profile
Ian Doherty is the Chief Executive of Owlett-Jaton, the UK and Ireland’s largest wholesaler of fasteners and fixings.
Following an extensive career in distributive businesses, Ian joined Owlett-Jaton in 2016. Ian brings a passion for customer service along with extensive hands-on experience in sales, marketing and supply chain operations.
In addition to his role at Owlett-Jaton, Ian is also currently Chairman of the British and Irish Association of Fastener Distributors (BIAFD) and their representative to the European Federation of Distributor Associations (EFDA).
Owlett-Jaton
With a 30,000 SKU product range, Owlett-Jaton, the UK’s largest wholesaler of fasteners and fixings, supplies a comprehensive range of products to UK customers with next-day delivery. Established in 1947, Owlett-Jaton offers a complete wholesale solution to the builders’ merchant and distributor trade.
Among Owlett-Jaton’s well-known and trusted market-leading brands are the Unifix range of products, Vortex high-performance woodscrews, Thunderbolts and the extensive JCP range of specialist fixings. All products are backed up by technical support and endorsed by the company’s ISO 9001:2015 quality accreditation.
Owlett-Jaton is the only fastener and fixings wholesaler to have achieved the ISO 14001:2015 environmental accreditation and is continually striving to improve the sustainability of its operations and products.
Visit: www.owlett-jaton.com
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/owlett-jaton
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/jcp-construction-products
Launched in 2015, the award winning monthly Builders Merchant Building Index (BMBI) report is the only reliable measure of repair, maintenance & improvement (RMI) activity in the UK. Filling an important gap, it can be widely used in construction, and by economists, Government, national media, commentators and influencers outside the industry.
Owlett-Jaton Comment: Q1 2025
Demand in the fastener and fixings sector has continued to follow the general trends across merchants, with continuing soft demand driven by the sluggish levels of construction and RM&I activity. Supplies continue to be stable both in terms of availability and pricing.
The government’s much vaunted commitment to build 1.5m new homes by 2029 continues to make headline news, but the reality on the ground is yet to see a step change in the rate of new build construction.
The fastener and fixings sector supply chain is heavily driven by Far East sourcing and, as a result, can be slow to respond to sudden and dramatic upturns in demand. However, the sector generally carries many months of stock and it is anticipated that the expected upturn can be accommodated by suppliers. A return to Far East shipping using the Suez Canal rather than the Cape of Good Hope route would further improve resilience in the event of a surge in demand.
The US tariff situation continues to change almost daily. At the time of writing, the impacts of US tariffs on Chinese products have yet to result in any noticeable knock-on effects on the UK supply chain. The situation continues to be closely monitored.
Government consultation is continuing on the planned Carbon Border Adjustment Measure (CBAM) for the UK. Legislation is now being prepared and the planned introduction date of January 2027 now seems fairly certain.
This measure, while positive from an environmental perspective, will result in higher costs for fasteners and fixings imported from the Far East. How large the impact will be is uncertain, and will only become clear once the legislation is published, but double-digit increases seem likely.