Press Release

Long working hours and the desire to make the most of precious leisure time has led to workaholic Brits ditching DIY and choosing to "GAMI" - Get A Man In - instead.

In the first five months of the year, Freeads.co.uk, the UK's largest independent classified site, has seen visitor numbers to its "Home Services" section double and advertisements placed almost treble.

Building and home improvement is the most popular category with more than a third (34%) of visitors heading there, closely followed by cleaning services (21%) and people looking for electricians (17% of visitors.) Gardening, plumbing, removals and home security ads follow.^*

Freeads.co.uk chief executive Duncan Horton said: "It just goes to show that while we Brits work hard, we're also starting to correct the balance and play hard too - after all doing some decorating is not the way to relax after working a 50 hour week so it's not surprising that we're choosing to GAMI rather than do it ourselves.

"We'd all assumed that as the weather got better people would flock to the DIY equipment ads rather than home services, but it seems that they'd rather spend time relaxing with family and friends than with a paint brush or screwdriver in their hand."

According to figures released last weekend by the UN's International Labour Organisation, the Brits work the longest hours in Europe - with around a quarter of the British workforce, equivalent to seven million people, putting in more than 48 hours a week . Not only are the British working longer than European nations, they are also putting the hard-grafting Americans to shame with excessive working hours.

"When you take this into consideration it's no wonder we are hanging up our overalls and leaving the DIY to someone else. Time off with family and friends is starting to take precedence over getting the spare room wallpapered, for the sake of harmony in households throughout the UK here's hoping the rise and rise of GAMI is here to stay," said Horton.

ENDS

^*Additional information: What people are looking for on Freeads.co.uk