The Worshipful Company of Builders' Merchants (WCoBM) has welcomed five new Freemen to its Livery.

Membership is by invitation only and currently stands at 200 Liverymen, two Honorary Members and 29 Freemen.

The new Freemen are:

  • James Rance, managing director of Kings Langley Building Supplies
  • Darren Digby, director of Digby Trading
  • Chris Hemmington-Green, sales manager of The VELUX Company
  • Andrew Weiss of Weiss Marketing and president of The Rainy Day Trust
  • Arthur Duffy, managing director of NetPlan (Q4Ex Ltd).

Being accepted as a Freeman of the WCoBM is the first step on the path to becoming a Liveryman. Freemen are awarded the Freedom of the City at a special ceremony at Guildhall before they are installed as Liverymen.

Master Gill Moore said: “I am very pleased to welcome our new Freemen and am proud of our growing membership. I hope all our members take full advantage of events organised throughout the year, and actively support our objectives.”

The WCoBM promotes training and education for builders’ merchants and fundraises for a number of charities, as well as being active in raising the profile of builders’ merchants in the city. The WCoBM is also a premier networking platform for members, giving senior industry figures the opportunity to meet at events organised throughout the year.