Wales puts in top-flight performance in national index of building materials sales
Latest figures from a leading trade body reveal Wales has reached the top tier for sales of building products throughout 2019.
The Builders Merchants Federation’s Builders Merchant Building Index (BMBI), places the region second in their index, after measuring the sales performance at builders’ merchants in 11 areas across Britain.
Wales shows a 4.7 per cent year-on-year growth in the 12-month period from Jan 2019 to December 2019, compared to the same timeline in 2018.
BMF’s Regional Chairman for South Wales, Richard Brian, is Joint MD of Hughes Forrest Builders Merchants, which operates from Newport, Cardiff, Blackwood, Ebbw Vale, Pontypridd and Merthyr Tydfil.
Mr Brian said:
“These figures show a good, solid performance for Wales.
“We’ve consistently been top of the table for sales compared to the rest of Britain.
“Key to this success is a strong local repair, maintenance and improvement market.”
“Our sector is a key bellwether of the UK economy and the ‘mood of the nation’ in terms of home repair, maintenance and improvement.
“To see strong sales in Wales compared to the national picture is very encouraging.”
The BMF’s BMBI is seen as a gold standard in the building materials sector to measure sales activity.
International analytics specialist GfK provides BMBI with point of sale tracking data drawn from over 80 per cent of builders’ merchants sales throughout the country, across the 11 defined areas in Wales, Scotland and England.
John Newcomb, CEO of the BMF, said:
“The BMBI report features a wealth of data on regional performance and Wales has come out in second place for 2019, with strong results compared to the national average.
“BMBI shows how Britain’s builders’ merchants perform in different parts of the country, reflecting the ‘regional health’ of construction.
“It shows the positive economic impact of this vital sector across Wales.”