profile
Krystal Williams
Krystal has extensive commercial experience in the landscaping and building materials sector, working with leading brands of aggregates, stone and concrete paving since 2003. She joined Pavestone in 2017 and was promoted to Managing Director of the company’s landscaping division in 2019.
Krystal’s commercial acumen, vision of the future and strategic thinking has helped drive Pavestone’s growth and market leading position in a fast-paced sector.
Pavestone
Pavestone is a leading hard landscaping supplier of natural stone and man-made paving products, serving independent builders’ merchants across the UK.
For nearly 20 years, the privately owned business has been synonymous for elegant products, manufactured from the highest quality materials and to relevant British Quality Standards.
Its natural stone landscaping products originate from many countries around the world. The stone is ethically sourced from audited, long standing supply partners and to exact specifications.
Pavestone’s manufacturing facilities are located in Chipping Campden (Gloucestershire) and Burford (Oxfordshire), where it makes most of its made-made landscaping products using local Cotswold stone. The electricity used to power Pavestone’s production machinery, light, heat and general power is supplied from renewable resources that include wind turbines and hydro-electric schemes.
In addition to its own manufactured products, the company also supplies the finest and most innovative European landscaping products through commercial partnerships with world class concrete and porcelain manufacturers.
Visit: www.pavestone.co.uk
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/pavestone-uk-limited
Twitter: @Pavestone
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.
Pavestone Comment: Q2 2025
After a buoyant pre-sales season and a booming Q1, where our biggest challenge was getting stock to customers fast enough, Q2 continued in the same vein – until it didn’t. April and May saw Covid lockdown levels of orders, with beige porcelain for example up 90% on last year, which we had not forecasted. But since June, the market has softened significantly.
Speaking to our merchant customers, the massive drop off in demand is a trend that goes beyond paving products. What’s behind the peaks and troughs remains unclear.
The sudden reduction in demand is difficult for us to navigate as suppliers. Our European porcelain paving can arrive in the UK within three weeks, while our sandstone products and a selection of porcelain options, are shipped from India which has a ten-week lead time. The fragile ceasefire agreed between President Trump and the Houthi rebels has not resolved issues and vessels travelling between Asia and Europe must still use the longer Cape of Good Hope route. We can’t be agile and react quickly to fluctuations in demand with a two-month lead time.
While we are at the mercy of what stocks our suppliers have, the whims of shipping companies, conflicts in Europe and the Middle East, global tariffs and other macro events, we still try to do the best for our loyal customers. Currently, it is challenging to meet expectations, and there seems to be a growing divide between what customers want (and when) and what we can deliver as an industry.
In product trends, it’s a year for lighter, natural and neutral colours. At the halfway point, porcelain is the biggest winner so far, with cream and ivory the most popular colours. Porcelain is fast approaching a 50% market share. It may only be a matter of time before porcelain takes the top spot from sandstone to become the number one choice for UK households. Twenty twenty-five has given us some incredible highs and some hard times that we hadn’t expected. With the forecasts out the window, who knows what H2 holds for the paving sector, and our landscapers and merchants. Whatever happens, we must face it together with mutual understanding and patience.