The Glenrothes-based company, which has traditionally supplied its windows to the loft conversion sector, sees newbuild as a big growth market due to rooms in the roof becoming a more aspirational feature for homeowners, as well as a projected growth in the level of UK housebuilding.
The company has already yielded substantial commercial success from the newbuild sector, working with developers such as Persimmon.
“If you walk down a street in the UK with houses built in the 1980s, virtually none of them was designed with rooms in the loft space. But today there is a significant proportion of two-and-a-half or three storey homes,” said Mr Riddle.
He said it made sense to design new homes featuring habitable roof space, as later conversion could prove difficult and costly for homeowners.
Velux’s design service incorporates roof windows as an intergral part of new house design. Housebuilders typically supply standard house drawings to Velux, which then uses its expertise to design roof living space.
“Seven or eight years ago major housebuilders were not customers of ours. Now they are major trading partners, said Mr Riddle.”
All Velux windows feature a timber core, with the majority made solely from wood.
