48
MARCH 2015 PRO INSTALLER
PRO BUSINESS
www.proinstaller.co.uk
UK window and door
market grows by 3.8%
According to a new
market report, Windows
& Doors 2015, from
business intelligence
provider, Key Note, the
UK market for windows
and doors grew by 3.8%
in 2014, with growth of
4.9% recorded over the
five year review period between 2010 and
2014.
The overall market for
windows and doors, both
globally and within the UK,
is dependent on the volume
of construction output in
the new-build sector and
the repair, maintenance and
improvement (RM&I) sectors account for substantial
markets.
Moving forward from the
2008/2009 recession and
subsequent economic ma-
laise, construction in Britain
is now back in growth, with
output growing by 10.7%
between 2009 and 2013,
thus providing opportunities
for the window and door
market. Looking forward, it
is anticipated that construction in the UK will continue
to grow, in order to meet
the escalating demand for
the UK’s rising population.
For the RM&I sector, the
installation of double glazed
windows and doors in new
buildings has the potential
to reduce future demand in
the sector, in the sense that
modern products, with their
enhanced durability, typically tend to last longer. However, the RM&I sector has
tangibly benefited in recent
years from the introduction
of the Green Deal, which
has fuelled homeowners’
demand to upgrade components of their home for both
environmental and financial
purposes.
In a global sense, the market for windows and doors
is expected to be robust
going forward, in particular
in developing nations such
as the People’s Republic of
China and India, where construction output is forecast
to develop at a rapid rate in
the coming years. Addi-
tionally, the rising population of the planet will also
inevitably lead to enhanced
demand for housing and
public buildings, thus generating further opportunities
for the ‘new’ sector of the
windows and doors market.
Key Note forecasts that
between 2015 and 2019 the
UK market for windows and
doors will grow by 13.3%,
buoyed by the rising output
from the country’s construction industry, in addition to
the anticipated new homes
and public buildings, which
will need to be built in
order to accommodate the
UK’s expected annual population increases.
Source: Builders’
Merchant News
Construction output suffers cold snap
Declining levels of new civil engineering activity has dragged construction
output into negative territory for the second time in three months,
according to the latest figures from industry analysts Glenigan.
The Glenigan Index for February, which covers the value of
projects starting on site in the
three months to January, is 2%
down on a year ago, stifled by a
17% drop in new civil engineering
schemes.
Falling levels of social housing
and public non-residential building have contributed to a subdued
performance across the industry,
with none of the main sectors
expanding by more than 1% in the
latest period.
However investor confidence
and the flow of new developments
remain strong, heralded by a 10%
rise in the value of projects achieving detailed planning consent
during 2014.
Glenigan has also found 1,250
previously stalled projects were
brought back into development
during 2014, a 13% rise on a year
earlier.
Allan Wilén, Economics Director at Glenigan, said: “Our latest
figures show the challenge the
industry faces to keep up with its
own momentum.
“At this stage a year ago workloads were expanding at a remarkable rate, with the January 2014
Glenigan Index seeing a record
35% increase in project starts - the
peak of a 17-month run of consecutive growth.
“However this expansion moderated downwards through the end
of last year.”
The industrial sector represents
the brightest spot in this month’s
Index. The sector saw starts rise
by 46% in 2014 and has maintained this momentum into the
New Year, with the latest reading
showing a 48% increase relative to
a year earlier.
This surge has been driven by
strong demand for logistics and
distribution space, with clients
bringing forward a number of
large schemes. Glenigan tracked
21 industrial projects worth between £20 million and £100 million starting on site during 2014,
including the £77 million ‘Thunderbird 2’ distribution project in
Kettering, Northamptonshire.
A 40% year on year rise in detailed planning approvals in the
final quarter of 2014 suggests the
sector will remain a good source
of work during the coming year.
Forecasts for the education
sector are also positive, with the
flow of school projects set to
expand strongly over the coming
year. Work under the Priority
School Building Programme has
so far been slow to materialise,
contributing to the 12% fall in education starts over the last three
months. However a 21% rise in
detailed planning approvals over
2014 suggests an upcoming improvement in sector activity.
Meanwhile, the commercial sectors continue to perform solidly,
with office, retail and hotel and
leisure starts up by 2%, 5% and
10% respectively.
The monthly Glenigan Index is
based on extensive research of
every construction project starting in the UK over the previous
three-month period, providing an
indicator of developing activity
and future output in the industry.