October 2022

Editor’s Comment
MATT DOWNS
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR
MATTDOWNS@MEDIA-NOW.CO.UK
07963 330774
SUPPORT IS BY Y
OUR
SIDE
to inspect, record and audit installations of firesto ps,
cavity barrie ers and acoustic bar rrier systems.
The Siderise Inspector App provides a simple, easy-to-use
Scan here
process for record ding the progress and qualit ty of the installation
for more
of all of Siderise standard firestop, cavity bar rier and acoustic information:
barrier systems ystems. It
allows the user to effective
ely digitally inspect,
rec
ecord and seamlessly sly audit the quality of the
installa
tallation tion work.
September saw the collapse of another big player in the roofing and
cladding sector, as Avonside Group Services entered administration.
Avonside was said to be the largest roofing contractor in the UK, operating 39
branches across its three divisions – Avonside Roofing, Avonside Energy and
Avonside Plumbing. Whilst the pre-pack sale of nine of Avonside’s 37 branches
was announced, and private investor Rcapital completed a ‘solvent deal’ for
the acquisition of Avonside Energy Limited, which was not part of the wider
group insolvency – saving 100 jobs, the Group’s collapse has still been felt
throughout the supply chain with employees losing jobs, manufacturers,
suppliers and sub-contractors left unpaid, and projects left unfinished.
Discussing the challenges that employees and those affected by companies
falling into administration face, Ruth Scarrott, Head of Careers at NFRC,
told Total Contractor on page 8: “The impact goes wider than the business
owner and senior teams – long standing valued employees suddenly find
themselves without the safety and security of their jobs. This is where our
Roofing Careers Service comes in, especially as some will need support
updating their CVs and preparing for interviews with other employers.”
Elsewhere in this issue, sticking with the impact of administration, Alison
Rowley of Taylors Solicitors offers advice for different parties in the supply
chain when contractors enter administration (p14); we put the questions to
Paul Duffy, MD of manufacturer Onduline UK, in our latest Total Talk (p18);
John Mercer talks mansard roofs in his latest roof shapes focus (p22); we
take a look at Proteus Facades’ role in the new Compton and Edrich stands
at Lord’s (p38); whilst Tony Beer explains the opportunities for contractors
on retrofit projects (p52). So read on for all this and much more...
Matt
Front cover courtesy of Siderise: Find out more about Siderise’s
range of solutions at www.siderise.com.
FOLLOW US @TOTCONTRACTORUK
SIGN UP FOR YOUR E-NEWSLETTER AT
WWW.TOTAL-CONTRACTOR.CO.UK
Advertising:
Publishing Director: Andy Dunn
DD: 01892 732 047
Mob: 07963 330777
Email: andydunn@media-now.co.uk
Registered office: 1 Forstal Road, Aylesford, Kent, ME20 7AU
Commercial Manager: Jake Roxborough
DD: 01892 732 047
Mob: 07956 133314
Email: jakeroxborough@media-now.co.uk
The content of Total Contractor magazine (and website) does not necessarily reflect the views of the editor or publishers and are
the views of its contributors and advertisers. The digital edition may include hyperlinks to third-party content, advertising, or
websites, provided for the sake of convenience and interest. The publishers accept no legal responsibility for loss arising from
information in this publication and do not endorse any advertising or products available from external sources. No part of this
publication may be reproduced or stored in a retrieval system without the written consent of the publishers. All rights reserved.
Supported by:
38