Anglian Home Improvements

History

Anglian Windows, now branded as Anglian Home Improvements and trading as part of the Anglian Group, was established in 1966 by George Williams when he opened a factory in Norwich. In 1969 the first showroom opened in Ipswich before the company expanded its factory a year later selling PVCu products. Over the next few decades, Anglian grew to become a market leader, employing over 5,000 workers across the country at its peak, fitting over half a million products each year.

In 1984 Anglian was acquired for £30 million by British Electric Traction. During the next few years the company expanded its product range to include conservatories, doors and stained glass overlay. This expansion lead the company to re-brand as Anglian Home Improvements in 1997.

This rise to success in the double glazing industry was not easy; the recession during the 1980s hurt Anglian's profits, which saw a management buyout in 1991. This change in management lead to the company doing well and they spent nearly 10 years on the London Stock Exchange. A few years down the line, the holding company Anglian Group, was bought by investment group Alchemy Partners.

Anglian Group had been trading as Anglian Windows for nearly 33 years, but decided to re-brand as Anglian Home Improvements in 1999 due to an increase in their product range. The re-brand helped the company to continue performing well, with sales and profits growing and they became a founder member of the Fenestration Self-Assessment Scheme (FENSA). The company took another turn for the worse between 2007/2008 with the country again in a poor economic state. The company had to close a manufacturing plant and two depots, before being taken over by a consortium of banks to help with the ever growing debts. The changes didn't end there as the company undertook a major restructuring with Anglian parting with nearly 1,000 staff during 2008/2009. Despite these changes, Anglian were named the biggest in the UK market by sales and turnover.

In January 2010, Anglian Windows founder, George Williams, died following an illness.

With the country's economic state improving, so did the company's profits, which has seen them stabilise the company once more. In 2010, Anglian reported their net income had risen 70% despite a fall in revenue; pre-tax profits were recorded at £11.3 million. Anglian Windows (as it is still commonly known) has since been on the market looking for a buyer, but no bids met the asking price of £140 million.

In September 2015, Brian McCluskie took over as CEO of the company, completing a change of ownership with Alchemy Partners returning to become Anglian Group's majority shareholder.

Turnover

During 2012, employing over 2000 staff, Anglian’s total turnover was £200 million. The total profits for 2011-2012 were over £6 million.

Unsolicited marketing calls

In November 2012 the Information Commissioner's Office publicly listed Anglian Windows as one of a number of companies that it had concerns about due to unsolicited telephone calls for marketing. The concerns were based on complaints. In response, Anglian Windows said that it took complaints seriously.

Following these concerns, Anglian became the first TPS Assured company, a scheme set up to combat the growing reputational threat of so-called 'nuisance calls' made by rogue businesses operating outside the law.

Corporate Social Responsibility

As part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Anglian have been seen to maintain a strong relationship with other businesses, communities and charities such as Norwich City FC, Brain Tumour UK, Sport Relief, Save the Children, and Oxfam.