No surprises

Glass Times editor Nathan Bushell weighs up confidence and market reports.

While Robert Palmer doesn’t win any awards for cheeriness, his predictions for the coming years don’t come as a surprise. Yes, he talks about ‘headwinds’, ‘uncertainty’ and ‘slowdown’, but we’ve seen it coming.

Robert also talks about a shift to higher end products by consumers, something that we also know about because we’ve seen the growth of aluminium, conservatories and heritage-style windows on the back of it.

It is why companies in our sector tend to be more confident than, say, in 2008 when the world started crashing in around our ears following the credit crunch.

It is also because of this that I am not surprised to learn that Lister Trade Frames had 25 interested parties (many of which are recognisable names, from what I understand) when it was put into administration a couple of weeks ago.

Something clearly went wrong at Listers, but the overall company was solid, with good products, good customer care and an impressive reputation, and many of this undustry’s entrepreneurs recognised the value behind the brand. I’m sure Roy Frost will soon get the company running on all cylinders once again.

Finally, congratulations to all the shortlisted entries in this year’s G Awards. I look forward to a fun-filled party in London’s Hilton Hotel in November.