A fast-growing home improvements company is aiming to create 50 new jobs thanks to the success of TV programmes like Grand Designs.
Peninsula Windows outdoor living; Pictured is Ken Grayson from Peninsula windows with MD Justin Williams of Fron Goch Garden Centre in Caernarfon.
Ambitious Peninsula Home Improvements, based in Gaerwen, on Anglesey, have already taken on two staff in Cheshire where they are planning to open a second showroom as part of their expansion.
The company is reaping the reward for its decision to specialise in high-end glazing products like the ones frequently featured in television makeover shows like Grand Designs.
As a result, the firm which currently employs over 30 people is on course to double its turnover to £4 million in just two years.
Peninsula has signed an agreement with Solarlux, the top German manufacturer of glass houses, sliding folding doors and high spec ‘Wintergarden’ conservatories who helped transform the famous Yankee Stadium in New York.
The company has been Solarlux’s approved dealers for North Wales for more than four years, and are now looking to expand into parts of Cheshire and Merseyside.
Chief executive Ken Grayson revealed there was a huge amount of interest and they’ve already made the first UK sale of a brand new Solarlux product, the Acubis glass house which can be an extension to a customer’s house or a stand-alone structure in the garden.
Another partnership that’s working well, according to Mr Grayson, is one with the Fron Goch Garden Centre on the outskirts of Caernarfon.
A Solarlux glass house has been erected inside the garden centre while some of Fron Goch’s furniture and soft furnishings are on display at the Peninsula showroom.
Mr Grayson explained: “We approached Fron Goch because we recognised that they are a long-established family company like ourselves, sharing similar values and like us servicing the quality end of the market.
“The standard of everything at Fron Goch is top notch which fits in with our products and our offering to our customers.
“The Solarlux glass house that’s on display has been beautifully furnished by Fron Goch and looks stunning, it’s like something out of a magazine.
“Solarlux specialise in glass houses and bi-folding doors, including the single-glazed glass structures like the one here which is essentially a covered patio
“This enables people to create outdoor lifestyles all year around, having barbeques outside in the winter if they choose to and it’s basically protection from the elements which is a desirable thing in our climate.
“Being German, they are very well engineered and they are designed for specific post code areas.
“Their engineers work out all the calculations for it, for snow loadings, for wind. They’re hurricane proof.
“It’s important to stress the glass houses are not conservatories, although Solarlux also make fully insulated systems as well. The glass houses are about all-year-round outdoor living.
He added: “We’re seeing increasing demand for high-end products like Solarlux and a Scandinavian range called Nordan, among others.
“Grand Designs has been a game changer because people’s aspirations are a lot higher than they’ve ever been.
“People watch Grand Designs and aspire to that sort of living, and our high-end products are the perfect solution because they also have a long life expectancy.
“Customers realise that if you pay more, you get more – and it puts value on the house.
“It’s more like an investment in your home because it’s just moving money from a current account where it’s earning no interest and putting it on the value of the property.
“I am particularly pleased that Peninsula has achieved the first ever sale of the new Acubis in the whole of the UK, it’s quite a feather in our cap.
“It came about because the customer saw the glass house at Fron Goch.
“The Acubis is very cutting edge in design and attaches to a house but also has a stand-alone model which you can put at the bottom of the garden. It’s very Grand Designs.
“Although we still service the uPVC market, it is the high-end products that are driving our growth along with the service back-up that the clients expect.
“In terms of turnover we’re on target for £4 million this year, from £2 million a couple of years ago, and we’re expanding into Cheshire where we have appointed two directors.
“We are planning a new showroom over there and we are in the process of identifying the best site.
“Our high-end products are perfect for Cheshire, particularly affluent places like Nantwich, Tarporley and Tattenhall.
“We’re talking to the Welsh Government about development grants to help fund our expansion because of the potential for employment.”
It was music to the ears of Justin Williams, the managing director of the Fron Goch Garden Centre.
He said: “This partnership is great for both of us. We have the same type of customers because we’re supplying similar levels of service, standard and product. There is a great synergy that’s going to benefit both of us.”
