Solite Warranty
A genuine warranty with genuine value
The Solite range of luminaires is designed, manufactured and distributed by Solite Europe, a division of the FW Thorpe Plc group. FW Thorpe is listed on the London Stock Exchange. See the corporate website at www.fwthorpe.co.uk. Solite luminaires have been manufactured in the UK since 1975. The company traded as Lighting Developments Ltd from 1975 and became part of FW Thorpe Plc as Solite Europe Ltd in 2009.
In 2021-22, the revenue of FW Thorpe Plc was £144m.
The Solite product warranty offered to customers covers a period of 5 years, with no get-out clauses concerning the number of burning hours or maintenance requirements, and no convoluted registration process.
This warranty is enhanced by the following key factors:
- FW Thorpe has a robust balance sheet, with net assets in excess of £145m (2022)
- More than £35m in cash reserves provide the ability for Solite to support any future warranty liabilities
- FW Thorpe has a stable ownership structure, with over 60% of the business owned by founding family members and management
- Group investment in product research and development is continual – £2.1m invested per annum
- Solite product failure rates are consistently below 0.1%, with all luminaires being individually tested
- Critical components are supplied by market-leading global suppliers
- A dedicated team of our own employed local service engineers respond to any customer issues quickly and effectively, not only in the UK but overseas too
- Products are manufactured in the UK therefore spares are readily available
As FW Thorpe is a listed company, stringent conditions require it and its subsidiaries to be fully audited by a third party. In recent years this has been PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC), one of the top four audit and advisory firms globally. Auditors of listed companies follow rigorous international guidelines, ensuring that the financial details such companies publish (such as those above) are accurate and can be relied upon.
Solite must prove that it will be able to pay any claims made according to its warranty conditions during the warranty period. Provision is made in each year’s accounts, effectively putting aside profit from current orders for use in the future if required.
This is a key aspect of being a listed company that other smaller businesses are not required, and maybe not capable, of doing. Solite customers should be reassured that a Solite warranty means something: at Solite, we are capable of meeting our obligations.
Some other companies offer long warranties but do not have the financial assets to withstand a sizeable warranty claim. Solite encourages customers to consider this scenario when purchasing other companies’ products with extended warranty offers.
Mark Austin
Managing Director