Type Public (LSE: HWDN) Products Kitchens and joinery Website www.howdens.com CEO Matthew Ingle (1998–) Founder Matthew Ingle Net income 175.4 million GBP (2015) | Operating income Revenue 1.22 billion GBP (2015) Founded 1995 | |
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Key people Richard Pennycook, (Chairman)Matthew Ingle, (CEO) Profiles | ||
Howden Joinery Group plc is the parent company for the Howdens Joinery business (Howdens), a supplier of kitchens and joinery products, which are sold to small builders. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange, and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
Contents
History
Howdens was established in 1995, as a business unit within MFI Furniture Group plc (MFI).
In October 2006, MFI sold its loss making MFI retail business to Merchant Equity Partners for £1, while retaining Howdens. At the same time, the name of MFI was changed to Galiform plc.
In November 2008, the MFI retail business entered administration, Galiform becoming liable for the costs associated with 46 MFI stores. An exceptional charge of £99.7m was incurred in 2008 to cover these costs. At this stage, Galiform was liable for the costs of over 80 properties previously used by MFI (the legacy properties).
By December 2012, the legacy properties had been reduced by over 80%, mainly due to landlords agreeing to the early termination of the associated leases in return for a one-off payment. In September 2010, Galiform changed its name to Howden Joinery Group plc.
Operations
Howdens' kitchens are manufactured at plants in Runcorn and Howden. The company has over 634 depots in the United Kingdom, and also trades from several depots around Northern France and Belgium under the name of "Houdan Cuisines" in Southern France under the name "Lamona Cuisines", in Amsterdam, The Netherlands under the name "Howden Keukens" and in Hamburg, Germany as "Howden Kuchen"