England 12/08/2013 – After several lean years, many UK-based roofing contractors saw an increase in demand for their services during the winter of 2013.
Without a doubt, the main reason for this was the weather. The met office reported that 2012/13 was the UK’s second wettest year on record. Naturally, this meant that more people experienced problems with their roofs and had to call in a roofing contractor to fix it.
The fact that it was so persistently wet seems to be the main reason people gave up on making do and finally called in a contractor to fix the roof properly. Many realised that allowing the roof to leak and using buckets on the rare occasions it rained was no longer a viable option. After several weeks of almost constant rain, they had no real choice but to actually get the roof properly repaired.
Naturally, roofing contractors were pleased to finally see uplift in their businesses. Over the past five or six years, most have seen demand for their products and services drop away drastically.
Recent report shows that construction work has fallen by10%, across the board, since the current government came to power. Over 89,000 jobs have been lost across the industry including within the roofing sector. For those that fit commercial roofs things have been even worse because commercial construction has practically come to a standstill.
Long term growth is on the horizon
Fortunately, the inclement weather gave many roofing firms the work they needed to carry them through another year. Fortunately, there are finally signs of a proper and sustained recovery for the building industry. As a result, firms like Roof Management Ltd who have been fitting and repairing roofs for several decades are breathing a sigh of relief. Growth within the building industry during July 2013 is the strongest it has been since June 2010, and many predict that demand for new housing and retail outlets means that there will be further growth in the future. The fact that the economy is showing signs of recovery should also mean that, within a few years, there will also be increasing demand for new commercial buildings.