Quarter two continued the subdued trading environment we saw in the first quarter, with new build and RMI housing sectors continuing to show weakness. The second quarter was in line with our expectations but with the early general election we believed, or hoped this might give some bounce to the market, but this did not materialise, and the weakness has continued into Q3.

The National House Building Council (NHBC) recorded almost record low registrations of 29,00 units in Q2 which has confirmed our own experience and the feedback from our merchant partners.

The recent news of a quarter point cut in base rates and a robust 0.6% growth in GDP for Q2 should feed through to the positive consumer sentiment later in 2024 and 2025, but we do not expect a recovery in either the new build or RMI markets until 2025 at the earliest.

Consumer confidence is continuing to improve and has improved dramatically over the past twelve months.  GfK’s Consumer Confidence Index has improved from a very low -30 in July 2023 to -13 July 2024, and its Major Purchase Index has lifted from -32 to -16. There’s further to go but the indicators are heading in the right direction.

Our core focus on the independent merchant sector has insulated us from the roller coaster ride of the volume new build market. The independent merchant sector continues to outperform the overall distribution market, and we believe the customer service levels and commitment to long term strategic partnerships are central to our shared success.

As a privately owned business Brett Martin continues to focus on long term planning, and we do expect both the new build market and RMI markets to recover in the medium term.

The drainage construction products supply chain is undergoing significant rationalisation as volumes continue to fall, but we at Brett Martin continue to invest in production and distribution capacity to ensure we can service our merchant partners when the upturn eventually arrives.