WHY IMPORTANT TO WISCONSIN
A rise in home construction will fuel the floor and wall covering market and bring opportunities to Wisconsin companies in that sector.
The UK government has set a goal of getting 300,000 homes built each year in an effort to address a housing shortage.
Along with that, the £1.5 billion ($2 billion USD) Levelling Up Home Building Fund, announced in 2022, is helping smaller builders to finance the construction.
The surge in home construction is expected to boost activity in the floor and wallcoverings market, and could offer opportunities for Wisconsin companies in that sector.
The size of UK’s floor and wallcoverings market is nearly £4 billion ($5.2 billion USD), with more than 9,000 businesses and 21,000 employees in the sector. The industry’s market sizeincreased 11.1% in 2022.
Over the next five years, revenue in floor and wallcoverings in the UK is predicted to rise at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.8%. Housing construction—and along with that, an increase in sales of existing homes—is the biggest generator of revenue for the sector.
In 2022, the floor covering market topped $40 million; it is expected to show a CAGR of about 5% over the next five years. In addition to the new homes being built, consumers in the UK are adopting high-end flooring options and embracing new trends and innovations in the building industry.
The wall covering market is more fragmented, and companies tend to partner with international designers. The largest wallpaper suppliers to the UK are Germany, France, and Italy, which together provide 61% of total imports. China, the U.S., Belgium, the Netherlands, and Poland together supply another 32% of the imports.
The home building priorities are part of a larger “Levelling Up” policy unveiled by the government in 2019, aimed at reducing economic imbalances among various regions and groups across the UK.
A study commissioned by the National Housing Federation and Crisis from Heriot-Watt University estimated that about 340,000 new homes need to be supplied each year, and 145,000 of them should be affordable.
