But price is only the start of the decision. Before you order, you need to know which system you're actually buying, whether you need planning permission (you usually do), what Building Regulations require, and how to compare quotes that look identical but aren't. This guide covers all of it.
Aluminium doesn't rust. Unlike steel, it forms a self-healing oxide layer, so it shrugs off UK weather without galvanising or repainting. It's also around a third the density of steel yet strong enough to carry very large panes of safety glass — which is why aluminium frames can be so slim. Slimmer frames mean bigger glass, and bigger glass means more of your stock on display to the street.
A quality thermally broken aluminium shopfront lasts 30–40+ years. The powder-coated finish — available in 200+ RAL colours, including a different colour inside and out — typically carries a 10–25 year guarantee and needs nothing more than washing. Compare that with timber, which needs repainting every 3–5 years to avoid rot, or uPVC, which can discolour and turn brittle in commercial use.
The honest caveat: in conservation areas and on listed buildings, planning officers sometimes insist on timber. Check before you commit (more on this below).
Framed shopfronts are the standard: powder-coated aluminium profiles with 40–60mm sightlines, glazed with toughened or laminated safety glass. They're the most cost-effective option and the easiest to integrate with roller shutters, signage and alarms.
Frameless glass shopfronts use thick toughened panels (10–21.5mm) joined with discreet stainless steel patch fittings, giving a near-uninterrupted glass façade. Premium look, premium price (~£450/m²+), and harder to pair with shutters. See our glass shopfront service.
Entrance doors come as hinged commercial doors (narrow, medium or wide stile — match the stile to your footfall), manual sliders, or automatic doors governed by safety standard BS EN 16005. Automatic sliding doors add roughly £3,000–£5,500 to a project and need a service contract.
Curtain walling takes over when glazing spans more than the ground floor — say a double-height frontage. It fixes back to the floor slabs and achieves better U-values (~0.8–1.2 W/m²K) than shopfront framing. Read more about our curtain walling service.
Know your system names. If a quote just says "aluminium shopfront", ask which system: Kawneer (190/350 doors, AA100 curtain wall), Comar 3/4/8, Smart Systems, Technal, Aluprof MB-70/86, Schüco ADS, or Senior Architectural Systems (SF52, PURe). Reputable fabricators can supply test evidence — U-value calculations, PAS 24 certificates, UKCA declarations — for any of these. Unbranded budget profile usually can't. This is the single biggest quality differentiator between quotes.
As of 2025–26 UK price guides, aluminium shopfronts average about £350 per m² installed. Most complete projects land between £2,500 and £7,350:
What drives your quote, roughly in order: materials (~40%), size (~35%), additional features (~15%), installation complexity (~10%). The big movers:
Supply-only fabricated shopfronts run £1,200–£5,000 delivered if you have trade fitting available — but you take on survey accuracy and Building Regulations compliance yourself.
This is where shopfront projects actually stall, and where the generic guides go quiet.
1. Planning permission. Replacing or materially altering a shopfront almost always needs full planning permission, because changing a commercial building's external appearance is "development" under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. Only a strict like-for-like replacement — same materials, design, proportions, colour — normally avoids it. Swapping timber for aluminium is not like-for-like. Councils aim to decide applications within 8 weeks; the fee for alterations is around £293 (indexed).
2. Advertisement consent. Signage is controlled separately under the Control of Advertisements Regulations 2007. Non-illuminated signs under 0.3m² generally have deemed consent; anything bigger — and virtually all illuminated signs (lit fascias, LED, halo-lit letters) — needs an express application (~£165, indexed). Installing an unauthorised sign is an offence.
3. Landlord consent. If you lease your unit, your lease almost certainly prohibits external alterations without approval, formalised in a Licence to Alter. Get it in writing before commissioning drawings — this stalls more projects than the council does, and you'll typically cover the landlord's legal fees.
A compliant aluminium shopfront has to satisfy several Approved Documents. Here's what each one means for your spec:
One more thing the window-fitter model doesn't cover: commercial shopfront replacement is notifiable to building control — FENSA-style self-certification only applies to domestic work.
More secure than the all-glass look suggests — if you specify in layers.
Glass: toughened glass is 4–5× stronger than float glass but disintegrates once broken. Laminated glass cracks yet stays bonded in the frame, keeping the shop sealed after an attack — which is why insurers prefer it for display windows. Security glazing is rated under BS EN 356 (P1A–P2A as a shopfront baseline; P4A+ for jewellers and phone shops).
Locks: specify multi-point locking or hookbolt deadlocks with anti-snap TS 007 3-star cylinders, plus locking shoot bolts on the second leaf of double doors — cylinder snapping and slave-leaf attacks are the two commonest entry methods.
Shutters and grilles: rated products carry LPS 1175 ratings — SR1 resists about a minute of hand-tool attack, SR2 about 3 minutes with drills and bolt cutters, SR3 about 5 minutes with crowbars. Most smash-and-grab attempts are abandoned within 2–3 minutes, so rated delay works. Remember external shutters usually need planning permission; internal shutters behind laminated glass are the planner-friendly alternative. Explore our roller shutter range.
Insurance: ask your insurer for their minimum security requirements in writing before specifying. Certified glazing and shutters can earn premium discounts (figures around 5–15% are commonly cited) — and more importantly, meeting your policy's security warranty stops claims being declined.
Old aluminium shopfronts earned a cold, condensation-streaked reputation because bare aluminium conducts heat straight through the frame (U-values around 5–6 W/m²K). Modern systems insert a polyamide thermal break between the inner and outer profile halves, bringing whole-frame values down to 1.1–1.6 W/m²K with low-E argon-filled double glazing — comfortably inside Part L.
Moving from single glazing to modern double glazing cuts heat loss through the glass by around 60%, typically worth hundreds of pounds a year for a medium unit, with the efficiency premium paying back over roughly 5–10 years. It also improves your EPC — relevant because commercial lettings generally need EPC band E or better under MEES.
The sustainability story is strong too: aluminium is infinitely recyclable, recycling uses ~95% less energy than primary production, and low-carbon profiles with 75%+ recycled content (e.g. Hydro CIRCAL) are now available from UK fabricators.
Aluminium is the lowest-maintenance shopfront material, but "low" isn't "zero" — and your warranty depends on it. QUALICOAT guidance is to wash frames with water and pH-neutral detergent at least every 12 months inland, every 3–6 months near the coast or in heavy-traffic areas. Never pressure-wash or use solvents: both damage the powder coat and void most finish warranties.
What to expect in writing: ~10 years on the installation; 10–25+ years on the powder coat depending on class (specify Class 2 "super-durable" for south-facing or dark frontages, and marine-grade/Seaside spec within ~5–10km of the sea); 5–10 years on sealed glazed units; 1–5 years on hardware. If you have automatic doors, BS EN 16005 servicing at least annually isn't optional — keep the records.
And if your existing frontage is sound but faded: professional on-site respraying restores powder-coated aluminium in any RAL colour for a fraction of replacement cost. See our repair & maintenance service.
A standard project runs: free site survey → design and drawings → consents (landlord, planning, signage) → fabrication → on-site installation (1–3 days for a standard front) → snagging and handover. Most shops keep trading through the fit — good installers offer out-of-hours and weekend working, phased installation and secure temporary hoarding.
End to end, allow 7–10 working days for a standard job, with longer lead times where planning permission or bespoke fabrication is involved — we confirm the schedule with you upfront.
Your installer checklist:
Red flags: large upfront cash deposits, no survey, no written quote or drawings, no UKCA documentation, silence on planning/landlord consent, prices far below everyone else.
Around £350 per m² installed as of 2025–26. Most complete projects fall between £2,500 and £7,350; large or highly specified fronts with automation and shutters can exceed £10,000.
Usually yes. Only a strict like-for-like replacement avoids an application — and changing material (e.g. timber to aluminium) doesn't count as like-for-like. Illuminated signs also need separate advertisement consent, and leaseholders need landlord consent.
30–40+ years for a quality thermally broken system, with powder-coat finishes typically guaranteed 10–25 years. Regular washing keeps the warranty valid and can extend coating life two to three times.
The typical timeline is 7–10 working days from survey to completed installation, and the work can be done out of hours or phased so you keep trading.
Laminated. Toughened glass is stronger against impact but shatters completely once broken; laminated cracks yet stays in place, keeping the shop sealed — which is why insurers prefer it for display glazing.
Modern thermally broken systems achieve U-values of 1.1–1.6 W/m²K with double glazing — inside the Part L limit of 1.6 — and aluminium is infinitely recyclable, with recycling using ~95% less energy than primary production.
A new aluminium shopfront is a 30-year asset — but only if the system, the spec and the consents are right. Range Shop Fronts handles the whole journey across London, Wales and the UK: free site survey, design, planning guidance, fabrication and a 1–3 day fit with minimal disruption to trading.
Call 0330 113 0393 or book a free survey and no-obligation quote today.
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