Horizon Kitchens says it is continuing projects after losing its Essex factory

What happened

A major fire broke out at the Highlands Farm industrial site near Rettendon on 24 July. The incident included a large explosion after the fire reached a fertiliser store, and it destroyed the industrial units at the site. Horizon later confirmed that it had lost its factory and showroom.

The company says its team is safe and that Horizon remains open for business. Its current website tells customers that the showroom location has changed. Subsequent trade reporting says Horizon is continuing to fulfil projects through an external manufacturing partner.

Director Robert Loom told kbbreview that installation could continue because fitters and tools were off site at the time, and that an external firm is handling manufacturing in the interim. He also said some jobs scheduled for later in the year had been pulled forward, and that the business expects to secure a new location, including a replacement showroom, within the coming months.

Why it matters for UK kitchen projects

The important distinction for a homeowner is between business continuity and order continuity. Horizon saying it remains open is meaningful. It does not, however, tell an individual customer whether their own cabinets had already been manufactured, whether anything connected with their order was at the lost premises, or whether their dates remain exactly as previously agreed.

If manufacturing is now being carried out through another business, it is also reasonable to establish what has and has not changed. The design and specification may remain the same while the physical manufacturing route changes. Alternatively, a project may require new production dates or a different sequence before delivery and installation. None of those outcomes should be assumed from the fire alone.

There is currently no basis in the sources reviewed by Pocketa to state that Horizon has cancelled its existing kitchen projects or that every order will be delayed. The company says the opposite at business level: that it remains open and is continuing. The practical response is therefore to reconfirm, rather than speculate.

What to check in your project

If you have an active Horizon Kitchens order, keep a fresh written record of the order or project reference, the latest approved plan and elevations, and the door, cabinet, worktop and appliance specifications.

Record amounts already paid and any remaining payment milestones. Ask whether the furniture had been manufactured before 24 July, who is manufacturing any furniture that still needs to be produced, and whether that changes the specification, guarantee or finish in any way.

Confirm the latest delivery and fitting dates, whether appliances, worktops or other third-party items are affected separately, and who now handles changes, missing components and aftersales. Keep the current address and contact details that should appear on project correspondence.

Where dates have changed, save the revised confirmation beside the original rather than replacing it. That preserves the history of the project if sequencing later needs to be reconstructed. The immediate task is to get today’s version of the order status, manufacturing route and dates in writing.