Former tc bathrooms chair at distributor Cubico

Former chair of collapsed firm tc bathrooms, Craig Waddington is director of a newly-formed bathroom distribution company Cubico (UK) Limited.

According to company and director search website www.duedil.com, he is non-secretarial director.

The company is backed by Seneca Capital, which has three members on the board of Cubico; Patrick Bywater, Melanie Hird, Andrew Walls, along with Craig Waddington.

According to Companies House, Cubico was incorporated on May 17, 2012. However, Andrew Walls of Seneca Capital said: "The business was incorporated as a Sheffield-based firm with Companies House on May 17 2012, under the name of HLWKH 521 Limited."

Duedil.com states the company has been “open since October 24, 2012”.

However, Walls stated: "On 25th October we approached a law firm called HLW Keeble Hawson and instructed them to act for Seneca investments to set up a new company with a view to setting up a new trading business, Cubico.

"On the same day, HLW Keeble Hawson changed the name of the company they had already incorporated to Cubico UK Limited.

"On the 29th October 2012, Craig Waddington was appointed as a director of Cubico UK Ltd and the following day we completed our investment."

The company set-up and appointment of Craig Waddington happened after - but within the same month - tc bathrooms ceased to trade.

Craig Waddington is joined by former tc bathrooms colleagues which form the management team. They are Andrew Hopkinson, an ex-director of tc bathrooms and Scott Tattersley, also from tc bathrooms, who is now sales director of Cubico.


The company boasts a warehouse in Leeds which, Cubico reports, is holding stock including bathroom furniture, taps, shower cubicles, valves and sanitaryware for nationwide delivery. And according to a Cubico staff member, the company is already trading.

Read more on this story in the March issue of Kitchens & Bathrooms News.

FIRST WORD: Elephant in the open plan room

Editor of Kitchens & Bathrooms News, Philippa Turrell wonders why showrooms are still to reflect the trend for open-plan, 'living space' kitchens.

While industry pundits discuss kitchen trends from the LivingKitchenshow in Cologne, including their seamless integration into the ground floor space, few have pointed to the elephant residing in the room. It may be too controversial to discuss. It even may even be too inconvenient for this ever-increasing ‘interior fashion’ industry. But have UK retailers actually embraced open-plan kitchen design – let alone ground floor integration - and do their showrooms genuinely reflect this trend for ‘lifestyle living’ on the high street?

I don’t mean paying lip service to lifestyle living, with a breakfast bar or an island unit. Alongside galleys and L-shape runs, how many retailers show a transition from kitchen to dining through to soft seating in one display, demonstrating how these spaces work and blend together?

Open-plan has been the buzz word for the past 10 years in kitchen design. The style has been spread across the pages of glossy home magazines in WH Smiths, for some time. But are these ‘aspirational’ rather than ‘inspirational’ kitchens? Are these niche looks, only for the most discerning of consumer? Or – and here is the concern - are they showcasing looks that consumers want but can’t find in the average kitchen showroom?

Of course, I should add there are retailers who have designed their showroom around the living space kitchen trend. They have embraced the need to look further than the boundary of the kitchen wall and realised the potential profit of designing the likes of media areas. But these are the exception, rather than the rule.

So why has the kitchen retailer been slow to adopt the living kitchen trend and to reflect it in their showroom? If the consumer want is there for the lifestyle look, is it the UK housing stock that just won’t allow for expansive kitchens? Well, they are often combined with building works, such as an extension, so that can’t be true.

Is it a fear of losing the sale, that four small furniture displays must offer the better chance of securing the contract – by offering four times more choice? Well, not if the consumer can’t see themselves living in the three of four door run.  Is it too complicated to learn a new way of planning, from plotting boxes around a wall, to now embrace interior architecture? It could be a matter of training needs, rather than objection. Or is it simply a matter of a long-overdue refreshment, and reduction in available showroom manpower to instigate these changes, thanks to the tough economy?

The living space kitchen trend has shown itself not to be a fleeting fashion trend. And judging by the furniture on show at LivingKitchen, it is only going to grow in importance in home design. And for consumers who are able to refurbish their kitchen, this is the look they are craving to add value to their home.

So, perhaps kitchen retailers should take a close look at their showroom and see how it meets this living space trend. By extending a showroom display to include occasional table and chairs, low level soft seating and media area – adding them to your sales itinerary - perhaps you can improve your revenues and margin too.

John Lewis joins Bathroom Academy Design Course

High street department store John Lewis has enrolled 24 of its partners to the Bathroom Manufacturers Association (BMA) Bathroom Academy and Principles of Bathroom Design.

It follows the company’s move into fitted bathroom sales, which has started in the Milton Keynes branch, with a roll-out expected in further stores in 2013.

In order to train its partners in bathroom planning and design, John Lewis will participate in the BMA’s Bathroom Academy series of two-day training workshops, based in their stores.

The workshops will encompass both the theory and practice of bathroom planning and design, with exercises using 20-20 Fusion CAD software.

CEO of the Bathroom Manufacturers Association, Yvonne Orgill commented: “We are absolutely delighted to welcome John Lewis to the Bathroom Academy.”

She continued: “The industry guides and face-to-face workshops we offer are unique in our industry. John Lewis is investing heavily in its new bathrooms portfolio and we are really pleased that the Academy and 20-20 Technologies have been chosen as the training providers.”

The workshops start in February and will be rolled out in the Spring. For more information on the training visit www.bathroom-academy.co.uk

Cooking up a storm

Philippa Turrell visits Cologne for the second showing of Living Kitchen to see the future influences in kitchen design and planning

It's hard to believe that LivingKitchen has only had one prior outing, its launch in 2011. This show has rapidly developed into a mature event, supported by large-scale kitchen brands. The exhibitors spanned recognisable German names, as you may expect from a show in their domestic market, but  it had  attracted manufacturers from across Europe and even further afield.

Kitchen furniture had very obviously been influenced by nature, with timber a key theme across stands. Whether veneers, woodgrain laminate or even an intriguing basket weave-effect, the outdoors had been brought into the kitchen living space. And this very natural look was joined by judicious splashes of bold colour, from bright red and orange through to yellows and even pink.

But designers could take away more inspiration than just the latest door decors, exhibitors had created room sets showcasing best practice in kitchen planning. Niches within furniture runs not only created visual interest, but also added practicality to kitchen design by providing illumination, shelving and in one case a picture frame, low level seat. And moving further away from the traditional kitchen design, asymmetrical wall units, combined with open storage, sees it seamlessly blend into neighbouring social spaces.

But what separates the kitchen from other living spaces is the need for it to prepare and cook food. And, here, the focus was firmly placed on induction hobs, steam ovens, hot water taps and a soon to be launched £9,000 coffee tap (controlled by an iphone app) as the requirements for modern kitchen schemes. 

Certainly LivingKitchen showed that this room has not only come of age in interiors, they have now become the ground floor interior. Although few UK designers or dealers seem to have taken the time to attend, according to UK manufacturer representatives, for those serious about kitchen styles and planning, this event is a must-visit.

Cemco merchant members quit for Plumbing and Heating Buying Group

Just under 20% of Cemco Merchant Network members have left the buying group to join the newly-formed specialist Plumbing and Heating Buying Group (PHG).

The seven former Cemco members, which are independent merchants, include Duftons, Plumbcity, Plumbstop, Richmonds, Stuart Plumbing & Heating Supplies and Tucker French and Spinks, whose Managing director Matthew Harrison was on the Cemco management board.

This move has swelled the membership of PHG, nearly doubling the number of businesses involved, which now stands at 17.

Chairman of PHG, David Pochin commented on the increase of membership: “The Plumbing and Heating Group (PHG) was conceived back in July to become the leading buying organisation for plumbing, heating and sanitaryware products. This was always going to be a tough challenge without the leading plumber’s merchants from the Cemco group and thus we are absolutely delighted that eight of them will now be joining us from February 1.”

He continued: “Inevitably, much hard work will be required to ensure the integration of the former Cemco members and our other new recruits MKM and Plumbco, but we have plenty of ability around our enlarged table and we are confident that this will be successfully achieved. Clearly, PHG now offers suppliers the very best independent route to market and we are looking forward to working with them to our mutual benefit.”

Matthew Harrison of Spinks, spoke on behalf of the new members: “We met with PHG for the first time only last month and that was really to discuss possible future collaboration but it became readily apparent to all of us that our futures would be better together rather than apart.

“All of us share the ethos of the PHG founders are we are extremely excited about us working together to create a very special buying organisation.”

The seven Cemco members join Willbond, James Hargreaves, Ridgeons, Tippers, Farr & Harris, RGB, Crossling, Robert Pochin, HPS and Beggs & Partners at PHG.

Kuppersbusch transfers UK business to The 1810 Company

German appliance manufacturer Kuppersbusch is set to transfer the sales and marketing of its UK business from Teka Products to The 1810 Company from April 2.

Mark Lawrence, joint managing director of Kuppersbusch, said: “in line with a worldwide strategy, Kuppersbusch is to be positioned as a premium product. The experience of the management team at The 1810 Company makes them the ideal company to take the product forward with the re-positioning of the brand. The existing range is still available and can be purchased from Teka Products until the handover date.”

Managing director of The 1810 Company and former MD of Kuppersbusch UK, Gareth Williams said: “Kuppersbusch has been a big part of my life for nearly 30 years and I am delighted to have the opportunity to establish Kuppersbusch in what I believe is its rightful position in the market. There is, however, a lot of work to do in order to reach that goal.

“We are aware that we need to be service driven, if we are to compete with the established leaders in this sector. We will be making some key appointments over the coming months, primarily with a dedicated service manager for London. There is definitely a market for another premium product with a controlled distribution policy and sales strategy.”

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