Jul 06
Travis Perkins is about to become the largest plumbing and heating business in the UK after agreeing to buy the BSS Group for £557.6 million.
“Our respective businesses are complementary and we look forward to working with BSS’s customers, suppliers and employees,” said Robert Walker, chairman of Travis Perkins.
But job losses are feared as Builders’ merchants Travis Perkins, which also own Wickes, will want to cut costs by more than £25 million.
The deal is subject to shareholder approval, although Travis Perkins said it had already received undertakings of support from around 35% of BSS investors.
Jul 06
International energy groups are looking into the possibility of harnessing the sun in the Sahara to make electricity which could be exported to Europe.
It has been reported in the Observer that
‘According to the European Commission’s Institute for Energy, it would require the capture of just 0.3% of the light falling on the Sahara and Middle Eastern deserts (an area the size of Wales) to meet all of Europe’s energy needs.’
In the article, written by Alok Jha, the European Energy Commissioner Gunther Oettinger said that Europe will be ‘importing hundreds of Megawatts of solar-generated electricity from North Africa within five years’.
To read the article, click here.
