Travis Perkins and Briggs Equipment have collaborated to provide a new van, worth over £20,000, to a charity dedicated to improving the lives of children with disabilities. 

The tool market is mature and has seen moderate growth rates, though 2014 proved to be a good year. 

Home improvement across England reached a record 417,000 planning applications between March 2014 and March 2015, up 18% over the same period 2011/2012. 

The garden centre section of a Kent branch of B&Q had to close when a giant swarm of honey bees took a fancy to a hanging basket. 

A man with an artificial leg has been saved months in a wheelchair or several thousand pounds - thanks to a hardware shop hero. 

Garden and horticulture products manufacturer Vitax has appointed a new Irish distributor as part of its strategy to grow its presence across Ireland. 

The world's largest glass and tableware company, Arc International, has joined the British Home Enhancement Trade Association (BHETA). 

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has cleared Poundland's proposed £55m takeover of the 250-strong 99p Stores chain. 

Currently one of the fastest-growing suppliers of tools, accessories and building supplies to the trade and home improvement industry, Toolstation has opened its 200th branch since its launch in 2003. 

Clothing and food halls/farm shops were on the up during July, according to the Garden Centre Association's Barometer of Trade (BoT) results. 

The Northern garden centre, with operations in Todmorden and Rochdale, is celebrating its 70th anniversary this month. 

Wholesaler Stax Trade Centres has been inundated with applications to work at its new £5m branch, which has promised to create more than 100 jobs. 

The Home Depot and Lowe's posted sales increases of more than 4% for the second quarter, with profits also up. 

Furniture, home accessories and house textiles formed three of the top four performing categories in the BRC-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor for July, with sales boosted by a robust housing market. 

Poundbury Gardens, part of the Gardens Group, has donated a new computer to Ridgeway Radio, a volunteer-run 24-hour radio station based at Dorset County Hospital. 

The UKs only trade association bank, BIRA bank will celebrate 60 years of supporting independent retailers this September, coinciding with record levels of lending to independent retailers. 

Ikea plans to become the first major global retailer to offer a fully LED lighting range when the brand's LED roll out completes next month. 

A record number of members received highly-commended awards and awards of merit after the Garden Centre Association's (GCA) annual inspections. 

Family-run manufacturer of garden and hardware products, Parasene, is set to invest £2.2m in expanding its operations in the West Mildlands. 

Having outgrown its warehousing and distribution facilities in Wednesbury, hardware distributor Eliza Tinsley has relocated most of its products to a 120,000sq ft state-of-the-art facility in Brighouse, well placed for the motorway network.