Business www. soudal. co. uk Experts in Sealants, Adhesives & PU Foams
44 | DECEMBER 2025
Business www. soudal. co. uk Experts in Sealants, Adhesives & PU Foams
POSITIVE VIBES ONLY
300 glazing professionals gathered in Coventry for a day of debate and networking.
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Economic conditions may be causing businesses an increasingly sore headache, but there is hope on the horizon. That was the main takeaway from this year’ s Glazing Summit, which took place on 9 October at its impressive new home of the Coventry Building Society Arena.
The conference kicked off with a fascinating economic overview from Glynn Jones, deputy agent at the Bank of England. Glynn outlined the Bank’ s predictions for the coming 12 months, and, while he stopped short of using the word‘ recession’, he did warn that the tough times would continue for a while yet.
Glynn was followed by the ever-popular Insight Industry Report, delivered by Insight Data managing director, Andrew Scott, who shared the company’ s latest research into the market. Its survey of 2,000 window installers found that lead volumes are down and that customers are taking longer to make decisions, while over half( 59 %) said that trading feels harder now than in 2024. However, Andrew did share some positive steps companies can take to buck the trend, not least investing in marketing.
Onto the first panel discussion of the day, which looked at how glazing is contributing to overheating homes. Up next was Simon Jarman, CEO of
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Clever Bean Accounting, who drew on his years of experience in the glazing industry – including as both CEO and CFO of Everest – to share his thoughts on how understanding your finances is the first step in getting back in control of your profits.
“ Thousands of small businesses in our sector are working harder than ever … but still not making any money,” he said.“ And that is a problem for all of us, because small businesses, especially installers, are the engine room of the glazing supply chain.”
Simon was followed by a panel discussion, chaired by GGP editor Chris Beck. He was joined by Charlotte Hawkes of Keystone Market Research, Jonathan Hooper from Checkatrade and FENSA’ s Sam Davies to discuss the trends that today’ s consumers are looking for. The panellists each shared data relating to key areas of home improvement, covering technology like smart homes, colour trends and preferences in materials, as well as what might be coming in the future.
Up next was Jon Vanstone, chair of Certass, NHIC and the Industry Competence Committee for the Building Safety Regulator.“ The glazing industry stands at a pivotal moment in its history” he declared.“ The way buildings are designed, constructed, and maintained is being reshaped by reform. From regulation and product standards to competence and accountability, the goal is clear: to create a safer, more transparent built environment. For those of us in glazing, this is not just a policy shift. It is a call to lead.”
There was no chance for the usual post-lunch lull as Quickslide chairman Adrian Barraclough took to the stage to share his thoughts on how the glazing sector isn’ t reaching its full potential. In the past, he said, glazing firms were built on entrepreneurial spirit and a drive to push the business forward. Now, though, he warned, we’ re in a period of“ lazy consumers who rely on the internet and SEO for their leads”, and businesses who feel like they don’ t have to work for their next lead – it’ ll just drop in via Google.
Next came something different for the Glazing Summit – a hands-on workshop designed to get people talking about their mental health. Run by Andy Stevens, founder of The Build Network, games including Jenga and dominoes were set up for delegates to play with. Before they could remove a block or lay a domino, they had to answer a mental health-related question to encourage discussion amongst themselves.
There followed another panel discussion, chaired by Access
Marketing’ s Sioned Yates, brought together Howard Trotter of Shelforce, John Mannell from the GGF and Andrew Thompson of Ultraframe. Again, questions flowed from the audience, many of whom wanted to know routes into taking on apprentices, and how to maximise their potential when in place. Rounding off the industry-specific part of the day was Elton Boocock, who followed on from his show-stopping session at the 2024 Glazing Summit with another high-energy presentation on the potential of Artificial Intelligence. Elton, along with Brisant Secure’ s Alex Dutton and Russell Bridge of Finesse Windows, explored the latest developments in AI, and what installers need to do to maximise its potential in the coming 12 months.
There was one last treat for the delegates in the room to round of the day. Infamous businessman Gerald Ratner was on hand to deliver a talk on his rise and fall – and rise again – following his well-publicised faux pas when he called his products‘ total crap’. In a hilarious yet poignant speech, he shared how, even at rock bottom( and owing the bank millions of pounds) business owners can pull things back and become a success again.
www. glazingsummit. co. uk