Latest research shows timber windows on upwards curve
8 February 2016Latest independent research reveals that the UK timber window market is experiencing significant growth in volume.
Palmer Market Research’s latest research shows the UK timber window market grew by 17.1% to 739,000 frames and by 25.4% to £439m in installed value, with growth set to continue until at least 2019.
It forecasts that the market share enjoyed by premium window materials (wood, aluminium and aluminium/timber) is expected to grow at the expense of PVCu, which will decline whether measured by unit or installed value.
“Wood’s share of the total window market based on volume moved up in 2014 from 10 to 11% but by installed value it grew from 18 to 20%,” said Robert Palmer.
“Overall, the wood window market in housing is forecast to outperform the window market as a whole between 2014 and 2019, growing by 10% in real terms to 811,000 frames.
“By sector, WWA members account for 62% of timber windows sold in the new build market and 52% of the social housing refurbishment market, which will continue to be key areas for us to support in 2016,” said Sean Parnaby, chairperson of the Wood Window Alliance (WWA).
“However, our real opportunity lies in the very much larger home improvement sector that represents 69% of all wood windows sold in the UK.”
The report shows how the structure of the market has changed, with wood windows – mostly now factory-finished - achieving a significant premium over PVCu.
While, in real terms, the average installed price for a PVCu window has remained flat over the past 14 years at £271, the average installed price for wood windows has doubled to £594.
Much of this increase has come from the new housing sector, where increasingly sophisticated windows are being specified.
The Palmer report also notes that the aluminium/timber composites (alu-clad) window market in housing grew by 19.2% in 2014 to 174,000 frames and by 30.2% to £77m in installed value.
Although casement windows make up the bulk of wood window sales (58%), vertical sliding sash windows remain dominated by timber, making up 27% of all wood window sales, compared with just 6% for all materials.
