help with Crucial Crew activities.

NORTHAMPTON: Merchanting is returning to it traditional base, said Geoff Cooper, chief executive of Travis Perkins.

ASHBORNE: Local Buildbase and JDB Building Contractors helped students from Derby College pave the patio area of Clifton Cricket Club.

LONDON: The Get Britain Building campaign has thrown its weight behind a new report – produced by the Cut the VAT Coalition – on the effect of cutting VAT for housing repair, maintenance and improvement as an important first step in convincing the Treasury to take action to improve demand and employment in the building industry.

COVENTRY: Saint-Gobain has been recognised as one of the UK’s leading business to business brands in the 2010 list of Business Superbrands, which identifies and pays tribute to the country’s strongest B2B names.

SOLIHULL: Cement manufacturer, Lafarge has been awarded the BES 6001 Responsible Sourcing Certificate developed by BRE Global. It is the first UK cement producer to receive this accolade.

READING: Wolseley enjoyed a stellar day on the stock market yesterday after the plumbing and building materials supplier told investors that it was performing ahead of expectations.

LONDON: C&S Builders’ Merchants in Stamford Hill is one of the first two businesses to become a Buy with Confidence trader under a Trading Standards checking system.

LEICESTER: UK plumbing and heating company BSS Group is expecting profit to be in line with market estimates and a further strengthening of its financial position in the current year.

LONDON: DIY shops and builders' merchants should offer advice to homeowners about how to make their homes flood-proof.

NORTHAMPTON: Travis Perkins, Britain's biggest builders' merchant, has posted a drop in profits of 11% and warned of continued "fragile" trading activity.

UK: Over 54 000 vouchers have been issued under the Government's boiler scrappage scheme. Around 70 000 vouchers worth £28m are still available.

CLEVELAND: Steel producer Corus, part of the Tata Steel Group, will start to mothball its Redcar plant. Up to 1600 jobs could be axed.

BAMBER BRIDGE: Edward Carson, owner of Martin Edwards builders' merchants is helping restore a forgotten part of Preston's history

COUNTY DOWN: Haldane Fisher opened its recently re-furbished kitchen showroom and AGA Shop. A special launch evening was held to mark the completion of the modernisation programme in the Bangor showroom.

ALLOA: Beatsons Building Supplies has announced that it will be working with the Federation of Master Builders throughout 2010.

LONDON: A new National Fraud Reporting Centre - 'Action Fraud' – has been launched by the National Fraud Authority and the Attorney General's office. Individuals and Small Businesses are being encouraged to report fraud through Action Fraud as a first port of call. 

DONCASTER: Polypipe has acquired the goodwill and assets of the Silavent group. This move will strengthen Polypipe's position in the UK ventilation systems market in which it already has a significant presence in the form of Polypipe Ventilation and its Domus product range.

LONDON: From 1 March until 30 April, Sadolin will be running its first Golden Ticket promotion of 2010. It offers its merchant stockists promotional gifts to give away and the chance to win hundreds of pounds worth of Capital Bonds when they stock up on three of the company's most popular coatings in the woodcare range.

NOTTINGHAM: The latest Insolvency Index from Experian reveals a positive picture in January, with the rate of business failures falling to its lowest point since June 2007.

LONDON: Wolseley shares increased 20p to £14.65 after analysts at MF Global pointed out last week that the market had missed the fact that timber prices have significantly improved over the last few weeks.

LONDON: Travis Perkins is expected to report lower profits on Wednesday when the company provides preliminary results for last year's trading.

HYDE: Building materials manufacturer McVeigh Insulations is doubling capacity after one of its strongest-ever starts to a calendar year.

LONDON: Building Magazine's Charter 284 manifesto called on political parties to protect investment in construction work.

FIFE: Building company Thomas Mitchell Group called in the administrators. Blair Nimmo and Gary Fraser of KPMG Restructuring, were appointed as joint administrators on Wednesday.

LONDON: Cost cuts and business improvements have helped Europe's biggest do-it-yourself retailer Kingfisher, nudge up profit forecasts, despite the recent bad weather.

ELVINGTON: Rolawn, the UK's largest turf grower and leading topsoil supplier have appointed McNair Building and Timber Merchants as its Platinum Partner distributor for Glasgow and surrounding area.

HOCKLEY: IronmongeryDirect has announced unaudited financial results for its 2009 trading year. The company posted record sales of £10m.

NEWPORT: Fire fighters tackled a blaze at a Terry Howell Builders' and Timber Merchants on Maesglas Retail Park at around 3.20am yesterday morning.

NEWTON-LE-WILLOWS: Tool hire company Speedy Hire shares increased by 5.3% yesterday with an upbeat interim trading statement.

LONDON: The Federation of Master Builders called for more 'certainty and clarity' on British housing policy.

EWLOE: Steve Morgan, executive chairman of housebuilder, Redrow called on the Government to address the shortage of homes in the country or face the prospect of social unrest.

LONDON: The value of construction projects starting on site in January was 8% lower than in January 2009 according to the latest Glenigan Index. Project starts were delayed by snow, with activity in the non-residential sector being particularly weak.

LEICESTER: Interim results for the BSS Group showed revenue up 0.9% to £473.4m for the period October to February.

WELWYN GARDEN CITY: Sika is pleased to announce that it has signed an agreement with the National Buying Group (NBG) of independent merchants for the supply of both generalist and specialist products. This business was previously enjoyed by Bostik.

SCOTLAND: Four life-sized solid marble statues were stolen from a yard in Dennyloanhead during the weekend and police are appealing for information.

SOLIHULL: Brassware distributor Embrass successfully acquired the Peerless business as from 1 January 2010.

ROYAL LEAMINGTON SPA: Midlands-based Wolseley has helped save the lives of 13 lions which were on death row at a Romanian zoo.

LUTTERWORTH: Uponor, supplier of plumbing and heating systems, has issued a financial bulletin indicating that the sales decline through 2009 slowed in the fourth quarter.

GLASGOW: BSS Industrial celebrated the strengthening of its BSS Drainage brand with the launch of a second standalone branch.

CREWE: Focus DIY has asked its landlords for an extra week to pay its rent for January and February.

GRANGEMOUTH: A new nationwide building supplies website has opened to challenge traditional brick and mortar merchants.

UK: From 1 April, householders or communities who install low carbon electricity technology – solar, photovoltaic panels or turbines up to 5mW – will be paid for the electricity that is generated, even if it is only used by themselves.

NUNEATON: Midlands-based lightside merchant, Stuart Plumbing & Heating Supplies has joined the Cemco buying group.

GLOUCESTERSHIRE: The Melcourt professional range of bagged landscape and play products is set be stocked by more members of the h&b Group after a recommendation from Branch Brothers of Lincolnshire.

LEICESTER: The BSS Group has announced that it has acquired UGS, specialist distributor of below ground drainage and civils equipment to specialist contractors.

PRESTON: Border Merchant system is delighted to welcome Page & Taylor as its latest CounterAct user.

Page & Taylor is a modern timber merchant with 20 000 square foot sales area capable of dealing with both the building and DIY trade.

LANCASHIRE: The arsonist imprisoned for setting fire to Darwen Building and Timber Supplies is in the news again for using Facebook to boast about getting drunk while behind bars.

SUTTON COLDFIELD: Barclays has provided Waterloo Housing Group with £100m in new debt finance to support the company’s goal of building 3000 affordable homes.

CRAWLEY: Redland, one the UK’s leading solar-renewable roofing suppliers, has welcomed this week’s government announcement on Feed in Tariffs, which are designed to incentivise small scale, low carbon electricity generation.

DEREHAM: Zip Heaters has announced the acquisition of Southport-based Instanta, which manufactures and markets instant boiling water products for catering and commercial use.

DUBLIN: The Society of Chartered Surveyors predicted that 40 000 more jobs will be lost in the property and construction sector throughout 2010.

LEAMINGTON SPA: Wolseley has opened a dedicated integrated supply chain store to service its new customer, the Tingdene Group, after securing a solus supply deal with the company worth around £4m a year.

LONDON: Official figures revealed by the Government have shown that more than 210 000 people are seeking work in the construction industry.

LEITH: The Port of Leith Housing Association (PoLHA) has acquired three development sites in Leith, at a cost of £2.5m, with a view to investing a further £20m to create 165 new homes on them.

UK: With news that the country is officially out of recession, the latest figures on commercial debt from Lovetts, a major debt recovery law firm, reveals a fall of 28% in the value of commercial debt being experienced by its customers in Q4 2009, compared to Q4 2008.

LONDON: ATAG, the premium built-in Dutch appliance brand has announced that the company will be operating from a new London location with immediate effect.

DUBLIN: A high court judge described as 'astonishing' two companies undertaking construction and other works with an alleged value of €48m at a major development at Baldoyle in Dublin without any formal contract.

LONDON: Retailers could suffer a relapse with deteriorating trading this year, as rising taxes, interest rates and the uncertainty over the next government's economic policy takes its toll on consumer spending.

LEICESTER: Mike Leonard, director of the Modern Masonry Alliance and co-founder of the Get Britain Building campaign, is urging UK builders' merchants to start talking to their MPs and local party representatives.

SOLIHULL: The Builders' Merchants Federation's Sustainable Conference last week showed the real hunger merchants have to learn about 'sustainable' and 'ecological' products and services, writes Lisa Arcangeli.

ANGLESEY:  Huws Gray, the Welsh merchant, has parted company with the National Buying Group. The move was said by both parties to be 'amicable', Huws Gray managing director Terry Owen told www.buildersmerchantsnews.co.uk.

RIPON: Internet retailer, UKbathrooms reported a tripling of its January sales compared with January 2009.

HARTLEBURY: One of the UK’s leading garden timber manufacturers, Forest Garden, has confirmed that it has completed its three-year programme of operational restructuring and is looking forward to a strong 2010 based on healthy financial and operational foundations.

EDINBURGH: The Construction Skills Network forecasts growth for Scotland's construction sector this year.

LONDON: More than half a million affordable homes could be axed from the Government's building plans if earmarked public spending cuts are implemented, the National Housing Federation said.

LLANGEFNI: Huws Gray leaves the buying group NBG today.

DUBLIN: Ireland's economy will contract by 0.5% this year but return to growth by the fourth quarter, according to an Ulster Bank report.

DROITWICH SPA: One of the leading providers of showering, kitchen and daily living solutions to the elderly and disabled, AKW has reinforced its national trade agreements with two new partnerships.

LONDON: House prices across all regions of Britain rose by an average of 105% during the past 10 years, the biggest increase in real terms seen during any decade in the past 50 years.

NORFOLK: Speclialist electric heating manufacturer Intelli Heat is calling for a scrappage scheme programme to be introduced for inefficient electric heating products.

LONDON: More than half a million affordable homes could be axed from the Government's building plans if earmarked public spending cuts are implemented, a campaign group warned today.

SWITZERLAND: Shares in Holcim the world's second-largest cement maker, fell 2.5% and German rival HeidelbergCement lost 1.4% in the DJ STOXX European construction index.

BERKSHIRE: Wates Living Space for client A2dominion is nearing completion of the 1000th house built using H+H's Ra-build method of construction.

DOVER: Electric heating and ventilation distributor DEALEC has a dedicated team to help its customers with enquiries for whole house and heat recovery ventilation systems.

WEST YORKSHIRE: Trade paint brand Leyland is living in the fast lane after it loaned not one, but 12 pairs of helping hands to a high-octane charity event at Autosport International – one of the biggest shows of the motor sport calendar.

SUDBURY: Specflue, specialists in chimney accessories and flue products, today announced its partnership with Danish brand TermaTech's wood-burning stoves.

YEOVIL: Tradesmen are reporting that homeowners seem to be more willing to spend as we approach the traditional home improvement season and are frequently 'calling someone in' to assist on bigger projects. 

MID-GLAMORGAN: Over £8m is to be made available to help community organisations in Wales invest in new technology to generate renewable energy, Environment Minister Jane Davidson announced during her visit to the Cwmclydach Development Trust in Rhondda Cynon Taf.

NORTH YORKSHIRE: The League of Friends of Ripon Hospitals and Ripon Age Concern received cheques for £2500 each following a series of fundraising events held by staff at Wolseley's Ripon offices.

LEICESTER: BSS Industrial has teamed up with the Prince's Trust to hold a five-week course for unemployed young people who want to gain experience of working in a construction-related industry.

COVENTRY: Graham, the plumbers' merchant, has completed the launch of a dedicated website aimed at providing installers with all they need to know about the Government's new boiler scrappage scheme. To celebrate the launch, Graham is offering double reward points through the company's Rewards Plus Scheme to any qualifying installer purchasing selected Worcester or Vokéra boilers through the scrappage scheme.

GERMANY: HeidelbergCement AG has donated 100 000 euros to the Red Cross in support of the relief efforts in Haiti. The donation is dedicated to the construction and operation of a mobile hospital and the delivery of clean drinking water.

LONDON: The UK housebuilding sector is ripe for consolidation with merchants likely targets for a renewed bout of acquisition and merger activity, City analysts said.

NORTHERN IRELAND: Lafarge has helped make history by supplying 1700 tonnes of cement for the largest single concrete pour ever to take place in the province.

UK: Drain Center has been awarded the contract to supply Norfolk County Council's seven regional depots with a broad list of civils products. The contract, worth around £1m a year, represents what is believed to be the first highways contract undertaken by Drain Center, Wolseley's specialist supplier of below and above ground drainage.

PORTSMOUTH: The widow of George Day, founder of GA Day Builders' Merchants, who died last year, has left over a £1m to various local charities.

LEICESTERSHIRE: With less than a week to go before the boiler scrappage scheme goes live, national merchant PTS has reacted to a constant stream of installers coming to its nationwide branches asking for information by developing a dedicated leaflet.

MIDDLETON: Arson is suspected after a large blaze at Lewis Builders' Merchants on Mills Hill Road early Monday morning. 

NORWICH: Heatrae Sadia has revitalised its online presence with the launch of a website that allows installers, engineers and specifiers to quickly and simply identify the information they need on the company's product range and services. 

ASHFORD: 20-20 Fusion, the design and visualisation software company, has entered into a partnership with the Combined Buying Association.

LONDON: Lord Hunt, the Energy Minister, has called on the Government and heating industry to work together to fight climate change and has pledged to search for a financial solution to incentivise the uptake of renewable technologies.

LONDON: Although 18% more businesses failed last year, the rate for construction company failures slowed according to the Equifax Business Failures Report.

LONDON: Late payment has worsened in the construction industry – bucking the national trend.

LEEDS: Everbuild Building Products has secured a significant UK-wide agreement with National Buying Group (NBG) to become a preferred supplier of building chemicals, adhesives and sealants to the organisation’s network of independent builders merchants.

LONDON: New rules intended to simplify electricity and gas contracts for businesses have created confusion and a "spaghetti junction of red tape".

BELFAST: Northern Ireland's retail sector suffered a sharp downturn in the run-up to Christmas despite study that confirmed that more people switched to north of the Border to do their shopping last year.

DUBLIN: Housing output in Ireland will continue to decline through 2011 as the country works through a glut of properties built during the construction boom, Goodbody Stockbrokers said.

MONTERREY: Cement maker CEMEX has responded to the Haitian earthquake victims' appeal by collaborating in relief efforts with the governments of Mexico and other countries, international institutions, and social organisations.

BIRMINGHAM: Cambabest, a lightside merchant based in Venetia Road, Bordesley Green, was ordered to pay more than £8000 after failing to ensure the safety of its employees.

ESSEX: United Tools and Fixings, the UK supplier of power tools and welding equipment, has teamed up with tool and equipment hire company, HSS Hire.

LONDON: The Metropolitan Police area is one of a number of regions within the UK that is experiencing a high level of deliberately-induced road collisions.

LONDON: The latest Builders' Merchants Federation's Key Performance Indicators Report gives a snapshot of the key trading results for builders' merchants for the 12 months ending April 2009. This was the period when most merchants' sales had fallen 'off a cliff' as the economy nose-dived into recession.

ESSEX: Shares in building materials distribution company SIG climbed after the firm reassured its investors that it will meet full-year profit expectations.

NOTTINGHAM: Tetrosyl has agreed to discontinue the present arrangement for the distribution of the Tetrion range by Artex.

DERBYSHIRE: The National Buying Group's category teams have finished the first round of negotiations and its deals are in place.

VIENNA: Wienerberger AG, the world's largest producer of bricks, was hit by effects of the global economic and financial crisis during the first nine months of 2009.

LONDON: Bank Credit Suisse offered an upbeat assessment of Travis Perkins shares. It upgraded the merchant to "outperform" from "neutral" with target raised to 972p from 830p.

GARNANT, CARMARTHANSHIRE: Huw Thomas who runs a concrete block plant in Amman Valley denounced his local authority's preparations for bad weather as wholly inadequate.

READING: Wolseley bucks stock market trendLondon: Wolseley bucked yesterday's stock market trend with its shares rising 1.5% to £14.47 after Goldman Sachs added the stock to its "conviction buy" list.

LEICESTER: BSS Group finance director Roddy Murray has made his third purchase of shares in the plumbing products distributor in the past four months.

UK: The trials and tribulations of two Nottinghamshire business people will be viewed by the nation next week as part Channel Five's Build a New Life in the Country, due to be broadcast on Thursday 14 January at 8pm.

BLACKPOOL: Recession-hit small businesses are actively managing their cash flow yet struggling to access finance because they are not presenting their management accounts in the correct format to the finance and credit industry.

UK: Family-run C&C Supplies (Collinson) on Longmoor Lane, Garstang, Lancashire like most merchants, has been inundated with a surge in demand for salt as council stocks run low.

LONDON: December data pointed to a further contraction in UK construction activity, extending the current downturn into its 22nd successive month.

BRADFORD: Brenville Construction, based in Bateman Street, Manningham, ceased trading on 1 December after experiencing cashflow problems said KPMG, one of the joint administrators of Brenville Construction.

CHESHIRE: The Met Office has warned that minimum temperatures have dropped to their lowest for 15 years, with snow expected to be between 15 and 25cm deep in places and the Forum of Private Business (FPB) is warning that the cost of a single day of employee absenteeism because of the freezing winter conditions could be at least £230m.

NORTHAMPTON: Travis Perkins has renewed its payroll and human resources management contract with NorthgateArinso until 2014. In addition, the merchant introduced 'self-service functionality' for its 25 000 employees.

LEICESTERSHIRE: Topps Tiles expects that the housing market is returning to form and reported a 5.5% rise in like-for-like sales in the first 14 weeks of its financial year.

LONDON: Kitchen supplier Galiform said on Tuesday that it expected pre-tax profits to be "comfortably above" the top end of market expectations. The prediction came as the company, which owns Howdens Joinery, reported that sales in the three months to Christmas hit £220m, up 6% on the same period the previous year.

DUBLIN: Irish business commentators have cautiously welcomed the sale of Wolseley's Irish merchanting arm.

BIRCHINGTON: The underfloor heating trade association, UHMA, has changed name to UHMA: The Trade Association for Surface Heating and Cooling.

UK: After an estimated fall of more than 12% in construction output in 2009 – the largest fall in a single year since records began in 1955 – the latest construction forecasts from the Construction Products Association predict a further decline of 3% in output this year, with the first tentative signs of recovery not expected until 2011.

READING: Wolseley is to dispose of 100% of its shareholding in Wolseley Ireland Holdings Limited (WIHL) to WIBHM Limited, a private investor-backed company. The businesses were shed for €26.5m (£23.8m) and include the company's entire interest in the Republic of Ireland – the Heat Merchants, Brooks, Tubs and Tiles and Encon Ireland trading brands. It additionally includes the Brooks business in Northern Ireland. The combined businesses operate through a network of 67 branches and approximately 650 employees

LONDON: With the big freeze reported to be costing the country nearly £700 million each day there are plenty of steps businesses can take to reduce its impact.

Commercial insurer Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) has advised businesses that it is not too late to take action and have identified five top freezing risks for businesses to consider:

GWENT: Builders' merchants across Gwent are struggling to keep up with demand for grit and salt, as the cold snap continues to bite.

LONDON: The derelict former TA Harris plumbers' merchant building in London's New Kent Road features in a "credit crunch Britain" calendar.

LONDON: The number of companies seeking to fill construction jobs increased last month, said a survey.

DEWSBURY: Farmers Weekly magazine reports that rock salt prices at builders' merchants have rocketed.

BIRMINGHAM: A survey of Birmingham and Solihull Chamber of Commerce members showed that despite the Midlands experiencing deep freeze conditions, most employees have been able to get to work.

LONDON: Boiler manufacturers, plumbers and merchants are in line for a £300m boost if the boiler scrappage scheme is successful – with the Government also set to make a tidy profit.

LEICESTER: Shares in BSS Group gained 2.4% on the back of expected sales boost from the Government's boiler scrappage scheme.

UK: It has never been more critical for the Government to recognise the value of the British construction industry and how it can be deployed to re-energise the UK economy – says the Get Britain Building (GBB) campaign. Latest research reveals the recession in the sector is showing no signs of abating.

LONDON: Fraudsters posing as agents for Yellow Pages advertising directory are cheating unwary businesses.

Westminster City Council seized cheques totalling about £10 000 sent by educational institutions and businesses to The Yellow Pages 24 company.

DUBLIN: Building materials group CRH expects full-year earnings to fall by 55% as demand from the construction industry in Europe and America continued to fall in the second half of last year.

DUBLIN: Grafton's turnover stabilised with a turnaround in the property market in Britain, its main market.

MALLUSK, NORTHERN IRELAND: Building material manufacturer Brett Martin Holdings reported pre-tax profits down from £6.9m to £1.2m.

DUBLIN: Travis Perkins and Heidelberg Cement make the Davy Research top share list with both companies set to benefit from the pickup in their markets in the year ahead.

TYNESIDE: Housing Minister John Healey has hailed the start of the largest council housebuilding programme in nearly two decades as work began yesterday on the first of 2000 new homes to help tackle house waiting list pressure.

NEW ORLEANS: Supplies to protect pipes were highly sought after yesterday, especially in parts of the city with older houses.

WORCESTER: A major boiler maker has heaped praise on the Government for making its 'Greener Boiler Initiative' easy to access for homeowners after it was launched by the Prime Minister this morning.

LEEDS: Frequently seen as a national economic barometer, the built environment industry – construction and property – plays a pivotal role in Britain’s economy.

The sector was among the first to signal the 2008 economic downturn and now – at the start of a new decade – it is offering a positive outlook with the launch of the ‘Talking Up The Industry’ Charter.

DUBLIN: Irish merchants have welcomed the reduced tax differential between the Republic and Northern Ireland.

LONDON: B&Q has clarified its January sale advertising after concerns were raised that it may have been misleading.

ANGELSEY: Since  it was founded in 1990, Huws Gray has  built its timber, plumbing and building supplies business to a branch network that goes covers Tywyn on the coast of mid-Wales to Bolton in the North West. At the end of 2009, the merchant acquired a new branch at Mochdre, Colwyn Bay.

LUTON: New press advertisements planned for spring 2010 will feature Gibbs and Dandy customers. Marketing executive Daniel Browne said he is on the look-out for regular customers who are prepared to be pictured and quoted in the merchant's advertising campaign.

WARSAW: A three-year investigation into illegal cement cartels has been concluded. Poland's antitrust regulator imposed record fines on the Polish units of CRH and Cemex SAB as well as four other cement producers for fixing prices and market shares.

BLACKPOOL: Small businesses in the construction industry are worried about their prospects in the New Year, as costs are still rising and trade continues to be slow.

UK/IRELAND: Freefoam Plastics, a pioneer in cellular foam PVC-UE products and technology, had concluded a series of successful trials with an advanced stabiliser. The company confirmed that the switch is progressing smoothly throughout its operations in the UK and Ireland.

LONDON: Shares on the stock exchange tumbled yesterday with the FTSE100 down 102.65 points at 5,216.31. The FTSE250 was off 83.95 points at 9,057.4 and the FTSE Smallcaps 2.58 points lower at 2,713.87.

NORTHAMPTON: Travis Perkins, the national builders' merchant, has issued its trading results for the year ending 31 December 2009. While maintaining strong control over capital expenditure, TP said it had still managed to expand its branch network, although at a much slower rate.

BERKSHIRE: Tile Depot, the UK's largest independent tile and stone retailer, is relocating its Slough store and head office from the outskirts of the town to a prominent retail unit joining Screwfix, Kwik Fit and Senate Electrical on Farnham Road Trade Park, part of the Slough Trading Estate.

LOUGHBOROUGH: Hanson's 2009 sustainability report shows that the company is the UK's lowest producer of CO2/tonne of cement, 5% below the industry average. The company's overall energy consumption/tonne of product has fallen by nearly 17% since 2005 and that the company uses more waste than it generates.

LONDON: Construction output rose by 1.9% in the third quarter of 2009 according to revised data from the Office of National Statistics but not enough to take the UK out of recession.

WALSALL: Walsall Council has appealed to people to buy grit for home use from builders' merchants.

EDINBURGH: Construction industry bosses are still fearful about the sector's prospects for the year ahead, according to a new poll.

LEAMINGTON SPA: Wolseley has been awarded a Framework Agreement for ‘Building Materials & Associated Managed Services’ by Buying Solutions, the national procurement partner for UK public services.

HAMPSHIRE: DIY giant B&Q is planning a price war in the run-up to Christmas. The company has invested £190m in the sale which, it said, will see price cuts of up to 50%. According to the company's UK chief executive Euan Sutherland, the sale is timed to give consumers a few extra days to beat the rise in VAT.

BRISTOL: A local newspaper is naming and shaming suspected criminals on its web site in a 'Badvert Calender'.

AMERSHAM: Housing Minister John Healey has announced a consultation to improve the Code for Sustainable Homes, covering both policy and technical aspects of the Code, saying it is time "to make it a more user-friendly standard for consumers”.

LEEDS: Travis Perkins has bought a 49% stake in the Mosaic Tile Company.

LONDON: British retail and consumer goods companies have lifted profit forecasts but remain wary about prospects for 2010 as official data points to an uneven recovery in spending.

SLOUGH: Wickes is relocating its store in Twinches Lane, Slough, to Farnham Road, just round the corner.

NORTHAMPTON: Travis Perkins offered a glimmer of encouragement on trading after seeing a steady revival in activity at home improvement arm Wickes.

LONDON: Conservative plans to create community-led bodies with planning powers to develop local homes for local people and to have defined 90% support in community referendums could hand a veto to groups of Nimbys.

W SUSSEX: Nick Herbert, the Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural affairs was given an ‘on the ground’ insight into the current condition of the construction industry, by the UK’s largest brick manufacturer, Ibstock, when he visited one of its flagship factories earlier this month.

BRADFORD: Local builders' merchants have supported a council campaign to alert the public to risk of using cowboy builders.

LONDON: The government has announced the widely anticipated establishment of Infrastructure UK to give advice on national infrastructure programmes over the next 50 years.

CAERPHILLY: Glenside Commercials has started a petition calling for reduced Severn Bridge tolls.

Organisers said the crippling high cost of using the bridge is an unfair tax on businesses in Wales.

PETERBOROUGH: The Deepings Trading Company has added new displays and equipment to the in-house eco-building showroom at Market Deepings to "strengthen its commitment to supplying cost effective and sustainable building products."

TELFORD: Viessmann has welcomed the Government’s plans to introduce a boiler scrappage scheme, but believes it has come as a surprise.

NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE: A leading North East entrepreneur has had her consistent work for homeless people in the region recognised by the Prime Minister.

LONDON: The Contsruction Products Association was represented at the latest meeting of this group which advises the government on its priorities in relation to construction exports.

ABERDEEN: Drain Center, part of the Wolseley group, has been chosen to supply above and below ground drainage products to a high profile development in Aberdeen.

DUBLIN: Conditions for the beleaguered Irish construction industry continued to deteriorate last month, with new business activity experiencing its fastest decline since May, according to the Ulster Bank Construction Purchasing Managers' Index.

LONDON: The Chancellor has missed a golden opportunity to offer the UK construction industry a much needed end of year boost with his refusal not to change VAT on residential refurbishment – says the Get Britain Building (GBB) campaign – following the Pre Budget Report.

POLAND: Poland's antitrust regulator imposed record fines on the Polish units of CRH and Cemex SAB as well as four other cement producers for fixing prices and market shares.

NORWICH: UK businesses facing a £216m bill For Christmas party calamities said Insurance provider Aviva.

Overindulgence and accidents will see over two million workers take "sickies" it said in a report.

UK: Rival boiler makers have joined the chorus of approval for the launch of the Band G scrappage scheme.

COVENTRY/LUTTERWORTH: The scrappage scheme for boilers has been hailed as all-round good news for the heating and plumbing sector.

LONDON: Protest from lightside merchants and suppliers across Europe has won a stay of execution for EU plans to bundle boiler, controls, pump and radiator sales into a on-size-fits-all package, the Builders' Merchants Federation reported.

WALES: Leekes builders' merchants, with branches in in Tonypandy and department stores in Llantrisant, Cross Hands and Melksham, Wiltshire, has acquired Cole's Home Furnishings stores in the West Midlands.

LONDON: House prices will fall by 10pc next year, according to a leading economist.

LONDON: Peter Matthews, secretary of the Builders' Merchants Federation, offered a summary of how the Chancellor's pre-Budget report will affect merchants in the months to come.

WORCESTER: One of the UK's leading boiler manufacturers has welcomed Energy Secretary Ed Miliband's announcement that the Government is set to put 'smart meters in every home by 2020', but believes that the 2020 deadline is a missed opportunity to encourage consumers to start monitoring their gas usage.

KENT: Keston had planned to launch a new-look boiler for 2010, but following the theft of the one and only prototype on 25 November, has had to delay its launch.

LONDON: The Housing Finance Corporation (THFC) signed the largest ever housing regeneration facility for £345m with the European Investment Bank.

LEICESTERSHIRE: PTS is extending 'The Big One' promotion until the end of January 2010, giving installers the chance to receive even more rewards when buying selected products from its 2010 Price Guide.

DUBLIN: The Irish Government outlined a tough budget for 2010 yesterday.

WORCESTER: Pipe Center's modular engineering business reported rapid growth in demand as the benefits of offsite assembly of multi-service pipework modules for buildings become more readily accepted.

LONDON: 2010 will be a difficult year to predict, said Baxi Group UK chief executive officer, Mark Kelly, speaking to members of the press at a gathering in London last night.

DUBLIN: The value of Irish shares slumped by more than 3% on Tuesday. In the construction sector, CRH plunged 65c to €17.42, with Grafton Group declining 17c to 2.95 euros.

NORWICH: Heatrae Sadia has launched a consumer-focused brand identity for its Megaflo HE unvented hot water cylinder.

LEAMINGTON SPA: Drain Center, part of the Wolseley group of companies, has launched a website in response to demand from customers who want to research and source drainage products online.

IRELAND: Crews from 13 fire units battled an inferno that gutted a new furniture and flooring store and threatened to engulf the adjacent Wickes store.

WORCESTER: The Government's plans for a boiler scrappage scheme have received a warm welcome from the company which first championed the idea earlier this year.

LONDON: The cut in government capital investment over the next four years is a blow for the construction industry, said the Construction Products Association.

LONDON: More than 100 000 boilers will be scrapped and exchanged for newer, more energy-efficient models, under £50m plans unveiled by the Chancellor today.

LUTTERWORTH: PTS, the plumbing and heating merchant and OLCI Construction Training, are offering all newly-trained OLCI students PTS Discount Cards.

COLCHESTER: TradePlumbing, an internet-based plumbing and heating merchant that supplies both the public and the trade is actively marketing itself on the internet with a number of product offers.

LONDON: Up to 100 000 homes could benefit from a £300 trade-in of old boilers, a Treasury insider said.

LONDON: Tomorrow's pre-Budget report is the most difficult one faced by a Chancellor since the 1940s, according to...

LONDON: Council leaders have set out their plans to hasten the fitting of home insulation in millions of houses across Britain.

TEESIDE: Corus has mothballed one of Britain's largest plants. The steel maker it to axe 1700 jobs under plans to cut back production at its Redcar plant.

LONDON: The British Plastics Federation, through its PVCaware.org team, has acted quickly to correct an article on PVC relating to the Camberwell fire that appeared in the Daily Mail on Monday 30 November.

CAMBIDGESHIRE: Harrier Developments has submitted a planning application for the relocation of Travis Perkins from its current premises on London Road, Chatteris to the land adjacent to a proposed food store. A new application for a supermarket in Chatteris has been submitted to Fenland District Council following discussions after the original plan was rejected.

LONDON: Investment bank UBS added Travis Perkins shares to its European construction preferred list for investors. This follows yesterday's Collins Stewart reiteration of a buy for Travis stock.

GERMANY: The European DIY Retail Association, administered by the French FMB and the German BHB, became an independent body this week.

UK: Repair and maintenance output was up 10% in the third quarter of 2009 according to Figures from the Office for National Statistics.

SCOTLAND: Insulation company Superglass, the only independent manufacturer of mineral wool insulation in the UK, reported a large drop in annual pre-tax profits. 

LONDON: Brokers Collins Stewart is urging clients to buy Travis Perkins shares.

YORKSHIRE: Results from Marshalls' own Energy Saving Week this year have shown that employees could save £425 000 on energy bills and cut their carbon footprint by over 3000 tonnes.

LEAMINGTON SPA: Wolseley, gold sponsor of the Building Schools Exhibition & Conference 2010, will be showcasing its product, service and supply chain solutions on its interactive stand at the event on 24-25 February 2010 at London ExCel.

COVENTRY: Saint-Gobain Building Distribution UK and Ireland companies will be building more for less with its discount scheme for hospices.

LONDON: Kingspan Group has won the 2009 Britain's Most Admired Company award in the 'Building Materials and Merchants' category. This is the second consecutive year that the Irish company has won the award.

ABERDEENSHIRE: Swiftec, one of the UK's largest suppliers of construction site protection products, launched its website in direct response to its customers' requirements.

LONDON: The latest report from housing intelligence group Hometrack showed the average cost of a home in England and Wales increased by 0.2% to £156 700, driven by rising demand.

CHESHIRE: The Forum of Private Business is urging the Office of Fair Trading to include the problem of 'phoenix' companies in its investigation into the corporate insolvency market.

LEAMINGTON SPA: Caroline Spelman MP was given a guided a tour of Wolseley's Sustainable Building Center today. 

GUILDFORD: Reports suggest the end of the recession is in sight, and according to new figures from Lovetts, the debt recovery law firm, the news has pushed construction companies to speed up their debt recovery processes.

FINLAND: Uponor Corporation has signed a contract to acquire the entire shareholding in the radiant heating and cooling systems firm, The Underfloor Heating Company based in Skelmanthorpe, Yorkshire. 

SOMERSET: Thieves are targeting building material storage depots in Bridgwater to steal copper and lead.

LONDON: Bold new approaches are needed to raise the standard of newbuild homes and unlock the 'hidden market' for high quality housing in the UK, according to a new discussion paper from the Royal Institute for British Architects (RIBA). 

US: A Florida federal investigation into defective plasterboard imported from China has broadened to include US-made product, said Associated Press.