Kitchen Fitting Business Profit Margins in the UK
The short answer
A per-unit price only covers fixing cabinets. A kitchen job also has strip-out, worktops, an electrician, a plumber, waiting for templating and return visits for missing parts. Cost the whole job, then check your price against the market, not the other way round.
- Per-unit pricing hides the job. In our example, 18 units at £120 is £2,160, but the real cost with strip-out, trades and a labourer is £2,310.
- Price = direct cost ÷ (1 − margin floor). The same job at a 30% floor is £3,300, close to the £3,500 average labour cost a 2026 homeowner guide shows.
- Price regulated trades as subcontract lines: Part P electrics and Gas Safe hob connections.
- Price the return visits: stone worktop templating and missing parts on client-supplied kitchens.
A good kitchen fitter is never short of work. Retailers, builders and homeowners all want one. That's why so many fitters stay busy on rates that barely cover a van and a wage. Someone else sets the price, usually per unit.
This guide is for owners of kitchen fitting businesses in the UK, from one fitter with a labourer to firms running several teams. It shows how to protect your kitchen fitting business profit margin by pricing the whole kitchen, not just the cabinets. If you want your pricing checked, book a free strategy call.
Where kitchen fitting businesses lose profit margin
The cabinets go up fine. The money goes on everything around them:
- Strip-out and disposal of the old kitchen, priced as "we'll take it away"
- Other trades The electrician and the plumber, paid by you, not priced
- Worktops Joints, cut-outs, upstands, and the gap while stone is templated and made
- Return visits for missing or damaged parts on client-supplied kitchens
- Making good plaster, tiling and flooring after the old kitchen comes out
- Retailer rates fixed per unit, with no allowance for any of the above
Cost the whole job, then check the market
Worked example: fit-only, client-supplied kitchen, 18 units, laminate worktops (example figures)
| Line | Basis | £ |
|---|---|---|
| Fitter | 6 days × £200 true day cost | 1,200 |
| Labourer | 2 days × £130 (strip-out, carrying, clean-up) | 260 |
| Strip-out disposal | skip share or tip fees | 180 |
| Sundries | fixings, silicone, plinth clips, sealant | 90 |
| Electrician (sub) | cooker circuit, sockets, under-cabinet lights | 320 |
| Plumber (sub) | sink, waste, dishwasher and washing machine | 260 |
| Direct cost | 2,310 | |
| Price at a 30% floor (÷ 0.70) | 3,300 |
Now price the same job the leaflet way: 18 units × £120 = £2,160. That is £150 below cost, with no profit at all. The £3,300 price sits close to the £3,500 average labour cost a 2026 homeowner guide shows for a family kitchen. So the market will pay it when you explain what is included.
Your margin floor is your overheads as a % of turnover plus the net profit you want.
Price the regulated work as subcontract lines
Two parts of most kitchens are regulated, and both cost money:
- Gas: connecting or moving a gas hob must be done by a Gas Safe registered engineer. If that is not you, subcontract it and price it.
- Electrics: a new circuit, such as a dedicated cooker or hob circuit, is notifiable under Part P wherever it is in the home. A scheme-registered electrician self-certifies it.
- Plumbing: moving the sink, waste or appliances means a plumber's time and parts.
Put each one on the quote as its own line. Clients understand paying for a registered electrician and a Gas Safe engineer; they do not understand why your labour went up.
Want your kitchen prices built from real hours and real subcontract costs?
Book a free strategy call.
Plan worktops and return visits into the price
Laminate and timber worktops are fitted with the units: price the joints, cut-outs and upstands, not just the length.
Stone and quartz work differently. The fabricator templates after the units are fixed and level, then fits a week or two later. That means:
- a second visit for you, to disconnect and reconnect the sink and hob
- a gap in the programme where the client has no kitchen
- a risk if units move after templating
Price the second visit, and put the templating date in the programme you give the client.
Client-supplied kitchens need rules in writing. Check the delivery against the plan before you start. Missing or damaged parts mean a return visit at a stated charge.
Starting a client-supplied kitchen without checking the delivery. Half a day in, you find two wall units missing and a damaged end panel. Now you either wait on site unpaid or come back for free.
The Builder's Pricing Playbook
The estimate sheet and quote checklist that make every kitchen price cover the whole job.
Get the free guideSupply-and-fit: earn on the product, carry the risk
Selling the kitchen as well as fitting it adds a second income: the margin on units, worktops and appliances. It also adds risk:
- Design and measuring errors are now yours to pay for
- Deposits Take one that covers the goods you order; see how much deposit should a builder take
- Cancellation For supply-and-fit contracts made in the client's home, the 14-day cancellation period can run from when the goods arrive. See client cancelled within 14 days
Run supply-and-fit and fit-only as two lines in your books, each with its own margin floor, so you can see which one actually pays.
Choose your clients: homeowners, retailers or developers
Each kind of client gives you a different business:
| Client | What you get | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Homeowners | Full price, supply margin | Sales time, cancellations, deposits |
| Kitchen retailers | Steady work, no selling | Low fixed rates, return visits unpaid |
| Builders and developers | Volume per plot, repeat sites | Payment terms, retention, snagging |
Developers buy kitchens plot by plot. Price a plot type once from real hours, agree snagging and return-visit terms in writing, and know when you will be paid. See how to get work from property developers.
For a four-minute score of your pricing, cash, sales and systems, take the free Construction Business Scorecard.
Grow from fitter to kitchen company
The fitters who grow stop selling labour and start selling a finished kitchen: survey, design or check, strip-out, fit, trades, worktops, making good, handover. One price, one programme, one person in charge.
To get there, most owners we mentor fix pricing first, then sales: presenting the quote properly and following up every open quote. Sergey turned a £2K enquiry into a £15K first deal with 50% upfront. Individual results, not typical or guaranteed.
Sviat Jay runs a working construction company, Craftex, and mentors owners one to one himself. Every owner is different, and he builds on what you are already good at. He aims for results in about 4 months rather than a 1–3-year program. To see what that looks like for your business, book a free strategy call.
If you would rather have your rates and quote templates built for you, see our construction estimating services.
Want to know which of your kitchen jobs actually make money?
Book a free strategy call.
Before you send your next kitchen quote
Regulatory points are general information for England as of October 2026. Check details with your electrician's scheme provider and a Gas Safe registered engineer.
Before you go
- Strip-out, fitting days, labourer and sundries are costed
- Electrician, plumber and Gas Safe work are separate lines
- Worktop templating and the second visit are priced
- Return visits for missing parts are charged in writing
- The price is direct cost ÷ (1 − your margin floor)
