business

One of the most expensive but effective pillars of support provided by the Government during the pandemic, the furlough scheme, is ending today. It has paid the wages of millions of people for 18 months. But now this flagship policy is coming to an end, there are fears that it will spark a wave [...]

It’s becoming easy to lose track of the number of crises the UK is battling through right now. One of the most important to us all however is the gas crisis. Gas is responsible for heating millions of homes and other buildings across the country and is one of the most valuable commodities we [...]

Mergers and acquisitions have been pretty quiet this year. However, this morning the M&A sector has sprung back to life as ASSA ABLOY announce that they are to acquire Arran Isle Ltd. Statement This is what ASSA ABLOY had to say this morning via press release: ASSA ABLOY has signed a definitive agreement to [...]

In the past decade two Governments, the coalition and this current Conservative Government, have tried to launch schemes that intended to encourage homeowners to take out loans and grants to insulate and retrofit their homes. Both failed. They failed for a number of reasons, all very similar to each other. The most recent version [...]

It is earnings season in UK fenestration and some of the biggest companies are dropping their financial results for H1 of 2021, and as was to be expected, Epwin Group’s H1 results are very healthy. Here are the key findings from their report. What you need to know The table below is your brief [...]

A minimum order value is a figure an installation company will charge as the absolute lowest limit they would accept for work to be done. The subject matter of minimum order values came up via a tweet from a company called T And R Home Improvement Specialists. This is what they said: It [...]

The price pressures on the supply chain only continue to grow as Pilkington has announced that they are going to reintroduce their Energy Surcharge, which was dropped in 2014. Glass has been one of the fenestration sector materials most affected by the current supply chain problems and has seen some of the most dramatic [...]

The "pingdemic" and supply chain problems have seen UK growth dribble to just 0.1% in July. This was after June saw GDP growth of 1%. Though COVID restrictions were lifted in July, rules on self-isolation did not change until August. It meant that hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people had to spend [...]

Saint-Gobain has sold two of their European glass processing companies. One in France, to a former manager of Saint-Gobain, and one in Germany. This is the official statement from the company: SAINT-GOBAIN DIVESTS CERTAIN GLASS PROCESSING BUSINESSES IN FRANCE AND IN GERMANY Saint-Gobain announces the sale of the French company Aurys, which specializes in [...]

The one question everyone is asking is when the supply chain will return to normal. For over a year our sector has had to cope with steep and constant price increases, product delays, shortages and ever-extending lead times. But there is a way, even two, for the supply chain to return to normal. Reduction [...]

There's a debate as to the best method in which to attract more young people and talented people to the UK fenestration sector. Career progression, inclusivity, rewarding work and more. All gallant and justified arguments. But there's one thing I think we're blindly missing from the debate and that is money. It's time to [...]

Steel right now is expensive. Very expensive. To give you an idea as to how much the cost of steel has risen over the past year or so... April 2020: $372.5 PT May 2021: $794 PT In percentage terms, the cost of steel per ton in [...]