14,289 houses were completed in the


period April to September 2021


5.8m peple have fled Ukraine


following Russia’s invasion


Workload rises but optimism falls


According to the S&P Global / CIPS UK Construction PMI for March data UK construction output has risen again, helped by the fastest increase in new work for seven months.


That said, escalating inflationary


pressures and concerns about the economic impact of the war in Ukraine contributed to a sharp drop in business optimism. And overall, the degree of confidence about the growth outlook was the weakest since October 2020. The headline S&P Global / CIPS UK Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index registered 59.1


in March, well above the 50.0 mark that separates growth from contraction. Commercial work was the best- performing segment in March at 60.8, the third such rise in a row, although both residential work and civil engineering were down, at 54.9 and 56.3, respectively. Total new orders expanded with the latest rise the strongest since August 2021, and the rising workloads meant a considerable rise in staffing numbers in March. Around 33% of the survey panel reported longer lead times for construction products and


materials, while only 1% saw an improvement. However, delays remained less widespread than the peak seen last summer. Concerns about the war in Ukraine, forecasts of severe cost inflation and a less favourable global economic outlook all weighed on constructors’ confidence in March. Around 48% of the survey panel expect a rise in business activity during the year ahead, while only 15% predict a decline. However, the balance of positive sentiment was the weakest seen since October 2020.


Knauf Insulation invest in Glass Mineral Wool plants


Knauf Insulation will invest over £40m to increase its St Helens plant’s total capacity by c30,000 tonnes per annum from late 2023/ early 2024 and to acquire the large adjacent Pilkington Architectural site from NSG Group.


Iinvestment in St Helens will


include: • a larger furnace to support the increased capacity • improved fiberising technology to support a significant widening of the range to include new, industry- leading lower lambda and thicker insulation products • downstream equipment to cure and package the additional output and to support further


enhancement of its market-leading product compression. The adjacent Pilkington


Architectural site covers around 7 hectares in total and includes industrial buildings with a total floor space in excess of 180,000 sq ft. This acquisition will allow for additional warehouse and storage space and a fully optimised logistics operation on the enlarged site. Knauf Insulation is also investing in excess of £5m in packaging equipment at its Cwmbran plant to enable the production of Glass Mineral Wool slabs in addition to the plant’s current roll and blowing wool capability. This will enable the company to optimise


its UK manufacturing and logistics footprint, and take up to 1.5 million truck miles per annum off the road. Neil Hargreaves, managing


director of Knauf Insulation Northern Europe, said: “This is an exciting development for our business and both our UK Glass Mineral Wool plants. These investments support the anticipated growth in demand driven by the Future Homes Standard and improved energy efficiency in new buildings as well as from more renovation of existing buildings. These developments are critical as we step up our efforts to tackle the cost-of-living crisis, climate change and energy security.”


Higher prices boost plumbing and heating merchant sales


Inflation was underlying the growth figures for February shown by the Plumbing & Heating Merchant Index, where monthly total value sales through specialist plumbing and heating merchants were 3.2% higher than the same month in 2021. This growth has come entirely from +8.3% higher prices rather than volume sales which slipped -4.7%.


Compared to February 2019,


total value sales for February 2022 were 4.9% higher.


Month-on-month sales data reveals that February sales were 1.3% higher than January. Value sales in the three months December 2021 to February 2022 were up 2.9% compared with the same three months last year, again with no difference in trading days.


Plumbing & Heating merchants’ sales in the last 12 months (March 2021 to February 2022) were 19.6% ahead of the previous 12-month period (March 2020 to


May 2022 www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net


February 2021) with no difference in trading days.


Mike Rigby, CEO of MRA Research, which produces the report said: “At first glance, February looks to have achieved a positive month of growth for the merchants but analysis shows that growth has come from +8.3% higher prices while volume is down -4.7%. With inflation at a 30-year high and rising, it’s a trend we may well see more of this year.”


105m bricks will be the capacity at Ibstock’s


Atlas factory when the upgrade it completed.


MKM buys in Scotland


Builders’ merchant MKM has an- nounced further


expansion of its branch network in Scotland with the purchase of Woodrow Timber & Supplies. Founded in 1979 as Rowan Timber Supplies, the business officially rebranded to Woodrow Timber & Supplies in 2021 and operates across three branches in Airdrie, Ayr, and Dunfermline. Taking the total number of MKM branches in the UK up to 97, the acquisition further strength- ens the merchant’s presence in Scotland and follows both the purchase of Spey Valley Timber and the establishment of new branches in Peterhead and Inver- ness in 2021.


Nick Higgins, managing director


at Woodrow Timber & Sup- plies, said: “After many years of building our reputation, product offering and services in the Scot- tish timber industry, we wanted to make sure that the business was best positioned to continue to grow. Ensuring the future of our three branches was incred- ibly important to us and we are confident that they will continue to go from strength to strength under MKM’s leadership.” Kate Tinsley, CEO of MKM,


said: “We are delighted to welcome Woodrow Timber & Supplies to the MKM family and would like to thank the teams at both Woodrow and MKM for a successful acquisition. I speak for everyone at MKM when I say we are looking forward to building on the successes of both businesses together. With more than 40 years of experience and expertise, we are confident that Woodrow is the right partner to help us drive further growth and success in Scotland.”


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