Composite Decking Brands Compared: Millboard vs Trex vs Cladco — UK 2026 Buyer's Guide

Not all composite decking is the same — and the difference between the cheapest and the best can be £80 per m². A 2026 UK buyer's guide.

How composite decking is actually made

There are three main composite types on the UK market. WPC (Wood Plastic Composite) blends recycled wood fibre with HDPE plastic — used by Trex, Cladco and many mid-range brands. Capped composite is WPC with an extruded polymer wrap on top for better stain and scratch resistance. Polymer/PVC composite uses no wood fibre — Millboard is the most prominent example, using a mineral-modified polyurethane that mimics real timber. Each has very different performance characteristics.

Millboard — the premium choice

Millboard's Enhanced Grain and Lasta-Grip ranges are widely regarded as the best-performing decking on the UK market. The boards are made in Coventry from a polyurethane mix with no wood fibre at all, which makes them genuinely waterproof, mould-resistant and dimensionally stable. They look closer to real timber than any other product we install. The catch is cost — supply-only board cost is typically £90–£130 per m², roughly double standard WPC. They also need Millboard's own DuoSpan sub-frame system, which adds cost but lasts 30+ years.

Trex — the established US brand

Trex is the largest composite decking manufacturer in the world, made in the USA from recycled wood and plastic. The Enhance Naturals and Transcend ranges are the most popular in the UK. Board cost is £55–£85 per m² supply only. The capped Transcend range carries a 25-year stain-and-fade warranty, which is best-in-class for WPC. The boards perform well but the colour palette is less convincing than Millboard at close range.

Cladco — the budget-friendly UK option

Cladco is a UK-based supplier offering composite decking at noticeably lower price points (£30–£55 per m² supply only). The Bullnose and Woodgrain ranges are popular for budget-conscious projects. The boards are perfectly serviceable but the warranty is shorter (typically 10 years), the colour range is narrower, and the board profile is less convincing at close range. Good value for letting properties or rental-grade installs.

Other UK brands worth knowing

Composite Prime HD Deck Dual offers a strong mid-market option — UK distribution, capped boards, 25-year warranty, around £50–£75 per m². Hyperion targets the high end with a slightly cheaper alternative to Millboard. Eva-Last is South African origin with a bamboo composite range. Saige is another mid-market UK brand with a wide range of finishes.

What to look for in a warranty

Two warranty figures matter: the structural warranty (typically 25 years across most brands) and the stain-and-fade warranty (varies wildly from 5 to 25 years). The stain-and-fade warranty is the one that catches owners out — cheaper boards often have just a 5–10 year fade warranty, and most claims arise from sun bleaching. Always read the warranty document, not the marketing material.

Sub-frame systems — usually overlooked

Almost every composite manufacturer specifies a particular sub-frame system. Most still allow treated softwood timber joists, but the premium brands (Millboard, Hyperion) recommend their own aluminium or composite sub-frame systems. Aluminium sub-frames cost more upfront but they last as long as the decking itself, which matters because replacing a rotten timber sub-frame later means lifting the whole deck.

Cost summary — supply and install in 2026

Installed costs (supply + labour, on a standard substrate, before any special groundworks): Cladco £80–£120 per m²; Trex / Composite Prime £110–£160 per m²; Hyperion £140–£200 per m²; Millboard £160–£220 per m². For a 30 m² deck, the difference between the cheapest WPC and Millboard is roughly £3,000–£4,000 — significant, but it's spread over 25+ years and the visual difference is striking.

Which one should you choose?

Pick Millboard if budget allows and you want the most convincing timber look that's also genuinely waterproof and low-maintenance. Pick Trex or Composite Prime for a strong mid-market install with a long warranty. Pick Cladco for rental properties or projects where budget is the priority. We can quote all of these — drop us your project details on our free instant quote tool and we'll price both a premium and a mid-market option so you can compare.

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