I noticed this Tweet today:@Frametrade1 Group Home Safe acquire Fab & Fix#handles

Surely big news in the hardware section of our industry? I would like to know how much Fab & Fix was bought for. Why Fab & Fix were bought in the first place because to be honest this wasn’t news I was expecting really. I haven’t heard that they were in any particular trouble financially or otherwise.

On the Group Home Safewebsite they released a statement:

Door and window component specialist grouphomesafe has announced its acquisition of Fab & Fix, the UK’s leading designer and distributor of perfectly matching hardware.

With annual sales of £15M, Fab& Fix will continue to operate as a stand-alone entity while working closely with grouphomesafe to leverage opportunities for cross selling, sourcing and new product development.   In addition,the company’s managing director, Will Butler will continue in his role and join the grouphomesafe management team with immediate effect.

Coventry based Fab& Fix offers an extensive range of ‘suited’ hardware products, including handles, letter boxes and hinges, which are designed and manufactured to match perfectly, not just in colour but also in form. Set to celebrate its 25th anniversary in 2013, Fab & Fix’s main customer base is the door and window fabrication trade.

Darren Waters, chief executive officer for grouphomesafe, said: “Fab & Fix is a great brand with products that are extremely popular with fabricators and installers. We see this acquisition as completing the jigsaw as we are now able to offer perfectly matching hardware as part of our broader door and window component portfolio.

“We will continue to respect and promote the values that have become synonymous with Fab& Fix –their dedication to quality, as well as form and function.This acquisition marks a huge step forward for us in our mission to become the UK’s number one supplier of components to the door and window industry.”

Will Butler, managing director of Fab & Fix, said:  “This is an exciting time for Fab& Fix. We look forward to joining the grouphomesafe family and will continue to work hard to create the ultimate in window and door hardware with a level of service to match.”

Grouphomesafe has confirmed that Fab& Fix will continue to operate from its existing facility in Coventry and that the existing workforce of 48 will be retained.

What is good to see is the GHS intend to keep all 48 staff members on and that they are going to continue their operations in Coventry, although we all know how quickly that position can change. Will Butler clearly seems to think that this is good for Fab & Fix. But this acquisition does demonstrate a point that myself and many others have made, that there is still plenty of room for major consolidation of the major players in all areas of our industry.

As I have said, this news wasn’t expected, not by me anyway. It does raise a question or two. I’m wondering if F & F were in a spot of financial bother or if GHS had the spare cash and just took the opportunity to buy one of the well known names in the hardware sector.

You can find the statement from Group Home Safe here: http://www.grouphomesafe.com/grouphomesafe-heralds-bright-future-with-acquisition-of-fab-fix.html