Quarter-on-quarter, total value sales from Britain’s Builders’ Merchants climbed +7.6% in Q2 2023 compared to January to March 2023. Growth came from stronger volumes (+11.3%) as prices were -3.3% lower. With four less trading days in the most recent period, like-for-like sales were +14.8% higher in April to June than Q1. Six of the [...]
As I mentioned in my last post, on the odd occasion you get a glimpse of the real state of things when you set aside the PR and news that try to paint a different picture. The Safestyle UK trading update gave us just that. It wasn't just the hefty downgrade from the bell-weather [...]
Guest post from Deceuninck UK Managing Director Rob McGlennon: Deceuninck’s Managing Director Rob McGlennon discusses negative assumptions and positive outcomes. The Bank of England increased interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point to 5.25% at the beginning of August, in a bid to control the rate of inflation, which now stands at [...]
If you try and see through the bloated PR and spun news articles distorting the real picture, there are some ways you can gleam something a bit more accurate as to the state of the fenestration sector right now. Safestyle's latest trading updating, focusing on H1 of 2023, is one of those snapshots. After [...]
Over the past 18 months we have been working hard at our family run business to expand our reach beyond our normal market. We have always been considered higher end than most of our competition. Yes, we’re a bit more expensive, but we think that the products and service reflect that. However, as the [...]
There is currently a lot of focus on conservatories right now. A recent media report claimed that “naff” conservatories can knock a whopping £15,000 off the value of a home. You can read more on that here. Then a DGB poll showed that just 18% think that conservatories and glazed extensions will play an [...]
Cast your minds back over the last couple of decades. What has been the biggest innovation in the PVCu space? For me, it’s flush casements. Prior to flush, you had bevelled or ovolo profiles, and before that, you had square profiles from when PVCu first exploded onto the scene. Flush casements have PVCu as [...]
Not a day goes by without AI (artificial intelligence) coming up within the media or social media and how it is impacting our daily lives and shaping our futures. Ever since ChatGPT exploded onto the scene at the end of 2022 and the early part of 2023, the world began to really understand the [...]
Despite efforts to try and find a buyer for the near-200-year-old company, based in Leicester, the business has had to close with the loss of 49 jobs. The business, founded in 1825, is credited with working on some of the most historic buildings in the country, such as St Pauls Cathedral, the Tower of [...]
Scotland-based Sidey, established in 1932, has announced that they have become part of the Inwido AB group. A Swedish company that has been on the M&A path in the UK for the past few years. This is the statement that they issued on their website: Sidey Group, Scotland’s largest window and door manufacturer, have [...]
At the start of this week, Everest announced a new supply deal with VEKA. This has come hot on the heels of another supply deal with the UK Windows and Doors Group after they decided to shutter the Duraflex brand for good. Many will have failed to notice the reaction to that first deal, [...]
Press release via Everest/VEKA: Everest 2020 ltd, owner of the UK’s most famous home improvement brand operating for over 50 years, has announced a new supply agreement with leading global systems company VEKA PLC. The deal will give Everest access to a portfolio of market-leading products, enabling the firm to build upon its commitment [...]
Press release from Saint-Gobain Saint-Gobain has signed a binding agreement for the sale of COVIPOR, its glass processing business in Portugal, to PNI Portugal & Permanente SA. COVIPOR generated sales of around €20 million in 2022, with two industrial locations in the Porto area employing approximately 100 people. Closing of this transaction is subject [...]
Although there has been plenty of marketing content published by manufacturers of conservatories and solid roofs in recent months, it does feel like we have moved comfortably past the peak of this particular niche. Especially solid roofs. In a market that is dealing with a likely recession, a cost of living crisis and a [...]
If you keep up with such things, you will know that there has been a run of bankruptcies within the fenestration and wider construction sector which has underlined the fragility in the marketplace right now. I want to go through some of the notable ones and explore what it might mean for the fenestration [...]
It could be said that it is better late than never, but NSG Group, owners of Pilkington UK, have announced that they have sold off it's joint venture business in Russia and have exited the country. They join others such as Guardian Glass, REHAU, Velux, and more in closing down businesses in Russia in [...]
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