Pimlico Plumbers is a London-based plumbing firm established in 1979. With revenues of £20m as of 2015, it is London's largest independent plumbing company.

Establishment

Pimlico Plumbers was established in 1979 by its current managing director Charlie Mullins (born December 1952), who left school at 15 with no qualifications and began work as a

plumber A plumber is a tradesperson who specializes in installing and maintaining systems used for potable (drinking) water, hot-water production, sewage and drainage in plumbing systems.

He sold the company in 2021 for £146 million and now lives in Costa del Sol since 2021 .

Publicity

It is known for its effective publicity, handled by Recognition PR. It was previously handled by

Max Clifford Maxwell Frank Clifford (6 April 1943 – 10 December 2017) was an English publicist and convicted sex offender who was particularly associated with promoting " kiss and tell" stories in tabloid newspapers. In December 2012, as part of Operat ...

. The company owns more than 100 plumbing-related number plates, fitted to its fleet of vehicles, such as LO 02 OLD (Loo too old), BOG1, DRA1N, W4TER and others. It gained considerable publicity through its employment of Buster Martin, who claimed to be Britain's oldest worker, cleaning vans part-time until his death in 2011. The firm's boss presented

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes for a 16 to 34-year-old target aud ...

show ''Britain's Best Young Plumber,'' and has appeared on '' Secret Millionaire''.

Legal issues

In 2009, the firm was involved in a legal dispute with Steve Cosser, an Australian TV executive accused of

industrial espionage Industrial espionage, also known as economic espionage, corporate spying, or corporate espionage, is a form of espionage conducted for commercial purposes instead of purely national security. While political espionage is conducted or orchestrat ...

in stealing Pimlico's client list after establishing a rival firm, Service Corps, using ex-Pimlico staff. Services Corps collapsed in January 2010 with debts of £100,000 before the case was settled. The company also had a dispute with rival firm Aspect over

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ratings. On 10 February 2017, in the

Court of Appeal An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to Hearing (law), hear a Legal case, case upon appeal from a trial court or other ...

, a plumber who had initiated an Employment Tribunal case against the company in 2011 was found to have "worker" status for the purposes of various employment protection rights, notwithstanding that he had been engaged as a self-employed individual. Pimlico Plumbers argued the plumber was an

independent contractor Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any oth ...

but the Court of Appeal determined he was a worker with some employment rights. The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom subsequently granted Pimlico permission to appeal, which, following a hearing on 20 and 21 February 2018, was unanimously dismissed.

Community involvement and Brexit stance

The firm has been involved in a scheme in aid of the big society with the renovation of the Streatham Youth Centre. This was organised along with

Wickes Wickes Group plc is a British home improvement retailer. It is the second largest home improvement retailer in the United Kingdom, behind B&Q. Whilst open to the general public, its sales of supplies and materials are predominantly orientate ...

, A4e, and the Co-Sponsorship Agency. In 2018, the company was criticised for erecting a large "

Bollocks to Brexit "Bollocks to Brexit" is a meme and grassroots campaign slogan used by people opposing Brexit, following the result of a 2016 referendum. The slogan received media coverage and legal attention, as well as being used by the Liberal Democrats. ...

" sign on top of their premises in Waterloo. Mullins defended the use of the sign, referring to the

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols are an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they became culturally influential in popular music. The band initiated the punk movement in the United Ki ...

' 1977 album ''

Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols ''Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols'' (often shortened to ''Never Mind the Bollocks'') is the only studio album by English punk rock band the Sex Pistols, released on 28 October 1977 through Virgin Records in the UK and on 11 Novem ...

'' as precedent for being able to legally display the word in public.

Financials

In November 2010, Mullins reported that he was considering floating the firm, with a £50m valuation, in order to fund a nationwide expansion. The firm's turnover was £18.2 million in 2013, with profits of more than £1,000,000.

References

External links

*{{Official website, http://www.pimlicoplumbers.com/ Companies based in the London Borough of Lambeth Plumbing Companies established in 1979