profile
Neil Hargreaves
Neil Hargreaves is Managing Director for Knauf Insulation Northern Europe (KINE), which includes the markets across the UK & Ireland, Scandinavia and English-speaking countries in Africa.
Neil originally joined KINE in 2006 as Head of Commercial Finance before leaving to become Finance Director (EMEA) for a multi-national manufacturing and contracting business. In 2011, he re-joined KINE as Finance Director and has since played a key role in a number of commercial, financial and strategic projects. He was appointed Managing Director in February 2019.
Prior to joining KINE, Neil trained as a Chartered Accountant with KPMG and gained experience in audit, business consulting and transaction services working with clients across manufacturing, construction and leisure industries.
Neil sits on the board for the Mineral Wool Insulation Manufacturers Association (MIMA).
Knauf Insulation
Knauf Insulation is the UK’s leading manufacturer of glass and rock mineral wool insulation products.
As part of the family owned Knauf Group, Knauf Insulation represents one of the most respected and progressive names in insulation. It offers an unrivalled range of insulation solutions for any application or project to meet the increasing demand for energy efficiency, fire resistance, thermal and acoustic performance in new and existing homes, non-residential buildings and industrial applications.
In the UK, the company operates at three manufacturing plants; Cwmbran, Queensferry and St. Helens.
Visit www.knaufinsulation.co.uk. Follow @KnaufUK
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.
Knauf-Insulation Comment: Q2 2026
Construction activity remains tepid. On-again, off-again oil supply chains don’t help, nor does the distraction of the UK’s new national sport – changing prime ministers. It’s all contributed to an unwelcome cooling in the housebuilding sector that has suppressed demand for materials for longer than analysts anticipated.
There are early signs of consumer confidence returning. If interest rate anxieties ease, housing starts should begin to recover. A different type of cooling may provide opportunities for merchants to make up volumes in the meantime.
Public interest in home cooling rose with the mercury as the country sweltered through a record-hot June. Sales of air conditioning have spiked as people anticipate a new normal and seek ways to keep their homes comfortable.
With a renewed interest in the energy performance of their homes, these customers present a good opportunity to cross-sell insulation. Because, like their heat pump counterparts, AC units are far more effective in a well-insulated home.
That may feel counterintuitive, as we usually associate insulation with keeping our homes warm. But its real role is to slow down the transfer of heat, whether from the inside-out in winter, or the outside-in in summer. A well-insulated home, combined with controlled ventilation and the right shading to manage solar gain, creates the stable indoor environment AC needs to work most efficiently. Fabric first is still the foundation, whether the homeowner is turning the thermostat up or down.
Action will be needed at a national level to ensure we have the design standards, skilled contractors and grid capacity to adapt British homes to a changing climate.
But sleepless homeowners won’t wait. Merchants should be ready to sell a more effective, permanent solution to customers looking to buy cooling products, enabled by a combined package of insulation, ventilation control and shading materials. A good opportunity to maintain volumes while merchants wait for housebuilding to heat up once more.