With panoramic glazing now a staple of high-end architecture, the UK market is seeing an increased appetite for oversized glass – and Cornwall Group is reaping the rewards.
“We’ve seen this coming for some time,” says Cornwall Group Chairman, Mark Mitchell. “When others were focusing on volume, we were investing in high-spec capability. Now that the demand for oversized, high-performance units has gone mainstream, that investment has positioned us perfectly.”
The figures support this view. According to the Office for National Statistics, new construction work in the UK rose by over 26% in Q1 2025 alone, totalling £11.6 billion.
Commercial and high-end residential builds are leading the way, calling for expansive glass façades, large-format sliding systems, and architectural glazing – all of which demand glass outside of traditional manufacturing limits.
At the Group’s Plymouth facility, specialist toughening furnaces, cutting tables, and a heat soaking furnace capable of processing glass up to 4.2m x 2.7m, were introduced almost a decade ago to meet the predicted demand for oversized glass.
And with an internal transport network transferring products between Cornwall Group sites, each business within the Group has been able to reap the rewards of the investment, supplying oversize glass and IGUs to customers across the UK.
Meanwhile in Birmingham, the Forward Glass site has recently installed a brand new state-of-the-art Glaston toughening furnace – a mammoth investment and the first of three planned installations across the Group this year.
“The market is changing, and costs are increasing – particularly those linked to oil due to the instability in the Middle East”, says Mark. “Therefore, if you’re not improving your operational efficiency and running costs, you’re going to struggle to maintain quality at a profitable price.”
Forward Glass’ new furnace will cut annual CO₂ emissions by over 62 tonnes and reduce electricity use by nearly 300,000 kWh.
Capable of processing glass up to 4.8m in length, it’s also futureproofing Cornwall’s offering for increasingly complex specifications, including soft-coated Low-E and thicker units required for structural or acoustic applications.
At the same time, Cornwall is now producing 3m+ wide glazed units on an almost daily basis – many of which are triple-glazed and incorporate solar control technologies. These are not commodity products: they’re engineered for performance, longevity, and architectural excellence.
“We’re not just manufacturing glass products, we’re helping our customers to open up new opportunities,” Mark says. “If you want to pitch for high-end projects, you need confidence in your supply chain, and that’s what we offer.”
With most analysts expecting two interest rate cuts between now and the end of 2025 and previously paused commercial schemes preparing to re-enter the pipeline, the second half of 2025 could mark a pivotal moment for specialist glass suppliers.
As specifiers prioritise energy efficiency, visual impact, and long-term performance, companies without the infrastructure or product range to deliver at scale may find themselves outpaced.
“Everything we’ve done has been about readiness,” says Mark. “You can’t wait for the demand to arrive and then scramble to meet it. You’ve got to be ahead of it. And that’s exactly where we are.”
