NEWS & PRESS INFORMATION

In overall terms, the UK frame and panel building systems market has experienced significant growth during the last two years reflecting positive growth in single living accommodation and cellular construction including hotels, prisons, student accommodation, apartment blocks and modernisation of MoD living accommodation, which has been the subject of high media attention over the last year. Government investment in health and education building programmes has also helped underpin market growth. more..

The Government alone spends over £4 billion annually on regeneration and housing projects across the UK and over £2.8 billion of private sector investment has been attracted into regeneration since 2001. This Report reviews the main sources of public and private sector funding for regeneration and the key grants available. There are currently over 100 renewal projects with values over £30m taking place in the UK, with total estimated build costs of more than £87 billion and 50 of the top schemes are reviewed together with the leading financiers, developers, house builders and contractors involved in the regeneration sector.  more..

The market is in a mature phase of its lifecycle, being primarily dependent on replacement applications and as such has experienced relatively lacklustre growth in recent years, with the market in 2007 growing by just under 3% to reach a value of £1.54 billion. To 2012, prospects are reasonably positive, with the market expected to achieve a value of around £1.73 billion, reflecting growth at, or around inflationary levels in overall terms, though the deteriorating UK economy is likely to limit the growth in the shorter term while the medium to longer term is likely to be stimulated by construction programmes such as the Olympics and major government capital investment. more..

The market for specialist timber merchants was estimated to be worth around £1.45bn at merchants’ selling prices in 2007. Overall, the market has experienced strong growth in recent years, largely driven by increasing raw material prices, the continued desirability for natural wood products and growing use of wood as a material for use in modern methods of construction (MMC) and off-site manufacturing (OSM). Growth is expected to continue in the coming years, although current expectations are for more subdued rates than those experienced in recent years. Major factors likely to affect the market include global prices, environmental issues surrounding sustainability of timber, changes to Building Regulations and levels of construction output, particularly new housebuilding. more..

The forecast growth in timber frame houses in the 5 years from 2007-2012 is expected to be around 25% across all housebuilding sectors in the UK. The private housebuilding sector currently accounts for the dominant market share of around 69%, with the social sector at 23% and the self build sector accounting for around 8%. However, our forecasts show that providing the Government delivers what has been promised in terms of affordable housing, the growth rate of timber frame in the social and private sectors in England will be strong. more..

The market for building and construction chemicals is expected to show modest growth over the next 4-5 years of between 2-5% from 2008 to 2012, motivated by an initial slowdown in construction output followed by a build up towards the Olympics. In particular, growing usage and demand for infrastructure, particularly in terms of transport, from a growing population, growing levels of travel, the growing impact of sustainability and the desire of certain local authorities to reduce car access to cities, as well as major forthcoming events, such as the Olympics or the Commonwealth Games, is increasing the demand for major refurbishment and new build of roads, rail, light rail and air travel facilities. more..

Building Schools for the Future (BSF) Programme is the largest single capital investment programme in schools in England in 50 years. It is aimed at rebuilding and renewing all of England’s 3,500 state secondary schools – a programme worth an estimated £45bn. BSF is also intended to have a wider effect on teaching and learning as a whole and engage both students and their local communities in new or refurbished school buildings with new technologies.  more..

In the short term, full order books among main contractors operating in the office sector suggest that trading conditions in 2008 will be reasonably buoyant, although demand from 2009 could slow down considerably as office supply and demand begin to equal out. However, the growing impact of the ‘credit crisis’ is already beginning to affect the office construction sector and recent growth rates are unlikely to be sustained This will inevitably have an impact upon the fit-out market, particularly in the financial sector, as institutions cut back on their expansion or relocation plans in a period of uncertainty. more..

Public sector (non-residential) construction output grew strongly between 2001-05, but has been relatively flat in 2006-07. Construction activity is forecast to improve slightly over the next three years with better than expected allocations announced in the 2007 CSR helping to maintain modest growth in the public sector, with output averaging 2% per annum to reach £11.2bn in 2012. However while Labour’s commitment to reforms in education and health continues, the subdued economic climate may threaten the current high levels of spending on education and health projects in 2008 and public funding may slow because of financial constraints. more..

In recent years the UK shopfitting market has seen varied annual performance with fairly flat conditions 2003-05, but returning to growth 2006-07, underpinned by a gradual recovery in consumer spending and higher growth in retail and leisure construction. 2007 has been reasonably buoyant for the shopfitting sector, though the difficult trading conditions seen by many retailers at the end of 2007 are expected to impact on sector performance in 2008, with market growth expected to slow to around 1%. more..

The UK Pump market has remained relatively stable for a number of years with growth just below inflationary levels at around 1-2% per annum since the late 1990s.  This low rate of growth is likely to continue to characterise the market in the medium term future, though ongoing product development and innovations should sustain some forward momentum in the market in value terms. more..

The Non-Domestic Construction Market achieved output value of just under £66 billion in 2006 with current indications of market value of £71 billion in 2007 according to Issue 2 of the Non-Domestic Construction Forecasts Bulletin. Published by AMA Research, the Bulletin provides an in-depth analysis of the key factors influencing this market and its contingent sectors, and offers detailed forecasts of anticipated performance to 2012. more..

The upholstered furniture and beds market was estimated to be worth around £2.2bn at MSP in 2007. Over the past few years the market has moved in a volatile pattern, with a decline in 2005 and modest growth in 2004 and 2006 and this pattern is expected to continue over the next year or so, with the current economic climate somewhat in the balance. more..

There has been a significant rise in the percentage of flats and apartments built in recent years; these are now estimated to account for around 48% of newbuild homes. Factors influencing this growth have included increasing land costs, planning pressures to increase housing densities, an emphasis on affordable housing, growth of the buy-to-let market, a growing niche market for retirement homes and an increase in single person households. more..

The electrical accessories market was estimated at nearly £1.6 billion in 2007 and was dominated by the low voltage cable systems sector which represented around 58% of the market in value terms.  Rising raw materials prices have impacted on the market, resulting in higher growth rates 2004-07 than experienced in previous years. more..

The UK Bedroom Furniture market was estimated to be worth approximately £520m (MSP) in 2007 representing approximately 13% of the overall Domestic Furniture market. The sector has experienced significant change in terms of supply and distribution in recent years, reflecting difficult market conditions which are set to continue in 2008, but there are still significant niche sector opportunities for growth in the medium term. more..

During 2006 the value of construction output in the four major utilities sectors rose by just under 2% from 2005, to a value of £3.3bn representing just over 50% of all Infrastructure new work which also includes roads, railways and harbours.  2007 was expected to see a 4% increase year on year in terms of construction output in the utilities sector. Ongoing investment by the utilities sector means that utilities continue to be a growth area, with consequent contract opportunities for the construction industry. Infrastructure is the third largest sector in terms of new work output and is a sector which is likely to be further boosted by transport programmes due for completion from 2009 onwards and significant new developments for the 2012 Olympic games.  more..

Private Finance Initiatives go from strength to strength- 23.01.2008

Introduced in the early 1990s’, PFI took some time to gather momentum, with just 7 schemes signed before 1995. According to the 2007 spending review, approximately 600 projects have been signed for a total capital value of £59.6 billion. The number of projects increased steadily through the 1990’s reaching a peak in 2000, and the combined capital value of schemes showed a steady increase.  This reflects a trend towards projects with larger capital values, something which continued through the early 2000’s and resulted in a rise in average values from around £36m in 1996 to £103m in 2007. more..

Higher student numbers accelerate university building programmes- 21.01.2008

The expansion in the number of students in higher education has led to increased pressure on university infrastructure and there is a considerable need to address past under-investment and provide additional and appropriate spaces for teaching, research and student accommodation.  Universities have also had to invest in developing student residences to cope with the growing numbers in communal accommodation. and the quality of the campus accommodation is an important deciding factor for students. more..

The garden rooms and buildings market is relatively new and, consequently, has been experiencing good levels of growth and is expected to continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Current volumes are relatively modest at around 30,000 buildings per annum, and the potential for growth is limited by the number of households with adequate sized gardens. However, with only an estimated 200,000 garden rooms and buildings already installed in the UK, and approximately 15 million gardens, there is plenty of scope for long-term growth. more...

The tool hire market was estimated to be worth some £893 million in 2007. Current forecasts indicate that the market is likely to continue to grow to 2012, reaching an estimated value of around £1.1 billion. The market represents a key sector of the overall Construction Equipment Rental Market consisting of plant hire, tool hire and specialist hire, with considerable overlap in core product sectors more...

The rapid growth of the Irish economy over the last 10 years has led to a boom in construction and house building. This strong growth in the construction sector has resulted in increased sales of building materials across the Republic and a 45% growth in the builders merchants market over the past five years to reach almost €3.7bn in 2007 and an increase of over 150% in the DIY and home improvement market over the same period to reach an estimated value of €1.1bn in 2007. more...