What Gledhill does

Gledhill Building Products Ltd is a UK-based industrial manufacturer of hot water cylinders and associated heating solutions, founded in 1926 and headquartered in Blackpool. The company produces unvented cylinders (StainlessLite Plus, Stainless Platinum, Stainless Pro, Stainless ES), vented cylinders (EnviroFoam, Torrent), thermal stores (BoilerMate, PulsaCoil), and an expanding portfolio of alternative-energy cylinders compatible with air source heat pumps, solar thermal, and solid fuel systems. Core technology centres on duplex stainless steel and copper cylinder construction, with proprietary features including the StainlessLite SuperCoil corrugated coil (delivering 20% more surface area than plain-coil competitors), built-in internal expansion eliminating external expansion vessels, multi-pass coil configurations for heat pump compatibility, and EnviroFoam HCFC-free insulation using rapeseed-oil-derived polyol. The company holds multiple independent approvals (NSF WRC, WRAS, HWA) and is certified to UK Building Regulations Part L1A, Part G, and 2017 ErP standards.

Gledhill operates two manufacturing Centres of Excellence (Blackpool for stainless steel and Birmingham for bespoke copper cylinders) and a 100,000 square foot main facility in Blackpool. It is part of the Groupe Atlantic UK & ROI division following a 2015 acquisition by the French heating group. In November 2024 the company received nearly £5.2 million in UK government funding (part of a combined £12+ million package with sister company Ideal Heating) to expand heat pump and cylinder manufacturing capacity, targeting 120,000 cylinders and 115,000 heat pumps annually by 2030. The business is celebrating its 100-year anniversary in 2026.

The company sells exclusively B2B through more than 600 approved merchant stockists across the UK, supported by a 5-hub own-fleet distribution network (Blackpool, Hull, Birmingham, Bristol, London) enabling next-day delivery on stainless steel products and same-day collection on bespoke copper cylinders via the Gledhill Xpress service. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is set on a per-unit basis through the merchant channel. End customers span house builders and developers (primary), installers and plumbers (primary), social housing providers, and the retrofit and off-gas segments. Wholesale bespoke copper cylinder work, spare parts (Gledhill Spares), and repairs/maintenance (Gledhill Response) provide additional revenue streams.

Name

Gledhill

Legal name

Gledhill Building Products Ltd

Website

https://gledhill.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

1926

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Gledhill is a UK-based industrial manufacturer of hot water cylinders and heating solutions, founded in 1926 and owned by Groupe Atlantic. It sells B2B through 600+ merchant stockists across a five-hub distribution network, serving house builders, installers, social housing, and the growing heat-pump retrofit market.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Blackpool

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Hot Water Cylinder Sales: One-time hardware sales of hot water cylinders including unvented, vented, thermal storage, and alternative energy cylinders. Products sold through merchant distribution network.
2. Bespoke Copper Cylinders: Custom-built copper cylinders to specification including tapping heights, connection sizes and positions, rectangular tanks, and combination units. Offered through Gledhill Xpress service.
3. Spare Parts and Accessories: Cylinder accessories including washing machine frames, replacement parts through Gledhill Spares division.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Gledhill designs, manufactures and distributes hot water cylinders and thermal storage products for residential and commercial buildings. Its core portfolio covers unvented stainless steel cylinders, vented copper and stainless cylinders, thermal stores and renewable-energy cylinders (solar, heat pump and heat pump duo). Products are sold B2B through a UK network of over 600 approved merchant stockists, supported by a 5-hub distribution network and own delivery fleet, with bespoke copper cylinders offered through Gledhill Xpress.

Product overview

Gledhill is the UK's Number One hot water cylinder manufacturer, established in 1926, producing a comprehensive portfolio of hot water and heating solutions. The core product portfolio spans unvented cylinders (StainlessLite Plus, StainlessLite, Stainless Platinum, Stainless Pro, and Stainless ES ranges), vented cylinders (EnviroFoam and Torrent ranges), thermal stores (BoilerMate and PulsaCoil ranges), and renewable energy solutions (StainlessLite Plus Solar, Heat Pump, and Heat Pump DUO). Key product lines include the flagship StainlessLite Plus range featuring lightweight duplex stainless steel construction with corrugated SuperCoil technology, the premium Stainless Platinum range with built-in internal expansion, the Stainless Pro range for the contracts market, and specialized heat pump cylinders. The company also offers bespoke copper cylinders through its Gledhill Xpress service, supported by a unique 5-hub distribution network across the UK enabling next-day delivery.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• StainlessLite: Flagship range of unvented hot water cylinders manufactured from duplex stainless steel, known as the lightest cylinders on the market
• StainlessLite Plus
• Stainless Platinum
• Stainless Pro
• StainlessLite SuperCoil
• StainlessLite Plus Heat Pump
• StainlessLite Plus Heat Pump DUO
• EnviroFoam
• BoilerMate
• PulsaCoil
• Torrent
• Gledhill Xpress
• Gledhill Response

Products and services

• Stainless Platinum Direct Unvented hot water cylinder for use with electric, available in 4 sizes (120-210 litres) with built-in internal expansion and duplex stainless steel construction.
• Stainless Platinum Direct Pre-Plumbed Unvented cylinder with pre-plumbed pipework for quicker installation, available in 5 sizes (120L-290L) with built-in expansion and 50mm insulation.
• Stainless Platinum Indirect Unvented cylinder for use with conventional boiler and electric, available in 6 sizes (120-300 litres) with high efficiency corrugated tube coil.
• Stainless Platinum Indirect Pre-Plumbed Pre-plumbed indirect cylinder with built-in expansion, pre-wiring, and 50mm insulation for reduced installation times.
• Stainless ES Value-engineered unvented cylinder in direct and indirect configurations, manufactured from duplex stainless steel with NSF WRC and WRAS approvals.
• Stainless Pro Unvented cylinder designed for contracts market with SAP compliance, low heat loss, and 25-year warranty, available in indirect and direct models (90-300L).
• Stainless Pro Horizontal Indirect Unvented horizontal cylinder for height-restricted installations, manufactured in UK with 50mm HCFC-free EnviroFoam insulation and 25-year warranty.
• StainlessLite Plus Direct Unvented cylinder for use with electric, available in 7 sizes (90-300 litres) with two immersions for on-peak and off-peak use.
• StainlessLite Plus Slimline Unvented cylinder with reduced 475mm diameter for restricted spaces, available in 60-210 litres indirect and 90-210 litres direct models.
• StainlessLite Plus Indirect Unvented cylinder for use with gas or oil boilers, available in 8 sizes (90-400 litres) with corrugated coil for faster reheat times.
• StainlessLite Plus Horizontal Indirect First independently approved domestic horizontal unvented cylinder for height-restricted areas, available in 180-300 litre models.
• StainlessLite Pre-Plumbed Indirect Pre-plumbed unvented cylinder with plug-and-play solution for new-build housing market, featuring fitting template and 25-year warranty.
• StainlessLite System Ready Indirect Retrofit solution for system boilers with pre-plumbed kit and single heating zone, available in 120-300 litres with ErP rating B up to 210 litres.
• StainlessLite System Plus Indirect Pre-plumbed solution for system boilers with two heating zones, designed for new build housing market in 120-300 litre sizes.
• StainlessLite Plus Heat Pump Unvented cylinder designed for heat pump applications with multi-pass corrugated stainless steel tube heat exchanger, available in 180-400 litres with optional slimline version.
• Stainlesslite Plus Heat Pump Pre-Plumbed Pre-plumbed heat pump cylinder with factory-fitted pipework, available in 150L-210L across standard and slimline (475mm) models with 50mm insulation.
• StainlessLite Plus Heat Pump DUO 2-in-1 cylinder with built-in 70L buffer tank and multi-pass coil technology, designed for air and ground source heat pumps in 200-300 litre sizes.
• StainlessLite Plus Solar Unvented cylinder with dedicated high-performance solar coil for solar thermal applications, available in direct and indirect configurations.
• StainlessLite Plus Buffer Store Duplex stainless steel buffer vessel for heat pump systems to prevent short cycling, rated up to 3.5 bar for primary water only.
• BoilerMate OV Pre-Plumbed Open vented thermal store for use with gas or oil boilers, providing mains pressure hot water with pre-plumbed configuration.
• BoilerMate SP Sealed primary thermal store for central plant boilers with approximately 20-25 minute cylinder reheat time and built-in diversity.
• PulsaCoil Stainless Circular thermal storage cylinder for apartments using off-peak electric, with plate heat exchanger generating hot water on demand.
• Torrent Stainless OV Open vented cylinder for use with solid fuel or wood burning boilers, available in 150-350 litres with 3kW immersion heaters.
• Torrent Stainless SP SOL Sealed primary model for solar thermal panels with solid fuel connections, featuring 3kW immersion heater for emergency backup.
• EnviroFoam Copper Vented copper cylinder with 35mm HCFC-free insulation using renewable polyol derived from rapeseed oil, fully recyclable.
• EnviroFoam Stainless Vented stainless steel replacement cylinder with HCFC-free insulation and global warming potential of 0.7, fully recyclable.
• Sunspeed Domestic hot water cylinder specifically designed for solar panels with large surface area heat exchangers for low temperature differentials.
• Gledhill Bespoke Copper Cylinders Custom copper cylinders manufactured to specification including Twin Coil, Combination Units, Super Recovery, and Rectangular Tanks, produced at Centre of Excellence in Birmingham.
• Washing Machine Frame Steel washing machine frame for accommodating 120L-250L hot water cylinders, powder coated for durability, dimensions 910x670x600mm.
• Gledhill Xpress Bespoke copper cylinder service with fast turnaround and next-day delivery on selected models, orderable until midday.
• Gledhill Response Repairs and maintenance service for Gledhill products with technical helpline support.
• Gledhill Spares Spare parts service for Gledhill products including manual downloads and parts enquiries.

Quantifiable outcome

• 20% more surface area from corrugated coil compared to plain coil competitors
• +3 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Ideal HeatingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint partnership with Ideal Heating to expand heat pump and hot water cylinder production in the UK. Both companies are part of Groupe Atlantic UK & ROI division. Investment enables production of 115,000 air source heat pumps and 120,000 cylinders annually by 2030, boosting British manufacturing and energy security.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• McDonald Engineers: Scottish-based UK manufacturer of hot water cylinders and thermal stores, with direct product overlap in unvented cylinders, thermal stores, and renewable energy cylinders. Closest direct competitor to Gledhill in the UK domestic cylinder market.
• Telford Stainless Steel: UK-based manufacturer of stainless steel hot water cylinders including unvented, vented, and thermal store ranges. Direct competitor targeting similar installer and house builder customer segments.
• RM Cylinders: UK manufacturer of unvented hot water cylinders and thermal stores sold through plumbing merchants. Directly comparable product range and go-to-market through merchant stockists.
• OSO Hotwater: Norwegian manufacturer of hot water cylinders and buffer tanks with strong presence in UK and European markets. Comparable in stainless steel cylinder manufacturing and renewable energy integration products.
• Kingspan Hot Water Cylinders: Kingspan's hot water cylinder division manufactures stainless steel unvented cylinders targeting UK and Irish markets. Direct product overlap with Gledhill's StainlessLite range and similar installer-focused distribution.

Broad incumbents

• Vaillant: Major European heating OEM offering boilers, heat pumps, and hot water cylinders as part of integrated heating solutions. Broader portfolio than Gledhill but overlapping product lines in unvented cylinders and renewable-ready heating systems.
• Worcester Bosch: UK market-leading boiler and heating manufacturer (Bosch Thermotechnology). Sells hot water cylinders as part of integrated heating packages to overlapping installer and house builder customers.
• Baxi: UK-focused boiler and heating systems manufacturer offering cylinders and integrated solutions. Serves same installer and social housing customer segments as Gledhill.
• Ariston Group: Global water heating and heating systems manufacturer with strong UK presence through unvented cylinders and thermal stores. Broader portfolio but directly overlapping core cylinder products.

Others

• Ideal Heating: Sister company under Groupe Atlantic UK & ROI division; partnered with Gledhill on £12M+ government-funded heat pump manufacturing expansion. Operates as a strategic partner rather than direct competitor, but represents the same parent group's broader heating portfolio.

Market position

Strengths2 records

Weaknesses2 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/watch?v=I1QCfsb--Lk
• Facebookfacebook.com/Gledhill-Group-1833317606707560
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/gledhill-building-products
• Instagraminstagram.com/gledhillgroup

Compliance13 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Gledhill