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Kevin Middleton joins Buttle's - 12/01/2012 Investor in People - yet again. - 24/11/2011 Buttle's new website is in preparation - with NEW news! - 20/10/2011 Peter Buttle makes it 50 not out - 02/10/2011 Ninth Annual Fishing Day with Buttle's and Brett Martin - 08/09/2011 Enfield site purchase secures the future for Buttle's Enfield - 22/01/2010 Buttle's acquire Long & Somerville at Enfield - 24/07/2009 Building Partners brings new customer benefits - 02/01/2009 PlumbersPal takes off at Kentish Town - 06/06/2008 Investor in People still....... - 26/03/2008
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Kevin Middleton joins Buttle's. Buttle plc is very pleased to announce the appointment of Kevin Middleton to its Board. Kevin joins as Joint Managing Director with Peter Buttle and both will be working with the existing team to strengthen and grow the South East-based builders’ merchants.
Peter Buttle says he is really pleased that he’ll be working with Kevin: “Buttle’s has been a relatively small business with a big personality for some years and I couldn’t be more delighted that Kevin has agreed to join us now in the task of taking Buttle’s forward.” Speaking about his new role with Buttle’s, Kevin Middleton said: "I am pleased to be rejoining the independent sector of our industry. Buttle’s is a well-respected family business which has considerable potential for growth. The current branch network is well-positioned and provides a firm base on which to build. I look forward to working with Peter, to strengthen and develop the business."
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Investor in People - yet again.
Buttle’s
achieved Investor in People initially in 2004 and last retained it in
2008. Despite a couple of tough trading years that have inevitably
impacted on staff motivation it was great to round off 2011 with the
news that Buttle's have again achieved success following the latest
assessment. The assessment was carried out by EMB Excellence Ltd with Robert Thompson, the same assessor who managed the process 2008. Robert again thanked all staff who took part in the assessment process, which this time included Building Partners as well as Buttle's. Robert again gave special thanks to Mollie Prescott, who coordinated and planned the Review. Well done to all at Buttle's
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Buttle's new website is in preparation - with NEW news! It's been a long time coming but it's on the way. Buttle’s have been working on a new website but it has been a major job. We were so early on the band wagon with a website back in 1997 that changing it to bring it up to date was impossible: we've had to start from scratch. As a result the new site will not only replace the features of the current one, but will then move on to provide a login for our regular customers to get access to their own account details, quotes and pricing. And...................before too long: online ordering and payment. When it arrives we hope that you will agree that it was worth the wait - and not too long now!
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Peter Buttle makes it '50: not out' At the start of October Peter Buttle, Managing Director, returned to his office to be welcomed by a surprise gathering. The occasion was to mark Peter's 50 years with Buttle’s and Peter was presented with a portrait to hang in the 'hall of fame' with his father and grandfather. On leaving school Peter worked for the firm's accountants for about a year and then joined his father and brothers at G H Buttle in Kentish Town, the 'timber merchants underneath the railway arches'. Over the years Peter has undertaken most activities within the business and took over from his father as Managing Director in 1986. "I'm not planning to stop soon but I'm definitely not going to stay another 50 years" says Peter. "With hind sight, would I do it again? Well, I certainly don't regret having done what I have at all. I have been very lucky and enjoyed most of my time with Buttle's. But it's a very different world today and the options are so numerous, by comparison to when I started. I suspect if I was choosing today I'd want to get some varied experience before deciding."
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Ninth Annual Fishing Day with Buttle's and Brett Martin The ninth annual
Buttle’s Fishing Day, sponsored by
Brett Martin, had the highest customer turn-out since the event
began in 2003 with 35 customers fishing. A great day was had by everyone
and they all said they are looking forward to the 10-year anniversary
event next year. The winner was Martin Funnell with a total catch of 41lbs 8 oz (How many times is that, Martin?). Are they scaffold poles Martin's using? Second was Ray Cormack (also from Martin Funnell) with 40lbs 12oz and third was Harry Cashman (from Camden Council) with 36lbs Graham Smith of Brett Martin (ex-Pro fisherman!) was beaten by Phil Norton with his Argos crap rod (he thinks that should be 'carp'....) for the first time in nine years. Graham was gutted!
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Enfield site purchase secures the future for Buttle's Enfield
After six months operating the new business on a licence at Mollison
Avenue, Enfield, Buttle's former
parent company has acquired the freehold from the Administrators of Long
& Somerville. This was achieved after persistent effort to reach
agreement with the charge-holders, Barclays Bank. Buttle's are pleased that they now have long-term security on the site and our Enfield staff are delighted to find that they now have greater security of employment too. Obviously there is now no longer any need to seek an alternative site (with all the upheaval that would bring) and attention can be dedicated to re-building the lost business in the continuing tough trading climate.
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Buttle's acquire Long & Somerville at Enfield 2009 has been a
tough year for all in the building trade but Long & Somerville
had their own problems too. Having moved from their long-term original
home in Ponders End Following its closure and dismissal of the staff by the Administrator several merchants, including Buttle's were were invited to make an offer for the Long & Somerville business. Buttle's offer was accepted and they acquired the business and assets days later. All the staff were offered jobs and the new business opened up again on 24 July.
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Building Partners brings new customer benefits After several years of discussion and much planning during 2008, Buttle’s pooled computer systems with Long & Somerville, a long established Enfield-based builders Merchant. The computers were moved to a dedicated data centre and bisTrack developed to deliver shared back-office services to the independently-owned businesses. The joint operation kicked off with the new year: 2009. There are lots of benefits for customers, suppliers and staff to this setup, which is designed to deliver the benefits of scale to a growing number of independent merchants.
Sales from all partner merchants are now routed through Building Partners Ltd.
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PlumbersPal takes off at Kentish Town Following the closure of James Phelps, another Kentish Town builders merchant competitor with a plumbing & heating section, Buttle’s saw the opportunity to open up a Plumbing & Heating Trade Counter of their own. PlumbersPal was the chosen name and the branch opened in Prince of Wales Road opposite Kentish Town West railway station. Mike and Joe,
previously with Phelps, both joined Buttle's new enterprise and brought
a wealth of experience and contacts with them.
PlumbersPal concentrates in supplying the over-the-counter daily needs of the plumbing, heating and similar trades: plumbers, installers and engineers.
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Investor in People still....... Back in 2004 Buttle’s
achieved Investor in People. The re-assessment took place during March
2008 by The Assessment Network and, again, Buttle's achieved success Robert Thompson, the assessor who carried out the review process, extended his thanks to all those who took part in the assessment process for their open and honest feedback in respect of their experience within Buttle plc. He also gave special thanks are due to the Personnel Director, Mollie Prescott, who coordinated and planned the Review. Robert said "It was a very pleasant and enjoyable process"
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Kevin
brings a lifetime of skill and experience in the builders’ merchants
industry, having started his working life at Gibbs and Dandy and then
held various positions with a number of national merchants before
joining Grafton in 1990. As MD Kevin pioneered the launch of Buildbase
and, over a 12-year period, took the brand from a single-site merchant
to number three in UK heavyside merchanting. Latterly he has overseen
the integration of the majority of Grafton's UK operations.
to a large (and expensive) new site in nearby Brimsdown, they had also
taken on new product ranges, extra staff and larger overheads. However,
falling property values, high borrowings and lack of cash all became too
much to sustain and the business went into
Administration on 17 July.
Customers
can use one account to purchase from Buttle's, Long & Somerville and
PlumberPal outlets, Consistent and
competitive pricing and terms across partner merchants, improved stock
efficiency, range and facilities such as Direct Debit option are
available from all partners.
