Our History

The business was established in 1948 by Thomas Clifford Barlow and started with a small electrical shop repairing kettles and irons in the village of Malpas, Cheshire.

In 1961 Barlows moved to larger premises with a bigger workshop, they now had two vans and offered a 24 hour call-out system!

Barlows opened a new high street shop in Malpas to enable the company to expand as the electrical contracting developed.

By 1980, it was clear that a new premises was required du to the success of the High Street shop and the electrical contracting. A new shop was opened in nearby Whitchurch. The previous outlet remained open as a workshop to cope with the demand for repairs.

Barlows Electrical becomes an NICEIC approved contractor in March 1982. The NICEIC is a leading voluntary regulatory body for the electrical contracting industry and all approved contractors work is completed to the highest of standards. In the 1980’s the company had ten vans on the road to deal with the increase in domestic and commercial clients.

By the 90’s Barlows contracting has its own electrical testing department and a Nachos security alarm division. Another retail outlet was opened in Ellesmere in Shropshire.

Barlows Electrical becomes a limited company in 1993 and is now Barlows (UK) Ltd. The company now offers its clients the complete property maintenance package.

Due to continued expansion in January 1998, Barlows combined the Malpas and Whitchurch offices and opened its headquarters on the Hampton Heath Industrial Estate in Malpas. This location is perfect for servicing clients in the North West of England, Wales and the Midlands. The company has its very own wholesale trade warehouse. The retail outlets remain open.

We opened our first regional branch in Chadderton, Manchester in 2005. Offering a full range of electrical services to Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Yorkshire.

In 2008 work begins on a new build office on The Hampton Industrial Estate. Due to increased expansion all contracting divisions are moved to the new headquarters. The old Barlows building underwent a facelift and later becomes the City and Guilds training academy Clifford College and allows for the supplies department to further develop.

Barlows training academy opened in 2010 and has gone on to be recognised in a series of regional and nationwide awards including being voted as the City and Guilds Top 100 Apprentice Employer in 2012, 2013 and 2014. The academy offers City and Guilds electrical apprenticeships and also runs a range of Health and Safety courses.

In 2013 the company celebrated 65 years and our ‘retro’ anniversary minivan was commissioned to celebrate.

Barlows became a multi-award winning company, scooping The High Sheriffs Award for Enterprise, for Training, Development and Opportunity for Young People, The North West Chamber of Commerce People Development Award, The Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce Medium Size Company of the Year Award and Cheshire Business Person of the Year Award! 2015 also saw the opening of the new Fire & Security office to house the existing department due to it’s rapid expansion.

Barlows grew to 300 staff and over 200 vehicles with contracts across the UK. We now have two main offices in Cheshire and Manchester each with its own trade supplies department and a training academy. We continued our success by picking up more awards in 2016 by winning Employer of the Year at the Cheshire Business Awards. We also were awarded The High Sheriffs award for Enterprise for training, development and opportunity for young people. At the end of 2016 saw Barlows (UK) continue to expand by opening a new office in High Wycombe.

The start of 2017 saw Barlow’s continue our growth by opening a new office. The new office follows from the success of the High Wycombe branch. These new branches enable us to get close and have quicker access to our customers in these areas, improving our service. November 2017 saw the opening of our Fire & Security division in High Wycombe following the success of the electrical department in the South.

2018 Saw the continued growth of our Fire & Security department in our High Wycombe Office. We were awarded the Employer of the Year for the second time at the Cheshire Business Awards 2018.

In 2019, we were awarded the Princess Royal Training Award! We were acknowledged for our outstanding commitment to training, upskilling, and reskilling our workforce. From our apprenticeship schemes and interactive workshops to our mental health and employee wellbeing programmes, our business demonstrated exceptional dedication in these areas.