If you are going to supply a lantern that taps into the trend for extending family homes, then choose one that benefits everybody, argues Listers’ MD Roy Frost.

Every installer knows that having a reliable lantern in your product portfolio is key to winning wider business.

Home improvement projects that either include an extension, or are designed to bring more light into an expanded kitchen/diner, will often require additional products such as windows, bi-folding doors and sliders.

“Even before the pandemic struck, homeowners looking to improve their properties were specifying lanterns as part of their projects,” says Listers’ MD, Roy Frost. “And it shouldn’t come as any surprise. On the one hand, they open-up dark interiors, creating family rooms that can be used all day long. But they also create a statement, with the stylish pitched lantern becoming a byword for comfortable home-focused living.

“If you haven’t got a lantern that offers all the benefits the homeowner needs – such as maximum natural light, energy efficiency and security – and it isn’t straightforward to install, then you could be missing out on much more work.”

And those additional requirements will likely be for high-end, high margin items, such as flush and colour, which will help create a higher margin for the whole project, Roy believes.

“Listers is geared to helping window companies capitalise on the shift away from high volume products,” Roy says. “We have a number of flush options available, including our Timeless range, which is based on the Veka profile, and the Residence Collection, which is as close to a traditional timber window as you are going to get.

“Together they offer incredible choice to homeowners, and with our colour offer, they account for an increasing share of our orders. Their reach is certainly helped by our lantern offer because that gets us access to the bigger, more profitable, refurbishment projects.”

Listers has partnered with Sheerline to provide the S1 Lantern, which is the newest lantern on the market and comes with all the features that homeowners demand while creating efficiencies during installation.

“The Sheerline Lantern is a fantastic addition to our range, and it is a perfect fit with Listers’ goal of offering premium products at an affordable price point,” Roy says. “And installers love the Sheerline Lantern, because it is probably the easiest lantern on the market to fit.”

The Sheerline S1 Lantern was designed from the ground up to incorporate innovative ideas that create a warmer, slimmer and much more secure roof lantern.

Features such as anti-tamper screws, enclosed anti-tamper glazing, security tape and a patent pending glass lock, alongside the unique high security ridge end, ensure there isn’t an easy way to enter a property via the flat roof lantern.

Thanks to the patented Thermlock multi-chamber design, the Part L-compliant Sheerline windows and doors can achieve U-values as low as 1.3W/m²k with a double glazed unit, 0.9W/m²k with a triple, and can accommodate glazing depths of between 28mm and 44mm. It has also been designed to reduce its impact on the environment, sourcing aluminium from Wales, extruding in the UK, and recycling all aluminium waste.

Sheerline aluminium roof lanterns are available in a choice of 10 styles from square ‘pyramid’ designs to grander options suitable for larger ‘orangery’ style installations. Maximum sizes range from 2.4m up to 6m long, all set at a 25º pitch and all weather rated for the whole of the UK.

The S1 Lantern is available in black, white and grey on a two-week lead time, and a further nine on-trend colours in just four weeks from Listers. These lead times are the same across all of the trade fabricator’s aluminium and PVC-U ranges, which is important for a single product source.

“When it comes to installation, window companies love the Sheerline Lantern,” Roy says, “because it offers so many new benefits – for example, the sealed gasket, the improved end-caps, and the overall speed of installation. The feedback I’ve received has only been positive, especially as companies are receiving far fewer callbacks from homeowners.”

Alongside the Sheerline Lantern and high-end product offering, Listers’ customers also have access to the multi-site fabricator’s growing network of trade counters and marketing support.

“Having the products to meet the current demand is one thing,” Roy says, “but having the support of your supplier is another. At Listers we pride ourselves on being easy to deal with, and we provide the tools and the technical support to give you access to the jobs where you can secure the highest margin.”