profile
Paul Haynes is the Product, Solutions & Marketing Director at Baxi leading brand, product and growth strategy across residential and commercial heating as the industry transitions to low-carbon solutions. He focuses on turning ambition into execution moving organisations from selling products to delivering end-to-end solutions that actually work in the real world.
Paul’s leadership approach has been shaped by experience at Amazon and Google, where he developed a sharp bias for action, customer obsession, and data-led decision making balanced with the reality that progress only counts if teams can deliver it at pace. Today, he applies those principles to large-scale transformation programmes spanning brand, portfolio strategy, go-to-market execution and connected services.
Known for being pragmatic, straight-talking and people-focused, Paul is passionate about building strong teams, developing future leaders and creating cultures where ownership beats hierarchy. He believes growth comes from clarity, commitment and follow-through not buzzwords.
Baxi
Baxi is a leading name in the British, Irish, and global heating and hot water industry, driving innovation and product design throughout the 20th century. We are part of the €2bn-turnover BDR Thermea Group, one of the three largest heating appliance manufacturers worldwide.
Since our founding in 1866, we have maintained a manufacturing base in Lancashire. Today, our 1,300 employees across the UK and Ireland serve both domestic and commercial customers, providing comprehensive heating and hot water solutions.
Our trusted portfolio includes easy-to-install products and responsive services, ranging from heat pumps, cylinders, and electric or gas boilers, to heat networks and large-scale pre-fabricated plant rooms tailored to commercial requirements.
Committed to sustainability and social impact, we launched our Sustainability Pledge in 2020 and are founding members of The Construction Inclusion Coalition (CIC), working to improve equity, diversity, and inclusion in the construction industry. Our profits support the BDR Foundation, through which we promote STEM awareness in UK schools and colleges, partnering with World Skills UK, Primary Engineer, and other programmes to inspire the next generation of heating engineers.
Visit: baxi.co.uk
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/baxiheating/
Launched in 2015, the award winning monthly Builders Merchant Building Index (BMBI) report is the only reliable measure of repair, maintenance & improvement (RMI) activity in the UK. Filling an important gap, it can be widely used in construction, and by economists, Government, national media, commentators and influencers outside the industry.
Baxi Comment: Q1 2026
Gas boilers continue to dominate the UK heating market in Q1 2026, with over 80% of UK households using gas for central heating some replacement demand is unavoidable. But sales of domestic gas boilers and hot water cylinders in Q1 were down from Q1 2025.
Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) applications were 22% up compared with December 2025 but given the Iran conflict and its impact on cost of energy, it remains to be seen if applications convert to installations. As the primary low‑carbon technology, heat pumps represent most BUS applications.
Consumer intent is growing, but the ability to deliver is restricted by installer availability, confidence, and the practical complexity of low‑temperature system design. Those constraints will only be resolved through simpler propositions, better training and closer collaboration across the supply chain.
The Future Homes Standard is already shaping developer behaviour, with fossil fuel systems increasingly designed out at concept stage. More materially, the transition into Clean Heat Market Mechanism Year 2 marks a significant escalation. From April 2026, manufacturer obligations increase from 6% to 8% of boiler sales, accelerating investment in heat pump portfolios, installer training and commercial partnerships.
Disruption to global energy flows in Q1, including closure of the Strait of Hormuz, drove sharp increases in kerosene and heating oil prices (up to x3), disproportionately impacting off‑grid households and further strengthening the long‑term case for electrification. Oil boiler users have had to accept significant and rapid price increases in the cost of oil. These, almost always off-grid properties, should be prime targets to move to heat pumps, but the problem of skilled installers in often remote locations is amplified.
The UK housing stock is old and inefficient, and meeting net zero ambitions alongside housing delivery targets cannot be achieved through incremental upgrades. Success will depend on collaboration rather than substitution, with developers and landlords increasingly seeking partners who can co‑engineer integrated, low‑risk solutions supported by performance assurance, simplified installation and transparent lifecycle data.
The UK heating transition is progressing pragmatically, with momentum increasingly shaped by regulation, investment and energy security considerations rather than short‑term market cycles. The additional factor of climate change, resulting in prolonged periods of seasonally abnormal milder spells, also has an inevitable impact on the overall market.