Martin Warnes, from Essex, has been crowned the 2019 UK Plumber of the Year, in the nationwide competition run by JT, Bristan and Wolseley UK.
The 2019 competition saw over 400 plumbers enter from across the country, with Martin taking not only the crown but also the £15,000 prize pot. Martin’s success was announced this week at national heating and plumbing trade show, Installer Scotland.
A judging panel made up of experts from JT, Bristan, Wolseley UK as well as Official Judging Partner, Watersafe, shortlisted ten plumbers across the UK based on their skills, qualifications and experience. The top ten then went head-to-head to win public votes where the five individuals with the highest number of votes went through to the final stage.
In the final stage, which involved in a 30-minute interview with the judging panel at Bristan HQ in Tamworth, Martin managed to impress the judging panel with his excellent qualifications and the organic growth of his customer-centric business.
Martin has been a plumber since 2007, starting out as a local apprentice to becoming self-employed in 2009 as the owner of M L Warnes Plumbing & Gas Services. He has expanded his business fantastically with four other plumbers on the books, plus two kitchen fitters, three office staff and a kitchen designer.
Along with his title as UK Plumber of the Year for 2019, Martin also wins his share of the prize pot which includes JT, Bristan and Wolseley products/vouchers plus products from Proper Job Beer, Rothenberger, BigWipes, Vendigo Finance, Fortress Distribution and Chapter 8.
Now in its fifth year, the competition called on plumbers nationwide to enter in a bid to be crowned Britain’s finest. The competition takes place over the course of six months and is designed to reward and recognise the remarkable talents within the UK’s plumbing industry and asks entrants to demonstrate their plumbing, service and business skills.
The other finalists in the competition were:
• Paul Clark, Merseyside
• Christopher Clare, Merseyside
• Caine Curtis, Somerset
• Dan Tempest, Yorkshire
Speaking of his win, Martin said: “I’m thrilled to have been crowned the UK Plumber of the Year 2019, I still can’t believe I’ve actually won! I absolutely love what I do and to be recognised for it by such a fantastic competition really is just the icing on the cake.”
John Schofield, Sales and Marketing Director at JT, added: “Congratulations to Martin on his well-deserved win. The standard of the competition was higher than ever this year, so he should be really proud of himself as all of the finalists were extremely impressive.
“On behalf of JT, Bristan, Wolseley UK and Watersafe, I’d like to thank everyone that entered and say well done to all the finalists. We’re looking forward to seeing what the 2020 competition has to offer!”
