Boiler firm fires up growth plans

A heating company is preparing for its next stage of expansion as it sets its sights on a substantial increase in turnover.

The Edinburgh Boiler Company (EBC) is targeting a £20 million revenue milestone as it looks to expand through acquisition after delivering another year of record performance.

On course to achieve £10 million in turnover, the firm continues to benefit from its transition into renewables and three consecutive years of strong growth.

Marking a new chapter for the company, the latest plans build on a journey that began a decade ago in founder Mark Glasgow’s garden shed and has since grown into a major installer in Scotland’s heating and energy market. 

Dougie Bell, managing director of EBC, said: “We are ahead of budget as we come towards the end of our current financial year.

“We are going to hit our target of £10 million, which we always felt was realistic given how well the business moved into the renewable energy space.

“That is credit to all the staff and the great team here but no one is sitting around and patting themselves on the back.

“We have big plans for the future and want to move as fast as possible and have identified that growth by acquisition is the path forward for us.

“This isn’t some pie-in-the-sky idea that we are talking about – it is a strategic plan for the business which we are ready to execute.”

Mark, who is now chairman, added: “When I set out on this journey with EBC, I had a clear plan at the start that good customer service and making boilers easy were the priorities.

“We have continually reinvested in the business from day one, whether that was the people, brand, systems or processes.

“It has helped take us to where we are now.

“We moved from turning over £4.6 million to £7.2 million and now it will be £10 million.

“The 2045 net-zero targets set by the Scottish Government presented an opportunity for us to grasp and we quickly established ourselves as the No. 1 installer in renewables in our area.”

Mark added: “Stepping up to become chairman has allowed me to have a different perspective of the company and think about things more clearly.

“The intention is to keep growing – and quickly.

“We are not people who can sit still and have identified this as the best way for us to grow at the speed we want.

“We will have discussions with any motivated sellers but they have to be the right fit for us.

“The aggressive expansion strategy is part of a wider plan to grow the business across Scotland.

“It’s a vision for the company that both Dougie and I share.

“It’s taken ten years to turn over £10 million but we are determined to double that to £20 million in the year ahead, and we want to do that by acquisitions.

“It’s a new strategy and one we firmly believe we can deliver successfully.”

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