Commercial Awnings

Awnings for business

An awning shades your shopfront, protects window displays from the sun and gives customers a comfortable place to sit outside. It also becomes part of how your frontage looks, so it's worth taking time over the choice.

Things to consider

• Consents: commercial awnings may need planning permission, so it's worth checking with your local authority early on. We're happy to talk through what's typically involved.
• Frontage: the wall and fixings need to be suitable for an awning. We'll check this when we survey.
• Use: if you'll put the awning out every day, we'd usually suggest electric operation.

Choosing a commercial awning

For most shops, cafés and pubs, a wall-fixed folding-arm awning gives shade where it's needed and folds away when it isn't. Fully cassetted models, such as the UK-made Base Plus and Base Lite from Base Awnings, keep the fabric and arms covered when closed, which helps the frontage look tidy outside opening hours. The Base Plus also offers options such as LED arm lights and heaters, which can make an outdoor seating area more comfortable into the evening.

Fabrics and colour for commercial awnings

We use Dickson acrylic awning fabrics, which come in a wide range of plain colours and stripes. Many businesses choose a colour that sits well with their signage, so the awning feels like part of the frontage rather than an add-on. We can show you samples at your survey, so you can see the colours against your shopfront in daylight. It's worth knowing that a lighter colour keeps the space underneath feeling brighter, while a darker one gives deeper shade.

Wind, weather and day-to-day use

Awnings are made for sun and light showers, not strong wind or heavy rain, so they need to be wound in when the weather turns. On a busy site that's easy to forget, which is why we'd usually suggest a Somfy motor with a wind sensor, so the awning retracts automatically when it gets gusty. Staff can then run it from a wall switch or remote, and it can be set on a timer.

For care, brush off loose dirt and rinse the fabric with clean water now and again. If the awning has to be wound in wet, open it out again to dry as soon as you can. Where it's used every day, it helps to agree who brings it in at closing time and to keep an eye on the arms and fabric for wear. If anything doesn't look right, see our repairs and spares page.

Commercial awnings from Base

Our commercial awnings are made to order in the UK by Base. For large terraces and beer gardens, the Zenith full cassette awning can span up to 12m and project more than 4m. The Calnova semi-cassette is built for big installations where strength matters most, and the Arezzo suits frontages where the awning sits under an overhang or eaves. Base also makes commercial canopies and traditional shop blinds, and fabrics can be printed with your name or logo so the awning works as signage too.

Survey and fitting

We'll survey your frontage, talk you through the options and fit the awning for you. If you need blinds inside as well, see our commercial blinds service.