The UK Trade Decorative Paint market delivered a broadly stable performance in 2025, demonstrating resilience against a backdrop of mixed economic conditions and continued pressure on construction activity. For Q4 2025,… Read more
Quarter four sales were lower than expected, as an already challenging quarter rounded off with a disappointing December. A lack of confidence in the market and persistent rain saw many… Read more
Twenty twenty-five was not the year construction anticipated. Prolonged uncertainty led to lower levels of housebuilding, and while November’s budget provided welcome clarity, it also brought the cancellation of the… Read more
The UK construction industry remains in a period of adjustment. Economic pressures, cost volatility and subdued activity across residential and commercial sectors continue to shape short-term conditions and the sluggish… Read more
There were few surprises in Q4 2025, as the steel lintels market followed a familiar seasonal pattern. Activity eased in the usual November and December slowdown delivering a noticeable reduction… Read more
After finishing 2025 with an 8% increase in volumes, the sales forecast for paving for the year ahead is looking flat. In my last comment I mentioned the unprecedented rainfall… Read more
The latest Builders Merchant Building Index (BMBI) report reveals builders’ merchants’ like-for-like value sales for Q4 2025, adjusted to remove the impact of trading days, were -1.2% lower than Q4… Read more
The Office for National Statistics published estimates of Construction Output for December 2025 this morning. Main points: • Total construction output is estimated to have fallen by 2.1% in Quarter… Read more
The latest figures from the Plumbing & Heating Merchant Index (PHMI) report show total like-for-like value sales for November 2025 through specialist plumbing and heating merchants were up +2.7% compared… Read more
The latest Builders Merchant Building Index (BMBI) report, published in February, shows builders’ merchants’ like-for-like total value sales in November 2025 were -0.4% lower than the same month in 2024…. Read more
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.
