Hard times ahead

AMA Research estimates that the sales volume of the UK market for building materials and home improvement products fell by 4 per cent to £ 46 bn in the year 2008. Further falls are forecast for both this year and next. Growth is expected to commence once again from 2011, the sales volume having bottomed out in 2010 at a low of £ 40 bn. It might then be possible to just about reach the 2007 level (£ 48 bn) by 2013, when a total of £ 47.7 bn is forecast. This market is dominated by five builders’ merchant and plumbing companies, alongside four DIY retailers, whose combined market share comes to 41 per cent.