Vivalda Group, the UK’s largest independent distributor of safety-assured cladding, is matching the likes of Taylor Wimpey, housebuilder Barratt, and Rolls Royce by giving each of its employees £1,000 to help them manage rising living costs.

Operating 12 business units across the UK and Ireland, Vivalda Group employs 150 people who will each receive the financial support in four monthly payments of £250 commencing in August.

A privately owned business, Birmingham-headquartered Vivalda has an annual turnover of approximately £40m, and so this cost of living commitment comes at a significant price to the cladding company. Vivalda is no stranger to actively supporting its people through tough times. Back in early 2020, the firm’s founder and chairman Peter Johnson wrote to all his employees, promising that whatever the coronavirus crisis threw at them he would ensure furlough payments would be topped up to make 100% of their usual wage.

True to form, in the face of unprecedented rises in living costs, the cladding specialist is now matching the level of support that much larger, global businesses are contributing to their staff in the light of recent hikes in power, fuel and food costs.

Peter Johnson said: “My staff are dedicated and hard-working, with a growing number giving over twenty year’s loyal service; the idea of even one of this superb team fretting over higher utility bills does not sit comfortably with me when something can be done to help. Vivalda is already one of the London Stock Exchange’s ‘Companies to Inspire Britain’ and I want us to live up to that reputation with action and not just words.

“Vivalda Group prides itself in doing the right thing – by its customers, its suppliers, and the colleagues who’ve made it the market’s number one.”

Vivalda supplies non-flammable cladding brands such as Equitone, Cedral, and Rockpanel to UK building contractors, installers and architects. The group also comprises Pura Facades, BBS Facades as well as Scottish-based MSP Facades and Prism Powder Coatings.