AUDIO NEWS: Painter and decorator takes his own life and construction output grows by 1.8% in 2025

Painter and decorator to the royals takes his own life, construction output grows by 1.8% in 2025, and heat pumps sales increase last year, but growth rate slows

A painter and decorator who worked for the Royal Family has taken his own life.

Christopher Eadie was found dead in the garden of his home on the Sandringham estate.

The inquest at Norfolk Coroner’s Court heard that the 63-year-old had become distraught over dwindling work and a paint job that the King asked to be redone.

The painter was known to take enormous pride in working for the late Queen and more recently King Charles.

In recent years, work from the estate had become less frequent following the introduction of new contractors.

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The construction industry grew by 1.8% last year, despite a sharp drop off in output in the fourth quarter — that’s according to government data.

New work witnessed the biggest drop in Q4, plummeting by 2.6%.

Unfortunately, future market indicators were gloomy with new business orders falling by nearly 4%.

Brian Berry, chief executive with the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) warned that workloads were shrinking and confidence ebbing away from the sector.

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Heat pump sales rose by 27% last year, claims the Heat pump Association.

Despite the positive numbers, the rate of annual growth slowed by 29% from the surge in sales between 2023 and 2024.

To achieve the 450,000 heat pump installs outlined in the Warm Homes Plan, the market needs to see 33% compound growth annual in heat pump sales.

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