Armed Forces Minister and Rayleigh and Wickford MP, Mark Francois, recently visited the well known London services company Pimlico Plumbers, at their base in Bermondsey, where he discussed the possibility of the company signing up to the Corporate Covenant scheme, to support service personnel, their families and veterans.
The Corporate Covenant, which now has around 500 signatories, including Asda, BT, National Express, Tesco and Vodaphone, provides a number of ways for firms to show their support for the wider Armed Forces family by activities ranging from supporting Armed Forces Day, to providing special discounts and guaranteeing job interviews for veterans.
Pimlico Plumbers was founded by London entrepreneur Charlie Mullen some years ago and has grown from a one man band to a well known brand turning over some £25 million per year in serving customers in and around the London area.
Mark met with Public Relations Director Karl Plunkett, who indicated the company were sympathetic to signing the Covenant, as a way of demonstrating their support for Britain's Armed Forces - with a view to a formal signing of the Covenant over the course of this summer.
Speaking about his visit, Armed Forces Minister Mark Francois said:
"I had a very good visit to Pimlico Plumbers and when I explained the Corporate Covenant to them they 'got it' immediately. The firm's vans are a well known sight in and around London and I'm sure many of their customers would be heartened to know that they are minded to sign up to this initiative to help support our service personnel and their families, something we hope to formalise within the next few months."