Polyframe hits £100million with Customade merger
21st February 2017

The Polyframe Group has announced its biggest expansion move to date with the acquisition and merger with the £35million Customade Group, taking the combined sales to over £100million, virtually double the figure when Polyframe was acquired by MBO just seven months ago.

The move also gives the Group, to be known as Customade, a significant presence in aluminium windows, conservatory roof products and composite doors as well as the Veka, Halo, Rehau, Eurocell and Duraflex PVC-U systems, and nearly 900 employees at ten sites across the UK.

After the Polyframe MBO last July See Story it went on to acquire the WB Group composite entry door business, based in Birtley See Story then entered an exchange deal, giving its 11 trade counter sites in return for Stevenswood’s 50,000sq ft factory in Livingston See Story.

Customade is a manufacturer of aluminium and PVCu windows, doors and conservatory roof products, including the REAL, Atlas and Fineline aluminium brands. It operates from 100,000 sqft facilities near Gloucester, employing 320 people, with turnover in excess of £35million last year.

The latest move was again supported by specialist investment firm Cairngorm Capital.

Customade Managing Director John Lightowlers becomes Group Managing Director of the enlarged firm and continues to hold a significant ownership stake. With over twenty years’ leadership experience in the windows and doors market and having led Customade for the past 12 years, John and his fellow Customade shareholders, Nick Gibbons, Gareth Thomas and John Adams, have been instrumental in Customade’s growth and success.

John will be supported initially by Jon Gatfield, Polyframe’s interim Managing Director, who will transition to other Cairngorm Capital operational roles in the near future, and Lance Gillett, Polyframe’s Group Finance Director, who joined Polyframe from Masco UK Window Group in 2016. David Moore, Non-Executive Director of Polyframe and former CEO of Ultraframe plc, will become Chairman of the enlarged group.

Jon Gatfield said: “Both Polyframe and Customade pride themselves on offering customers extensive product ranges, along with extremely high levels of reliability, flexibility and customer service. Since July 2016, we at Polyframe have invested heavily to develop a best-in-class offering for our trade customers, strengthen our manufacturing operations and extend our geographic presence. The merger with Customade will accelerate these initiatives and secure our position as the largest trade fabricator of windows and doors to the UK installer market”

John Naylor-Leyland of Cairngorm Capital added: “We are delighted to invest further in Polyframe to facilitate this proprietary, off-market merger between Polyframe and Customade and to support the combined group’s growth plans. Customade has an outstanding reputation in the industry for supplying high-quality branded aluminium products, which together with the excellence of its operational capabilities and the calibre of its staff, make it the natural partner to enhance Polyframe’s leading PVCu window and composite door range.“

John Lightowlers, Group Managing Director of the enlarged group added, “This is the perfect partnership for two businesses with shared values, a market-leading suite of products and a commitment to the highest standards of customer service. There are great opportunities across the sector and as an enlarged group we look forward to meeting all trade customers’ product needs.”

Polyframe and Cairngorm Capital were advised on this transaction by PwC (financial and tax), Livingstone (debt advisory) and Bond Dickinson (legal). MidCap Financial, alongside Polyframe’s existing lender, Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank Group, provided senior debt to support the transaction as well as the enlarged group’s continued investment in its manufacturing sites.