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Plumb Centre Owner Warns That Profits Likely To Go Down

Wolseley, owner of Plumb Centre and other construction brands outlets has disappointed the financial markets with an announcement that it expects a drop of 25% in profit due to market conditions and creeping recession in the USA.Plumb Centre, which is used by thousands of UK plumbers and heating engineers, is a major division of Wolseley. The company has announced redundancies of 3,000 staff as part of a major cost cutting restructuring. This was blamed predominantly on the slowdown in America and the slowdown of the housing market in the UK (which in itself has negative implication for local plumbers and heating engineers). Plumber Centre owner has reported a slide of 7% in pre-tax profits last financial year.Wolseley, the world's number one distributor of heating and plumbing products is also a leading supplier of builders' products to the professional market. The company supplies a wide range of traders from plumbers and heating engineers to builders and construction professionals. ...
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Baxi Boilers Sees Debt Downgraded

Baxi, the boiler manufacturers owned by a private equity fund has come under severe pressure recently as the credit crunch started to impact highly leveraged buy out investments. BC Partners, the owners of Baxi, has seen first quarter profits plunge, while debts pile up. Rating agency Standard & Poors has downgraded the companys credit rating based on the latest financial results that showed the extent of the problem. The credit rating for Baxi was downgraded from B to B-. The rating agency cites “weak credit protection measures and further weakening business conditions”. The B- rating means that Baxi is now six notches below investment grade and well into junk bonds territory.Baxi, based in Derby and known for its Potterton, Valor and Homeflame brands, employs 5,400 staff around Europe and more that 2,000 staff in the UK. In 2007, BC Partners had to inject £40 million into the company to avoid breaching banking covenants on its debt of £587 million.The down ...
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