The market for construction materials totals over £78bn.

This is fulfilled through a variety of channels but a significant proportion (over £60bn) comes through distribution and is therefore addressable by the Group.

UK addressable market size by business unit (£bn)

Market size by business unit


Market overview

The market for construction materials is approximately £78bn, with £60bn coming through distribution channels. The Group serves four major end-markets, with just over half of revenues coming from private domestic housing (both new build and repair, maintenance & improvement "RMI") and the balance being split between the commercial & industrial market and the public sector.

Market mix

0 %

Private domestic new build

0 %

Private RMI

0 %

Commercial & industrial*

0 %

Public sector**

Group revenue mix

0 %

Private domestic new build

0 %

Private RMI

0 %

Commercial & industrial*

0 %

Public sector**

Growth drivers

  • Growth in households and population
  • Ongoing housing supply shortage
  • Drive for more energy efficient homes
  • Sales incentives and support for first-time buyers
  • Ongoing desirability of home ownership vs renting
  • Disrepair of housing stock
  • ECO+ insulation scheme
  • Requirement for retrofit and cladding remediation works
  • Need for decarbonisation and improvement for EPC ratings for rented sector
  • Reconfiguring homes for more space and home working
  • “Don’t move, improve!” – given costs of moving and challenge of finding new homes
  • Growth in warehousing and logistics space
  • Refurbishment of office and retail space around hybrid working and new patterns of retail
  • Cladding remediation work on commercial buildings
  • Repair and maintenance work increases when less new space is coming into the market

* includes commercial and industrial new build and private non-housing R&M

  • Hospital and school rebuilding programmes
  • Nine-year backlog of essential road repairs and major new-build schemes
  • Major projects eg HS2, Hinkley Point C, Thames Tideway
  • Offshore wind growth
  • Ongoing requirements for Public sector affordable housing
  • Significant requirements to improve the condition and thermal efficiency of existing public sector housing via retrofit programmes

** includes infrastructure, public new building (housing and non-housing) and public housing RMI and non-housing R&M

Macro factors impacting our markets

Changes to the market are causing all parties to consider the way that they work - raising expectations and creating opportunities for partners that are able to respond.

Macro factors

  • ESG is highly relevant across the construction industry
  • Digital and technology developments are having significant impacts across all industries
  • Trade customer expectations are increasing driven by the experiences enjoyed by consumers

Sector-specific factors

  • Modern methods of Construction ("MMC") are beginning to change the industry.
  • Labour and knowledge scarcity is driving change through the ageing of the construction industry workforce
  • The construction industry has not enjoyed the advances in productivity seen in other sectors

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