Trade kitchen giant Howdens is set to enter the consumer kitchen market in a major way, after signing a deal worth nearly £400m to acquire national-scale online retailer DIY Kitchens.
Howdens has agreed to acquire the parent company of Ultima Furniture Systems Limited, which trades publicly as DIY Kitchens. The online retailer is considered to be incredibly popular with consumers, holding an “excellent” Trustpilot rating, and offers its own planning, design and ordering tools.
Howdens says the business is a “highly profitable and growing enterprise” with a business model that is very different to its own trade-only model. This means the trade kitchen giant will be able to considerably increase its customer base by dealing with “non-trade customers” for the first time.
DIY Kitchens manufactures all of its own kitchens using short production runs on a made-to-order basis, which differs heavily from Howdens’ model of using long production runs to manufacturer products to stock.
DIY Kitchens currently operates two showrooms (one of which it claims is the largest kitchen showroom in the UK), with a third currently planned to open in Scotland. Meanwhile, Howdens operates out of 893 depot locations across the UK, with plans to increase this number to over 900 before the end of 2026.
The acquisition includes freehold property assets worth around £55m. Although the businesses will continue to operate as standalone companies, Howdens says it does see opportunities for cost savings over time. The company says these will initially be focused on areas where there is a common approach within raw materials, sourcing and machinery.
Following completion of the acquisition – which still remains subject to regulatory approval – DIY Kitchens will continue to operate as an exclusively online business, and will operate separately from Howdens trade only business, which it says is “much larger”.
Online retailer DIY Kitchens has delivered strong sales growth in recent years, with cash generation supported by customer prepayment, as the business does not offer consumer finance. In 2025, the business generated revenue of £136m and pre-tax earnings of £37m. Howdens, similarly, saw strong financial growth across 2025, seeing a 4% year-on-year increase in group revenue, with operating profit also growing by nearly 5%.
Andrew Livingston, CEO of Howdens said: “Howdens’ highly successful trade-only model is built around supporting solely trade customers with outstanding in-stock availability, expert local depot teams, and an end-to-end service from design through to delivery. The acquisition of DIY Kitchens, which will be operated on a standalone basis, adds a complementary very profitable, business to the Group, providing access to non-trade end customers through its direct online channel with self-service planning, design and ordering tools.
“DIY Kitchens shares many of the characteristics that underpin Howdens’ success including well invested manufacturing, strong vertical integration, scalable capabilities and a deep, well-embedded entrepreneurial culture.”
He continued: “We are excited to welcome the DIY Kitchens team to Howdens. We have great respect for the innovative business model they have built, and we look forward to supporting the business’s continued growth and investing behind its next phase of development.”