Builders’ federations scrap over members

The National Federation of Builders (NFB) and the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) have gone to war over a membership drive.

The NFB has come out fighting after the FMB fired the first shot late last year. Last autumn the FMB distributed membership flyers to NFB members at the most opportune moment - the NFB had just posted an operating loss of over £500,000 and its chief executive Tony Maynard had left.

The NFB has now retaliated by lowering its turnover threshold for membership to encompass many of the FMB's larger members.

It is also slashing its membership costs from £415 to £200 for firms with a turnover of less than £200,000 (a core part of the FMB's membership). The FMB's membership fee is currently £265.

The NFB said that the move would allow SMEs to "raise their sights and standards in new markets as they grow".

It added: "Today's building companies need more than just a badge if they are going to stay in business."

FMB director general Ian Davis warned that the NFB's "latest aberration will prove to be the last" and that its "mudslinging campaign" would only damage the reputation of the construction industry at large.

Davis added that the FMB has "no problem with the new competition from the NFB and looks forward to meeting that competition fairly in the market place".

Responding to the FMB's recent comments on the government's Quality Mark scheme, the NFB said that it did not share the FMB's "Luddite response".

An NFB source added that the FMB is expected to be kicked off the Quality Mark shadow ownership group "in a matter of weeks".

The Department of Trade & Industry (DTI) would not comment on the claims. However, Davis said that the FMB is "co-operating constructively" with DTI.