Mud, sweat and a lot of sensitivity: A firm of gay builders has cut the patter and is raking in the pink pound. Robert Ashton reports

Funny that. Not an inch of bum cleavage in sight. No shrill wolf whistles, no Steve Wright, no centrefolds plastered across the office wall, and two bosses who openly discuss their homosexuality. Call this a construction company? Marc the Builder (MTB) is in danger of giving the building trade a good name.

That bastion of macho posturing has responded with predictable jibes. But homophobic comments don't faze MTB founder Brian Webb any more. After all, it was the building industry's less than enlightened attitude to homosexuals which prompted him to start his thriving company in the first place.

Rose Cottage is near Oldham, just off the moors, past the Best O' Brass pub, Alan and Viv's fish and chip shop, and the brass band playing outside Mossley's Christian Unitarian Church.

Webb has completely restored the 17th-century cottage, a striking advertisement for his craft, which doubles as home and office. He regularly holds barbecues for his customers: while they roam around admiring the exposed timbers, open hearths and gym, he grills chicken wings in the garden.

Clearly MTB likes to do things differently but Webb isn't on a Village People trip. The truck in the driveway is decorated with mud not pink balloons, and despite some sneering that Webb couldn't pick up a piece of seven by two, he looks like he could handle himself in a rumble.

After a decade in the London construction industry, Webb, a self-taught carpenter, was headed for a life of semi-retired rural bliss. But gay friends persuaded him to forgo a life of pottering and stick with the bricks and mortar. 'They were fed up with having to hide personal stuff from builders, who would turn up and just take the piss,' he sighs, fiddling with a Mohican tuft on the back of his cropped head. His middle name became the company monicker and, in 1989, he was in business.

Initially work came exclusively from gay and lesbian homes, but Webb was determined not to make sexuality the company's only selling point. 'I don't arrive at jobs with a pink triangle you know.' Two-thirds of the company's work now comes from businesses.

At the moment, Webb has a more pressing problem than his image. Standing on a busy road outside a former Co-op building, he notices some black scuffing on the shop front. MTB has only just painted the building, home to Charles Alty Theatre Costumes. He promises to return shortly with a matching can of a paint.

According to Alty, squeezing between a rack of dazzling coats destined for the musical 42nd Street, this is typical of the care Webb pays his customers. 'They won't just bung in a quote, they'll sit down over a cup of tea and and chat about the work,' says Alty, who turned to MTB in desperation when two other builders failed to fix his leaking roof. The marketing schmooze appears to have paid off because Alty plans to move his vast collection to a nearby mill which needs several thousands pounds worth of restoration. MTB is the only company tendering for the job.

Webb's co-director Robert Crawford also doubles as chief and occasional model for the Tree Choppers, MTB's brother company specialising in tree surgery. For all Webb's reluctance to be seen riding the gay ticket and pocketing the pink pound, some of the advertising for the Tree Choppers is decidedly camp. Under the raunchy slogan 'We're searching for tools and sharpening choppers', Crawford and three fellow workers pose in skimpy outfits, tools - of the wood-cutting variety - at the ready.

But according to Crawford such ribald advertising has its place. It particularly appeals to women who would prefer to keep their rising damp rather than risk the nudge, nudge, wink, wink, how about it darling? they might get from some builders. 'We do a lot of work for single mums who can see we are not going to be a problem,' he says.

Webb's builders didn't try it on with Pam Kerr when they worked on her house recently. They didn't patronise her either. 'There was no patter and I felt secure with them. They told me what they would do and how they would do it,' says the social services manager, who lives in a converted barn in the middle of an isolated field. 'That's something other builders rarely do because they assume a woman wouldn't understand.'

MTB isn't claiming any prizes for having the most politically correct labour force. 'For PC, I would substitute good manners,' says Webb about his 12 gay and straight staff. 'That and the ability to do a professional job to a high standard.' There were no histrionics when one customer, an HIV-positive man, collapsed during a job. The only concern Webb's builder had was that the incident put him behind schedule. 'It's just educating staff so they can handle situations.'

Instead of leaving the customer with cement on the carpet, MTB hires cleaners to tidy up after its builders. 'Guys don't like cleaning. It's not a normal thing for them to do,' explains Webb.

Crawford has just finished cutting a swathe through the overgrown garden of a 90-year-old, partially deaf widow. Included with his invoice will be a note suggesting she contacts social services, who may be able to perform the service for free.

But prejudice continues to rear its head. One supplier primed a new recruit to greet Webb with a limp wrist and a lisping, 'Can I help you pleezzze?' 'Have I ever propositioned you?' asked Webb. 'No,' came the chastened reply. 'Well either I'm not gay or you're not very pretty,' retorted Webb, leaving the youth reddening behind the counter and his bosses with one less account.

(Photograph omitted)