Just as other parts of the fenestration supply chain begin to bed in some stability, we are still seeing volatile conditions in the glass part of our market, with multiple warnings that the cost of glass is going to rise further in the coming months. Inflation looks like it’s here to stay for a [...]
OPEN LETTER: On Friday [26/8/22] we learnt that we were all going to be a little less well off. Ofgem confirmed that the raising of the energy price cap will push average household energy bills to £3,549. To put that into context that’s around an 80% increase on what we were paying in April [...]
In more grim news for the UK economy, data out of the ONS today showed that inflation in July reached 10.1%, once again exceeding forecasts. A couple of weeks ago the Bank of England published some dire forecasts for the UK economy, but even those may now look underdone on the back of the [...]
Press release: Sentry Doors Limited (Sentry) is pleased to announce its acquisition of E. & S. W. Knowles & Company Limited (Knowles), accelerating its growth and creating the UK’s leader in timber fire safety and security doorsets. Established in 1923, E. & S. W. Knowles manufactures specialist timber internal doorsets with fire-rated, acoustic and [...]
Although not as constant as last year, the raw material prices continue to edge up. The latest being glass prices. PVC resin prices appear to have become more stable of late and the cost of aluminium has fallen from record highs following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Raw material prices plateauing is one thing, the [...]
Six leading fabricators of products in the home improvement sector have called for a halt to the ongoing practice of pushing price rises at the top down the supply chain. Central Window Systems, Conservatory Outlet, Listers, Roseview, Prefix Systems and SolarFrame have joined forces to urge firms in the sector to work together to [...]
Open letter from Rob McGlennon, Deceuninck UK Managing Director: ‘22% of homeowners intend to make home improvements in the next 12 months’*. That’s up from 16% in the final quarter of 2021. Why do more people intend to make home improvements now? Well, it’s because they’re concerned about rising energy costs, and want to [...]
ASSA ABLOY has announced that they have acquired Caldwell, manufacturers of fenestration hardware. This continues the growth of ASSA ABLOY as a business. This is the statement they provided on their website: ASSA ABLOY has acquired Caldwell, a manufacturer of fenestration hardware for window manufacturers. "I am very pleased to welcome Caldwell into the [...]
I was shown an advert from a Facebook forum by a friend of mine the other night. It was advertising a fitter's position at a company. The wage was £50,000 per year, with van and labourer supplied. That’s a hell of a generous deal and perhaps signals an effort to obtain a new fitter [...]
Whether we want to talk about it or not, the UK economy is on the brink of something bad. Inflation is out of control, the cost of living is soaring and the chances of the UK falling into recession are already highly likely. This isn’t a UK problem. The US, EU and other Asian [...]
Earnings season continues in the UK fenestration market, with Safestyle UK posting their interim results for the first quarter of this year. This is the statement provided by the company: Alan Lovell, Chairman of Safestyle UK plc, the leading UK focused retailer and manufacturer of PVCu replacement windows and doors for the homeowner market, will make [...]
The other day a client from March 2020, just before lockdowns came into force, came back to me to get a composite door re-priced at today’s prices. The scale of the rise was rather drastic. Composite door price up 40% The type of composite door that was being quoted wasn’t anything remarkable. A Black [...]
The team that acquired Window Widgets in 2019 announced the formation of the Q19 Group and the acquisition of Profoil Limited, the deal was completed on the 13th May 2022. Profoil, based in Kettering, provides foiling services to the fenestration and building materials markets in the UK and the Republic of Ireland. The Q19 [...]
It has been confirmed that there is another industry casualty today as newly updated records on Companies House show that Crystal Clear Group Limited has also gone into administration. This follows the confirmation that The CMS Group in Scotland has also entered into administration. Crystal Clear Group Limited in admin I did receive knowledge [...]
In one of the year's biggest casualties so far, The CMS Group in Scotland (CMS ENVIRO SYSTEMS LTD) has fallen into administration as of May 10th 2022. This is one of the largest fenestration sector companies in Scotland. As our sector begins to contemplate a much more difficult trading environment, it calls to question [...]
In another sign of the ongoing major squeeze on available skilled labour, new data shows that in three areas of the UK, the average weekly wage of tradespeople has broken the £1000 barrier. The demand for skilled workers will only rise further as all areas of construction struggle to recruit fast enough to meet [...]
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