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NEWS +VOX: Inwido acquires UK’s largest PVC-U sash window maker Victorian House Window Group for £60m
Inwido, Europe’s largest supplier of windows and doors, has acquired the UK-based Victorian House Window Group for £60 million in a deal that expands its presence in the British market and adds a highly profitable business to its portfolio.
The purchase includes 100 per cent of the shares in Victorian House Window Group Ltd, which operates well-known brands such as ECOSlide® and Victorian Sliders®. The shares were acquired from majority owner BGF, a growth capital investor, along with other shareholders. The transaction is completed on a cash- and debt-free basis.
Victorian House Window Group is the UK’s largest manufacturer and supplier of PVC-U sliding sash windows. It generates annual sales of around £33 million and employs approximately 300 people. According to Inwido, the company’s profitability is above the group average.
Headquartered in Ammanford, Wales, the business also operates sales and distribution depots across the UK and Ireland, along with a hardware manufacturing site in Foshan, China. Its Welsh factory is vertically integrated, with all manufacturing processes carried out in-house, including extrusion, cutting, glazing, assembly and recycling.
The site is noted for its commitment to the circular economy, with its own recycling process allowing around 30 per cent of the material in its window frames to come from recycled PVC. The plant currently produces more than 1,750 windows each week and has capacity to nearly double that volume.
Fredrik Meuller, President and CEO of Inwido, said the acquisition aligned with the company’s growth strategy and brought opportunities for synergies across the group. “I’m happy to welcome the first facility within Inwido to have all operations under one roof, including its unique on-site PVC recycling for more sustainable products,” he said.
The deal comes as the UK sash window market is expected to expand, driven by pent-up demand for replacement windows and the easing of planning restrictions that now permit PVC-U units to replace traditional timber frames. Inwido also sees opportunities for Victorian House Window Group to broaden its customer base, targeting sectors such as private new build housing and housing associations.
The acquisition marks Victorian House Window Group’s 20th year in the window industry. It positions Inwido to strengthen its market offering in the UK with products known for both quality and sustainability.
Founded in Sweden, Inwido owns a portfolio of window and door brands across Europe and pursues a strategy of acquiring profitable, market-leading businesses with strong potential for growth. The addition of Victorian House Window Group marks its latest expansion into a growing market segment with a well-established manufacturing base.
Why This Matters: This is a deal that comes at an interesting time for the UK fenestration market. Inwido has a firm eye on developing its presence in the UK, which is pivotal given the comments the company made earlier in the year. It reported that its difficulties in the UK, its second-largest western European consumer market, persisted despite expectations of a seasonal rebound. ‘Expectations of recovery during the summer months, above all in Finland and the UK, resulted in under-absorbed costs before adjustments took effect later in the quarter,’ Meuller noted. He said the company is continuing to implement cost-efficiency measures amid ‘relatively high levels of uncertainty and low visibility as a result of geopolitical turmoil and volatile markets’.
Despite the cautious tone, Inwido has continued to expand its portfolio. It acquired RM Snickerier, a Swedish joinery specialist, during the quarter and Fast Frame, a UK manufacturer, shortly after. Both, Meuller said, are ‘small but highly profitable’ businesses that offer ‘good opportunities for synergies in purchasing and sales’. This purchase of Victorian House Window Group will continue the focus on delivering synergies in purchasing and sales.
The move also makes sense when you look at the opportunities in the UK for upgrading old housing stock, especially when you consider that only 22 per cent of pre-1929 homes in England have an EPC rating of C or above – and many of these will have old vertical sash windows that need replacing with heritage-sensitive windows, the type of products that Victorian Sliders is renowned for. So this could prove a very smart move by Inwido.
