Author: James Anderson, FRSA, CMgr MCMI

Victor Paris Bathrooms is a family business which has been in operation for 25 years and is now a front runner in the bathroom industry. The ethos is simple, but effective, offering quality at good prices by cutting out the middle man. The company holds a large stock of all bathroom products and tiles in its warehouse, and throughout the years has sourced products from all over the UK and Europe. The headquarters and original showroom are in Edinburgh, and over the years have become so well known that they have achieved landmark status. The original corner shop opened by…

A bricklayer who left school at 16 with no GCSEs says he’s earning £10k a month and drives a £30k sportscar – ‘by earning £1 a brick’. Kurt Malpass, 26, was put on a course “for kids who don’t listen” at school aged 16 but fell in love with bricklaying. He got qualified and honed his trade working for a company before going self-employed at 19, and now earns up to £800 a day. Savvy Kurt was able to buy his first £110k three-bed home aged 19, drives a £30k Audi S8 and earns up to £10k a month. He…

A sex attacker has been jailed for 18 months after targeting a helpless woman late morning one weekend in the summer. Worried passers-by confronted him and called the police but James Scott tried to pretend that the woman was his girlfriend. They had never met. Today (Wednesday 24 December), Sussex Police said: “A man has been sentenced after he was found guilty of sexually assaulting a woman in Brighton. “James Scott, 45, approached a woman who was not known to him in the St James’s Street area. “Witnesses then saw him sexually assault the vulnerable victim, who cannot be identified…

The Building Safety Regulator has warned of potential structural safety issues affected reinforced concrete buildings. In a piece of correspondence addressed to “principal accountable persons and buildings owners”, the regulator (BSR) issued a warning about so-called transfer slabs. It said it was working with industry experts and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) to better understand the extent of the risk and how it can be identified and proportionately managed. A transfer slab is a floor arrangement where a column sits on top of a slab, but does not have a supporting column directly beneath it. It…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Britain’s small businesses are struggling to take advantage of the UK government’s new trade deals, with a majority reporting flat or declining exports in the third quarter of this year, a survey by the UK’s largest business lobby group has found.The disappointing performance of smaller exporters was blamed on post-Brexit red tape and US President Donald Trump’s punitive trade policies, leading to calls from the British Chambers of Commerce for the government to do more to help small and medium-sized enterprises. William Bain,…

Forecaster Atmospheric G2 reinforced that view Friday, noting the latest 10-15 day outlooks have turned even warmer for much of the U.S., cutting into heating demand just as winter should be ramping up. Traders know the drill here: until weather shifts convincingly colder, upside moves will likely be sold into. Production Stays High, Demand Lags Supply remains heavy. Dry gas output from the Lower 48 clocked in at 112.3 bcf/day on Friday — up nearly 9% year-over-year. Meanwhile, Lower 48 demand dipped 1% y/y, according to BloombergNEF, and LNG feedgas flows slipped 2.7% week-over-week. That’s not a bullish mix. Adding…

Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and moreStay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Spring is here and it’s a chance to declutter your living space, ready for summer and the rest of the year. While social media is full of nifty hacks on how to clear up clutter, one area of the home can get overlooked in the rush: the kitchen. A clean…

A landscaping business owner believes he is struggling to hire staff because people would rather pocket the JobSeeker payment than work for a living.Tim Buckle is the managing director of Landscape Solutions, which employs 700 people across Australia and New Zealand. He is looking to fill 20 jobs in New South Wales alone but says he’s unable to find workers because of high JobSeeker payments, news.com.au reported. Mr Buckle said it’s always hard to get people to fill roles in Sydney but the difficulty has now become ‘next level’.  Tim Buckle (pictured) is the managing director of Landscape Solutions, which employs 700 people…

(Alliance News) – Victorian Plumbing Group PLC shares fell on Wednesday as pretax profit fell despite revenue and order growth, as it set out plans to resurrect the MFI brand and enter the homewares market.The Lancashire, England-based bathroom retailer said pretax profit fell 8.5% to GBP5.4 million in the six months to the end of March from GBP5.9 million a year ago.Shares in Victorian Plumbing fell 16% to 90.67 pence in London on Wednesday morning.Diluted earnings per share increased 29% to 1.80 pence from 1.40 pence.Revenue increased 5.6% to GBP152.7 million from GBP144.6 million, while total orders were up 9.7%…

Emergency services including several fire engines, police vehicles, and an ambulance were called to Melville Street in Edinburgh’s West End around 11.25am this morning Tuesday, December 16 following a report that a man on scaffolding required assistance.  The road was taped off as the SFRS conducted a rope rescue team to safely extract the man.  He was then handed into the care of the Scottish Ambulance Service.  A Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said: “We were called at 11.25am on Tuesday, 16 December to support a person on scaffolding requiring assistance on Melville Street, Edinburgh.  “Operations Control mobilised a rope rescue team and two…