Bulky Bob’s Furniture World in Liverpool to closeSadly Bulky Bob’s will be ceasing its operations in Liverpool on 7th November when the council is making alternative arrangements. This means that our store, Bulky Bob’s Furniture World on London Road will close to the public at the end of day on Friday 14th October 2022. We would like to thank you for your […]
Bulky Bob’s contract update“Bulky Bob’s has a fantastic partnership with Liverpool City Council starting over 20 years ago, redistributing millions of items of furniture and helping thousands of families. Along with many other providers of council services, we agreed to a large reduction in the contract value during Austerity. Coupled with rising costs, we had to take the […]
Harrison Spinks donates 100 mattresses to tackle furniture povertyYorkshire-based Harrison Spinks has partnered with a not-for-profit social business in Liverpool to tackle furniture poverty, donating over 100 mattresses to those in need in the local community. The Harrison Spinks mattresses have been delivered to Bulky Bob’s, a social enterprise and charity that supports local people in crisis. Bulky Bob’s is part of the […]
Harrison Spinks donates 100 mattresses to tackle furniture povertyYorkshire-based Harrison Spinks has partnered with a not-for-profit social business in Liverpool to tackle furniture poverty, donating over 100 mattresses to those in need in the local community. The Harrison Spinks mattresses have been delivered to Bulky Bob’s, a social enterprise and charity that supports local people in crisis. Bulky Bob’s is part of the […]
It’s National Apprenticeship Week – 7th-13th February 2022!Here at FRC Group we value the positive impact that apprenticeships make to individuals, businesses and the wider economy. We are proud of our apprentices and find it so satisfying to see them grow and develop in their knowledge and confidence and as a business, develop a talented workforce that is equipped with future-ready skills. […]
The Benefits of Reuse for BusinessesAfter the incredible efforts of everyone involved in sustainability and resource efficiency over the last few years, it is rewarding to see reuse making such huge leaps towards being recognised as ‘the norm’. The benefits of reuse: Fewer raw materials are required for the production of new furniture, preventing unnecessary pollution Reusing saves energy compared […]
The Benefits of Reuse for BusinessesAfter the incredible efforts of everyone involved in sustainability and resource efficiency over the last few years, it is rewarding to see reuse making such huge leaps towards being recognised as ‘the norm’. The benefits of reuse: Fewer raw materials are required for the production of new furniture, preventing unnecessary pollution Reusing saves energy compared […]
Press Release – Millions of people left without crisis support in England Monday, 7th February 2022 Over 13 million people in England have no access to a local authority crisis support scheme, according to a report published today by End Furniture Poverty. The campaigning charity says there are now 32 local authorities no longer offering […]
FRC Group win prestigious National Recycling Award for their UltraClean Mattress Cleaning machineThe prestigious MRW National Recycling Awards are the top awards in the recycling and resource management sector, with winning projects and teams recognised for their achievements within the industry. Last night, finalists gathered at a glittering awards ceremony at the stunning London Hilton Hotel on Park Lane, where the winners were announced, and FRC Group’s […]
FRC Group win prestigious National Recycling Award for their UltraClean Mattress Cleaning MachineThe prestigious MRW National Recycling Awards are the top awards in the recycling and resource management sector, with winning projects and teams recognised for their achievements within the industry. Last night, finalists gathered at a glittering awards ceremony at the stunning London Hilton Hotel on Park Lane, where the winners were announced, and FRC Group’s […]
The importance of the Fire Retardancy of contract furnitureWe all know that when furnishing tenanted and residential accommodation the right type of furniture in terms of style, durability, price and quality are important. However, when considering the specifics of the furniture it’s vitally important to consider the fire retardancy of your communal furniture in case of a fire . Why is fire retardant […]
The importance of the Fire Retardancy of contract furnitureWe all know that when furnishing tenanted and residential accommodation the right type of furniture in terms of style, durability, price and quality are important. However, when considering the specifics of the furniture it’s vitally important to consider the fire retardancy of your communal furniture in case of a fire . Why is fire retardant […]Autumn Budget Must Provide Adequate Crisis Support Press Release – 22 October 2021 Government is urged to provide a vital three-year £250m funding commitment to rebuild local welfare assistance and ensure there is a safety net for people facing severe hardship and destitution in next week’s Autumn Budget and Comprehensive Spending Review. End Furniture Poverty has […]
Bulky Bob’s and Fresh Start support Reuse across Liverpool and Manchester to End Furniture PovertyAt a time when many families find themselves facing financial difficulties, a new partnership between Bully Bob’s, a charity with a mission to End Furniture Poverty, and leading carbon conscious waste management company Fresh Start Waste, has seen the start of real reuse of essential furniture items which may previously have been destined for landfill, […]
Bulky Bob’s and Fresh Start support Reuse across Liverpool and Manchester to End Furniture PovertyAt a time when many families find themselves facing financial difficulties, a new partnership between Bulky Bob’s, a charity with a mission to End Furniture Poverty, and leading carbon conscious waste management company Fresh Start Waste, has seen the start of real reuse of essential furniture items which may previously have been destined for landfill, […]
LJMU partners with Bulky Bob’s for Business and Johnsons 1871 to donate over 3000 items of furniture and classroom equipment for reuseLiverpool John Moores University have cleared their former campus at IM Marsh and enlisted the help of Johnsons 1871 and Bulky Bob’s for Business to organise and facilitate the donation of thousands of reusable items to charities, community groups and schools. This project has brought economic, environmental and societal benefits, as these items will no […]
LJMU partners with Bulky Bob’s for Business and Johnsons 1871 to donate over 3000 items of furniture and classroom equipment for reuseLiverpool John Moores University have cleared their former campus at IM Marsh and enlisted the help of Johnsons 1871 and Bulky Bob’s for Business to organise and facilitate the donation of thousands of reusable items to charities, community groups and schools. This project has brought economic, environmental and societal benefits, as these items will no […]
FRC Group are finalists in the Prestigious National Recycling Awards 2021 for their UltraClean Mattress Cleaning machineThe MRW National Recycling Awards are the most prestigious awards in the recycling and resource management sector, with winning projects and teams recognised for their achievements within the industry. FRC Group have been shortlisted in the ‘Innovation’ category in recognition of their new and innovative ‘UltraClean Mattress Machine’, the first automated mattress cleaning machine […]
FRC Group wins SE100 Growth Champion AwardThe annual NatWest SE100 Social Business Awards recognises the most outstanding achievers in UK social enterprise, with top awards in six categories. As previous winners in two categories and inaugurated into the Hall of Fame, FRC Group have won this year’s award for Growth Champion and have been Highly Commended in the Impact Management category […]
Webinar – The Postcode Lottery of Crisis SupportThank you to everyone who came along to our webinar on our latest report, The Postcode Lottery of Crisis Support. In the presentation, we discussed how this research demonstrates the drastic decline in crisis support over the past decade and highlighted the need for urgent changes to be made. If you would like to discuss […]
Helping to End Furniture Poverty and Homelessness as Two Liverpool Charities Provide Starter Packs for Those in Emergency AccommodationCrisis Skylight Merseyside have administered the Liverpool City Council Winter COVID-19 grant to purchase starter packs for over 170 people who are in emergency accommodation. Fellow local charity FRC, who provide contract standard furniture across the UK and are headquartered in Liverpool, have a mission to End Furniture Poverty, were asked to supply the packs […]
FRC awarded prestigious Procurement Hub contract as sole supplier on Furniture and Homeware frameworkAfter a fully compliant OJEU tender exercise, FRC including interior design senior living specialists Buckingham Interiors, have been awarded as sole supplier to Procurement Hub members on the Furniture and Homeware framework. The framework is for 4 years. Procurement Hub is part of Places for People, one of the UK’s largest property management, development and […]
FRC awarded prestigious Procurement Hub contract as sole supplier on Furniture and Homeware frameworkAfter a fully compliant OJEU tender exercise, FRC including interior design senior living specialists Buckingham Interiors, have been awarded as sole supplier to Procurement Hub members on the Furniture and Homeware framework. The framework is for 4 years. Procurement Hub is part of Places for People, one of the UK’s largest property management, development and […]
One in Four People Can No Longer Access Crisis Furniture SupportBudget cuts mean one in four people in England can no longer apply for essential furniture items from their local authority, according to research published by End Furniture Poverty today. ‘The Postcode Lottery of Crisis Support’ also reveals that one in five people now live in an area where there is no local authority crisis […]
Bulky Bob’s Furniture World Opens ‘VIP’ Volunteer AreaThis week saw not only the reopening of well-known preloved shop Bulky Bob’s Furniture World, but the launch of its brand new ‘VIP’ volunteer area. The section of the store showcases the volunteers cleaning and restoring preloved items collected by Bulky Bob’s through their work with Liverpool City Council, to be sold in store or […]
Well Done to Our TraineesFRC is not just about supplying high quality furniture and furnishings to social housing providers across the country, we are also working hard to help people in crisis. One of those ways is through our Driving Change paid training programme. We target people who need an extra helping hand to move either from unemployment, or […]
SE100 Hall of FameOur parent organisation, FRC Group, is all about creating social value – it’s in the group’s DNA. FRC Group is a social enterprise; which means it runs businesses, including FRC and Buckingham Interiors, and use the profits to improve lives and help End Furniture Poverty. We are one of the country’s oldest, most established and […]
Culture CampCulture Camp How do we go about making excellent service the number one priority for everyone in our business? The answer lies in our Culture and starts at Culture Camp! Culture Camp is our induction process that manages a sustained process of learning and development for both individual employees and the business as a whole. […]
£6472 of Social Value Created by Furniture Pack ProvisionProviding a package of essential furniture to someone in need creates £6472 of social value according to a report published today by End Furniture Poverty. We worked with social value experts ‘morethanoutputs’ and Liverpool City Council to carry out the study, which demonstrates the wider benefits of lifting people out of Furniture Poverty. The research […]
Bulky Bob’s Computers for Kids sells out in a day, creating £58,800 of social value – but more computers are needed!In their continuing commitment to ‘End Furniture Poverty’ and having supplied more than 200 full computer systems to those in need via their Reuse IT programme, much-loved Merseyside headquartered Bulky Bob’s launched their ‘Computers for Kids’ programme last week, which sold out the same day. As a charity Bulky Bob’s measure the social value created […]
Virtual Housing Festival 2020The CIH Housing Event this year was cancelled due to COVID but the organisers decided it was a good opportunity to host a Virtual Housing Festival event. The event is running from 7 September to 11 September, accommodating thousands of delegates and hundreds of exhibitors. Housing 2020, the Chartered Institute of Housing’s annual event and […]
Five Steps to SafetyStaying COVID-19 Secure means we have implemented a rigorous five steps to safety programme to manage the risk of working through the coronovirus pandemic. At Buckingham Interiors we have continued to provide our essential service to the care and extra care home sector, who more than ever have required the highest safety standards possible to […]
Buyer’s Guide: Creating a Logical LayoutFollowing on from last week’s introduction to the buyer’s guide – Creating the Perfect Room, which discussed room use, part two is about creating a logical layout. When a room is carefully planned and logically laid out, it helps to create the right ambiance for social interaction and means residents are less likely to move […]
Buyer’s Guide: Creating the Perfect RoomCreating the Perfect Room with Buckingham Interiors Welcome to part one of our Buyer’s Guide. Over the coming weeks we’ll be publishing, part by part, a comprehensive guide to creating a stylish, comfortable and fit-for purpose interior for the residents at your senior living scheme. Buying furniture and creating the best environment for your residents […]
Furniture on FinanceFinance in the UK If you need new furniture or a complete refurbishment of your scheme, you might not think of finance as a way to pay for it, but furniture on finance is something which works for many Buckingham Interiors clients. However, more and more senior living housing associations are using leasing packages to […]
Making a MarkIf you need a sofa in Southampton, a wardrobe in Wolverhampton, or a table in Tyneside, Mark Waters is the man to sort it out for you. As Buckingham Interiors Warehouse and Transport Supervisor, Mark is responsible for making sure we have all the stock we need for customer orders, that the right combination is […]
Make Room for ResidentsBuckingham Interiors has over 20 years of experience when it comes to selling furniture so we understand the challenges that you can face when you start planning a scheme refurbishment, and requirements to engage with residents. One of the first things to consider when planning a new room layout is how many people are going […]
Peace of MindLots of companies talk about the service they provide to their customers but at Buckingham Interiors we want to put our money where our mouth is and give you a promise that you are getting the very best. The best prices, the best products, and the best customer service. We carried out a customer survey […]
Bulky Bob’s offer £50 Computers for Kids to organisations across the Liverpool City RegionIn their continuing commitment to ‘End Furniture Poverty’ and having supplied more than 100 full computer systems to those in need via their Reuse IT programme, much-loved Merseyside headquartered Bulky Bob’s are now working with organisations who support children to provide computers at a fraction of the cost, to ensure children without IT access are […]No Place Like Home Report PresentationThank you to everyone who came along to our report presentation today. In the presentation, we discussed our findings and next steps, along with some new quotes from tenant participants. If you missed it, we have uploaded a recording of the presentation below. This research builds on other reports which have shown that furnished tenancies […]
Too many people find social housing provides ‘No Place Like Home’We are delighted to finally be publishing our research into the provision of furnished tenancies today, which reveals that only 2% of social rented properties are let as furnished or partly furnished (i.e. floor coverings/curtains) in comparison to 29% of private rented properties. These figures, (from Understanding Society data, an annual UK survey of 40,000 […]
‘Free Furniture For All’ extends for lockdown after £99,000 of social value generatedMuch-loved Bulky Bob’s have collected pre-loved items from residents and business across the region for many years and last week saw their three day ‘Free for All’ event take place, during which 387 furniture items were given away to 121 families in need across Liverpool. This is the equivalent of generating £99,000 of social value […]
End Furniture Poverty’s Christmas Advent – Week ThreeAfter our third week of tweets looking at furniture poverty and what can and is being done to tackle it, here’s our final round up. We’ll still be tweeting next week so do keep looking out for our festive houses. In the meantime, we hope you all have a peaceful Christmas and we are very […]End Furniture Poverty’s Christmas Advent – Week TwoIt’s the end of week 2 on our End Furniture Poverty Christmas Advent Calendar so here’s another round up of what our houses revealed! We didn’t want our calendar to be full of doom and gloom and while it was a challenge to find the bright sparks of good news, there are many reasons to […]
Bulky Bob’s launches refurbished IT equipment programme for schoolsIn light of the government announcement to Headteachers that they will receive far fewer laptops for distance learning than they were first promised, Bulky Bob’s are providing high quality refurbished computers, at a fraction of the price, to schools as part of their pledge to End Furniture Poverty. They also donate 20% of all refurbished […]End Furniture Poverty’s Christmas Advent – Week OneThis is our first weekly End Furniture Poverty Advent Calendar blog where we wanted to give you a little more detail behind the facts revealed on twitter this week. December 1st On December 1st we started by setting the scene: · The real value of wages and benefits have dropped in recent years but sadly […]
