SAFESTYLE UK has reported a strong growth in new orders since September, as the Bradford firm issued its latest trading update.

The windows and doors company said that despite the second national lockdown in November it was able to continue operating in a "largely normal" manner with strict Covid-safe policies already in place.

Due to a "strong order intake growth" since the interim results were announced in September, the business continued to increase its operational capacity, recruiting staff across processing, survey, manufacturing and installations.

As a result they are reporting 9 per cent year on year revenue growth in the third quarter of the year and is expecting around 20 per cent revenue growth for the fourth quarter.

The trading update added that this growth "was achieved despite major supply chain issues attributable to the overall increase in industry demand, reduced third party supply chain inventories and specific global and European supply constraints".

Despite this, the increase in capacity has enabled the group to deliver its fastest acceleration in revenue growth since flotation in 2013.

Management has also worked to balance trading and installation activities to optimise order intake growth while controlling customer lead times and service levels. This is illustrated by the company's order book being more than double what it was at the end of the third quarter last year and a forecast year-end level that is 75 per cent higher than at the end of 2019.

"The Group will therefore enter 2021 with its strongest ever installation pipeline at this stage of the year, providing a solid platform to maintain its current trading momentum whilst at the same time providing some insulation against the potential impact of disruption to future sales activities from further lockdowns," the statement added.

The group is expecting full year revenue to be over £113m with an underlying loss before taxation of approximately £4.5m - the loss being full attributable to operations stopping during the first national lockdown.

Mike Gallacher, CEO of Safestyle UK, said: “Despite the unprecedented challenges faced by the Group during the year, I am pleased with the recent tangible progress we have made in stepping up our operational capacity and delivering strong revenue growth, whilst further strengthening our order book.

"Moreover, we have also made good progress on our longer-term strategic priorities.

"Notwithstanding the uncertainty associated with the current economic backdrop, the Group is well positioned to build on this positive momentum going into 2021.

"I would again like to thank our staff and all of our stakeholders for their efforts and support over the course of the year.”

The update further outlined how progress has been made on longer-term priorities in the second half of the year, with a new commercial management team starting to standardise its sales branch structure and processes and the same activities are underway within the depot network.

Significant investments have also been made in improving customer service, which will continue to be a focus in 2021.

The board is confident that the group's revenue and profitability momentum in the fourth quarter will carry through into 2021 and they expect next year's financial performance to be "significantly ahead of current market expectations".