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PRO INSTALLER JULY 2014
PRO NEWS
@proinstaller1
CPA Members Called It Right - But
What Next For The Economy?
CPA Director Jeremy Brett updates
us on the Consumer Protection Association’s upcoming annual barometer; and the economy in general.
After 21 years in business, the Consumer
Protection Association (CPA) has seen a
number of changes, not just in industry but
in the country as a whole.
Four prime ministers and six World Cups
have passed; all promised much but ended
up delivering little. Each year has offered up
different challenges, particular to that time
and the period has also seen the UK economy battered by two major recessions.
It was the 2008 crash that prompted us to
commission Insight Data to research and
publish the industry’s biggest-ever poll of
installers; asking questions not just about
products but sentiment surrounding the
economy. More than 12,000 installers were
polled in the survey sent out in September
2013. We wanted to find out what installers
thought about the future prospects for our
industry and the country.
Despite a lack of confidence penetrating
many sectors in the UK - including parts of
the glazing sector - at the time the survey
was released, those polled were upbeat and
overwhelmingly voted to say that they felt
things would improve, confidence would
return, order values and volumes would
increase.
They called it right. CPA members and the
majority of installers foresaw the improving
conditions we are seeing today. Some 62.5
per cent said they believed sales would
increase in 2014, compared to last year and
56 per cent said they felt the UK economy
would improve.
‘They called it right’
This was their sentiment but what has
been the reality? From talking with members their hunch wasn’t just correct about
the economy as a whole, but also for their
businesses.
Ourmembers are telling us that they are in
a better position this year compared to last,
with sales and profits up and hiring intentions improving.
To nail down this data and find out projections for next year and beyond, however,
we will soon be releasing our next installer
barometer. It will be interesting to see what
this reveals and if optimism increases or
decreases.
‘It will be interesting to
see what this reveals and
if optimism increases
or decreases’
Because there are still some concerns
about the economy, with some commentators stating that the upturn is being
fuelled by more, cheap consumer credit and
schemes that have injected life such as help
to buy are not sustainable.
There are also concerns about housing
shortages, employment contracts, our trade
deficit, interest rates and the balance of
power and production between England’s
South East and the rest of the UK. We need
to be sure we’re not just kicking a dented
can a little further down the road.
And what would a change of government
mean for the economy and our industry?
These are all questions we’ll be asking in
our upcoming survey, that is going to be
even more comprehensive and detailed.
At the CPA we feel there are still levers to
be pulled to improve our industry and create more opportunities for installers.
VAT & HOME IMPROVEMENTS
For example, we support a campaign to
remove VAT on home improvement products. The economy has been jump-started
through building and construction but what
about the home improvement market?
If you knock down a house and start
again you don’t pay VAT but if you want
to improve your home, you do. This makes
no sense – how is this good for the environment and how does it work alongside
government’s drive to improve the UK’s
housing stock?
Let us remember that VAT is an invented
tax and a removal of it on home improvement products would not only see an
increase in work available for installers but
also help to drive out the black market.
We remain optimistic. Mergers and acquisition activity in our industry underlines
this and despite concerns about longevity
we feel confident that the UK economy is
out of the worst. But certain processes may
never be the same again.
The consumer buying cycle is now more
robust and the ‘wow’ factor from installers
is more important than ever - its value cannot be underestimated. Doing things as they
have always been done is a risky strategy
and teaming up the CPA, utilising our 21
years of experience is one way of ensuring
installers are one step ahead, shaky economy or not.
Email: [email protected]
Not Your Average
Roofing Job
A Cornwall based roofing specialist recently undertook a very unusual contract, which required the
closure of one of the UK’s busiest motorways.
Redruth-based JR Flat Roofing secured a contract with a
longstanding client, Moto Hospitality Ltd, the UK’s biggest
provider of motorway service areas.
The contract was to apply a new roof on the Moto footbridge, which offers a pedestrian route from the north and
south bound Trowell service areas, across the busy M1 motorway near Nottingham.
In order to complete the work, JR Flat Roofing’s team had
to work from scaffolding which they specially designed to
sit on a truck so that it could be situated on the motorway
lane.
It meant closing the motorway one lane at a time and
working exclusively at night to complete the £150k contract,
from 10pm - 4am, starting June 7 and ending June 14.
Despite this complication, the team at JR Flat Roofing were
confident they could lay the 175 square meters of flat roofing in just one week.
MD Nick Rogers said they welcomed the challenge:
“We are experienced with national projects that have a
short timeframe. We focus on getting any of our jobs done
quickly which means a fast turnaround and a more cost
effecti ٔ