UK Fire Doors re-opens doors at Langley Mill
UK Fire Doors, a leading provider of bespoke, certified fire doors and pre-hung fire and acoustic door sets, has re-opened the Langley Mill site in Derbyshire this March, kick-starting production following the factory closure in December.
UK Fire Doors has acquired all plant, machinery and stock at the Langley Mill site, previously occupied by Leaderflush Shapland before it entered into administration in December 2015. UK Fire Doors has also negotiated a lease for the Langley Mill site, with the support of the local council.
The business’s recent acquisition follows three strong years of growth where the company has seen its turnover double. The company’s recent success has been helped by ongoing funding from Bibby Financial Services, the UK’s largest independent invoice finance provider. In that time the company has used the additional working capital to double its production to 50,000 fire doors per year.
To fund its recent acquisition, UK Fire Doors received significant funding from Close Brothers Business Finance in the form of asset finance.
Tim Askew, managing director, UK Fire Doors said:
“UK Fire Doors is committed to continuing with its drive to increase manufacturing capacity of timber door sets in the UK, and to securing the long-term future of key workers within the industry.
“Following strong growth in recent years, supported by Bibby Financial Services, we saw our recent acquisition as a great opportunity to bring back manufacturing to Langley Mill: a place that has been at the heart of the UK’s door manufacturing industry for many years. In recent weeks we were able to open the factory and begin production.
“We continue to invest heavily in new systems, technology and people to ensure we are able to support the enhanced manufacturing capacity and provide a service that is second to none in the industry.”
Operations director, Andy Waterhouse, UK Fire Doors said:
“Combined with our existing manufacturing facility in North Wales we now offer 200,000 sq. ft. of manufacturing space, providing us with the largest capacity in the market. Our dual site manufacturing provides increased flexibility, scalability and surety of supply. With this new capacity, we are expecting to grow our production from 50,000 to 75,000 doors over the next 12 months. It is a great opportunity to employ the wealth of knowledge in the health and education sectors which has been accumulated at Langley Mill, and also to utilise the years of investment into the infrastructure there.”
Gareth Smith, relationship manager, Bibby Financial Services said:
“UK Fire Doors has shown fantastic growth over the past three years and we are proud to have played a significant part in funding this business. Not only will this provide the potential lift off for further growth but could help reinvigorate the local economy in the area.
“UK Fire Doors is a strong example of why supporting UK SMEs is key to the wider economy, and the flexible funding solutions we are able to provide will continue to assist these ambitious companies in achieving their growth aspirations.”
Mark Gilman from Close Brothers Business Finance said:
“It was a complex process in order to meet the needs of UK Fire Doors and the administrators, however by working together we were able to structure a finance agreement with an approval in principle, followed by the full draw down when all necessary due diligence was complete. Something that was key to this projects success was the speed in which the funds were available and we were able to make this happen to the timescales required.
“At Close Brothers we understand the needs of our customers and we focus on delivering results to satisfy all parties, it’s great to see that in this case it has enabled UK Fire Doors to grow and expand, ultimately supporting the UK economy.”
