Howdens acquires online retailer DIY Kitchens in £390million deal

Trade supplier Howdens has announced it has agreed to acquire the parent company of Ultima Furniture Systems Limited, which trades as DIY Kitchens, for an enterprise value of £390million. DIY Kitchens is a vertically integrated kitchen business that sells its products exclusively online, principally to end customers, particularly those looking to self-manage the purchase of their kitchen.

DIY Kitchens is a highly profitable and growing enterprise with a proven business model quite distinct from Howdens’ own trade-only, full-service model, through which the Group will be able to access, directly, ‘non-trade’ consumers, thereby expanding its addressable customer base in the UK.

DIY Kitchens’ online channel provides consumers with self-service planning, design and ordering tools and its model combines low selling overheads with made-to-order manufacturing and strong cash generation supported by customer prepayment. Post completion DIY Kitchens will remain an online-only business focused on non-trade customers and will be operated separately from Howdens’ own much larger trade only business. Completion of the transaction remains subject to customary regulatory approvals.

DIY Kitchens has delivered strong sales growth alongside attractive margins and cash generation, supported by customer prepayment, and by the business not offering consumer finance. In 2025, it generated revenue of £136m and EBIT of £37m (a 27% EBIT margin). It has achieved revenue growth of over 17% per annum over the past 5 years. The transaction includes freehold property assets (valued at around £55m).

While DIY Kitchens will operate as a standalone business with its own infrastructure, Howdens says it does see 'cost-saving opportunities over time'. These will be focused at least initially on areas where there is a common approach within raw materials, sourcing and machinery.

Commenting on the transaction, 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 wellinvested manufacturing, strong vertical integration, scalable capabilities and a deep, well-embedded entrepreneurial culture.

“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.”