The value of the total kitchen worktop market is estimated to have declined from £190m in 2007 to £160m in 2010, mainly as a result of the declining economic environment, the deferral of high ticket purchases by consumers, contraction in the housebuilding sector, a severe reduction in the number of house purchases and the high level of price competition.

The kitchen furniture and worktops market is at the mature stage of its product lifecycle. Consumer awareness is high and purchasing decisions tend to be based on design, colour and materials. Since awareness is high, consumers are constantly looking to new ideas or solutions to create different design statements in their homes, hence the introduction of curved units and innovative storage solutions.

The distribution channel structure has experienced some changes in recent years, with lower growth in the furniture multiples sector, due to the decline of MFI, whilst the builders’ merchants sector has shown solid growth, particularly with the growth achieved by the Howden Joinery chain.

In the short term margins are likely to be squeezed further by the increasing cost of raw materials, particularly chipboard and metal components, although kitchen worktop manufacturers have a good record in absorbing cost increases generally, nevertheless, some of these increases are bound to be passed on.

The worktop sector is expected to achieve reasonably good growth in the medium term, mainly because of the gradual shift to higher quality materials. The market for kitchen worktops is forecast to return to growth in the 2012-2015 period, reaching £195m by 2015, as the UK emerges slowly from the recession. Worktops will account for around 14% of the total kitchen furniture, worktops and sinks market by the end of the period under review.

The bathroom worktop market has shown growth, although it remains a small sector of the overall sanitaryware and bathroom furniture market – accounting for around 10% at the present time. It is also a small market when compared to the kitchen worktop market – being the equivalent of around 10-11% of that market.

As in the kitchen sector, solid surfaces for worktops have increased in popularity, partly because they can be worked into any shape and can create a seamless joint between the basin, worktop and splashback.

In the housing market there has been growth in the number of second bathrooms, the installation of en-suite facilities and the number of properties with additional cloakrooms. However, in recent years there has been a trend towards more flats and apartments in the new housing sector and this has limited the growth in bathroom furniture and worktops.

Builders’ and plumbers’ merchants are the major distributors for bathroom worktops with around 34% of the market, followed by bathroom equipment specialists with a 23% share and DIY multiples with 18% of the market.

The value of the bathroom worktops market is estimated to have reached £11m in 2010, having fallen from £13m in 2007, as the economic situation deteriorated in the UK and consumer confidence declined. The market for bathroom worktops is forecast to show modest growth in 2011 and to continue to 2015, when the market is expected to have recovered to above its 2007 level.