Paul Wakefield, Managing Director of Grant UK, shares his end of year message for 2023, extending his thanks to customers, suppliers and partners for their support throughout the year.
As the year draws to a close, we would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to all our customers, suppliers and industry partners for your continued support.
It has been an exciting year for Grant UK, as we have settled into our new premises in Swindon. We saw team members celebrate 20-year work anniversaries, and we welcomed many new faces, allowing us to focus on providing a higher level of pre and post sales support. I would personally like to thank the Grant UK team for all their hard work and dedication. Grant UK couldn’t be where it is today without them.
What a year it has been for the heating industry too. Despite the Government announcement of changes to its net zero pledges with the delay of the fossil fuel boiler ban for retrofit installations until 2035, Grant is still pressing ahead and strongly focused on providing homes with greener alternatives to heating. After all, it is still a firm policy to ensure that the UK heads towards net zero emissions target by 2050.
Other highlights from the year include Installer Show in June where we showcased several exciting new renewable heating products joining our Grant heat pump line up in 2024, the increase of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) grant which now provides Government support for heat pump installations of £7,500 in England & Wales, and the most recent announcement of an additional £1.5 billion funding also for that scheme, further supporting more homes to transition to low carbon heating.
Conversation around HVO biofuels has grown, as has interest this year. We are still hopeful that they will be given Government backing and included in the Heat & Buildings Strategy in the future, even as a blend initially to provide homes which cannot be easily converted to heat pumps, with a low carbon alternative.
Looking ahead, in just over 12 months time, we will see the next major industry shift, as fossil fuel boilers will no longer be installed in new build properties. New homes will instead need to include a form of low carbon technology and heat pumps are set to play a major role in that journey. Exciting times are certainly ahead!
On behalf of everyone at Grant UK, we hope you have a wonderful Christmas break with your families. We look forward to working with you in 2024.
Best wishes,
Paul