International Market Entry · Ontario, Canada → United Kingdom, Germany & France
A Canadian architectural-components business wanted to establish a route into the UK and wider Europe. We rejected a conventional distributor model, built a project-partner network across the UK, Germany and France, and helped generate approximately £2.2m of new-market turnover within 12 months.
Client / sector
Euro Architectural Components — Architectural components — railing, fence & glass systems
Location
Ontario, Canada
Market
United Kingdom, Germany & France
Service provided
European Market Entry, UK Market Entry, Sales Strategy, Business Development, Project Generation
Euro Architectural Components (Euro EAC) is an established Canadian business supplying architectural components across railing, fence and glass applications, with its head office and warehouse in Woodbridge, Ontario. In the UK and its target European markets, however, it was starting from nothing: effectively £0 of turnover.
There was no established UK route to market, no meaningful brand presence in the target markets, no project-partner network and no pipeline in the UK, Germany or France. The plan was UK first, then Germany and France.
The commercial challenge was therefore not finding leads. It was creating a functioning European route to market from a standing start.
01
Established the UK as the first European entry market, defined the commercial route into it and began building the relationships needed to create real opportunities rather than a contact list.
02
Assessed distributor, direct-sales and partner-led options. A conventional distributor model was not selected as the primary route. Rather than forcing a standard distributor template into the market, we developed a project-partner approach better aligned with how the products would actually reach projects and customers.
03
Identified, approached and developed suitable project partners across the target territories — businesses able to access projects, support customer requirements, hold local relationships and convert opportunities into revenue.
04
Built commercial presence and activity in the United Kingdom from effectively zero, developing project opportunities and relationships directly rather than waiting for enquiries.
05
Once the UK route had begun to develop, the same commercial model was extended into Germany and France, with project-partner relationships established and opportunities developed in both markets.
06
Ongoing commercial development across all three markets: partner development, project generation, commercial conversations, pipeline creation and conversion of opportunities into revenue.
£0 → £2.2m
New-market turnover in 12 months
12 months
Growth period
3
New markets — UK, Germany & France
Project partners
Route to market established
New-market turnover grew from £0 to approximately £2.2m within approximately 12 months. That figure relates to turnover generated by the new UK and European market-development activity, not total corporate turnover.
Three markets — the UK, Germany and France — were opened through a project-partner model rather than conventional distribution.
Euro EAC moved from effectively zero brand presence in the target markets to an established commercial presence, with partners, projects and revenue being generated.
What this result shows
The £2.2m figure is new-market turnover generated by the UK, German and French market-development activity over approximately 12 months, not Euro EAC's total corporate turnover. Evans worked alongside Euro EAC's own product and manufacturing operation to build the route to market; the figure reflects that combined engagement rather than a guaranteed result for any other business.
Useful next step
Build your market entry planRelated research
UK & European Manufacturer Market Entry Report 2027The commercial lesson
01
A new-market route should be selected around the way customers actually buy, not around whichever channel is easiest to recruit. For Euro EAC, project partners provided a more appropriate route into UK, German and French projects than conventional distribution.
02
The United Kingdom was established as the first entry market and the commercial approach was developed there before the same model was extended into Germany and France.
03
Partners were selected on their ability to access projects, hold local relationships and support customers — the capabilities that convert an opportunity into revenue in a specification-led market.
Evidence
UK Market Entry · Scandinavia → United Kingdom
A Scandinavian glass manufacturer wanted to sell into the UK for the first time. There was no presence, no customers and no distribution to build on.
0 → UK Market entered from no prior presence
Distributor Development · Germany → United Kingdom
A German balustrade manufacturer needed a route into the UK. Distribution alone was not the answer — the distributors had to be found, onboarded, trained and then supported in selling.
5 UK distributors established
UK Market Entry · Lithuania & Slovenia → United Kingdom
A European architectural-glazing manufacturer wanted to establish a genuine UK operation. We helped set up the office and showroom, build the sales strategy and pipeline, support staffing and launch the business commercially.
£0 → £1.4m UK turnover in 9 months
Whether you're trying to generate more opportunities, strengthen your sales operation or enter a new market, start by understanding what's currently holding growth back.
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