The overall market continues to be a challenge, with impossible-to-forecast peaks and troughs. It’s been like that in recent years. Something else we can blame on Covid!

Roof windows had a good Quarter 4, with a strong October and December and weaker November. No one has a creditable explanation as to why. It’s just put down to one of those things!

Brick volumes are significantly down, and housing starts have been disappointing, but as we have experienced throughout 2025, housebuilder demand for roof windows has been encouraging, although Keylite has outperformed the market. The new products we launched specifically for house builders are beginning to gain traction.

Winning orders in a tough market is never easy, and everyone in our market is working harder. But being resilient, focused and driven are key attributes, and speaking for ourselves, Keylite thrives as a challenger brand.

Our sales team are extremely active, focusing on the core activities that will deliver the numbers. Working smart, impacting orders and supporting our various trading partners.

Interest rates are expected to fall, but not to the levels of recent years. This will create more demand for room-in-a-roof products such as roof windows, and associated products that create additional, affordable, value-adding living space. Families are growing, the population is rising and people are living longer. The requirement for more, for bigger, for better is not going away. We have no choice but to find solutions to build more and meet future demand. It can’t be put on hold much longer!

Human beings have a canny knack of finding money when they need to, and I’m positive that we will see a strong H2 to make 2026 a good year for the market. That’s subject of course to the uncertainties and distractions of continuing political unrest worldwide. Let’s hope it calms down and stabilises quickly.

Weather is a huge challenge for construction and, as I write, the relentless rain continues. That’s not good for a roofing product!

Positivity is the word! It won’t solve everything, but it will get us all on the front foot again, with a strong mindset. And guess what……… we might achieve our collective ambitions.