Days of speculation were ended this morning with the announcement that UK Windows and Doors Group – formerly Griffin Windows – has been placed into administration with the loss of more than 560 jobs at sites in South Wales, Gloucestershire and Bedfordshire.
The news comes less than four months after the company shut down its Duraflex PVCu extrusion business in the wake of losing its 350 tonnes/year Safestyle account after ten years.
Administrators Teneo said 496 jobs are to go at the four sites across Rhondda Cynon Taf, South Wales, with a further 67 at Tewkesbury – the former Duraflex site – and Biggleswade but added that the majority Sevenday business – as a whole said to sell 16,500 window per week via 27 trade depots – had been sold to an unnamed buyer. These units are continuing to trade, with 91 jobs preserved.
The group had launched a turnaround plan with additional support from funders following the loss of Safestyle, including the closure of Duraflex manufacturing and outsourcing of PVCu profile from Veka https://www.the-glazine.com/?p=9751 , a move which UKWDG CEO Matthew Scoffield had put further strain on the group’s fianances.
The group while trading had included the SafeChoice Partnership, ‘supplying selected independent installers with its range of windows, doors and conservatories backed by sales and marketing support including lead-generation’ and the Evolution timber-alternative system, as well as Sevenday.
