This report covers the UK market and industry for plumbing products - comprising domestic central heating products, commercial heating products, water heating products, bathroom and sanitaryware products, tubes, pipes and fittings, and kitchen products.

For the purposes of this report, the UK domestic central heating market has been defined as follows:

• Boilers

• Radiators

• Heat Controls

• Pumps

The UK commercial heating market has been defined as follows:

• Commercial Boilers

• Steel Radiators

• Other Radiators

• Heat Emitters

• Warm Air Heaters

• Radiant Heaters

The UK bathroom and sanitaryware market has been defined as follows:

• Baths

• Sanitaryware

• Sinks

• Taps & Mixers

• Showers

• Bathroom Accessories

The UK tubes, pipes and fittings market for plumbing has been defined as follows:

• Copper Tube

• Copper Fittings

• Plastic Pressure Pipes & Fittings

• Plastic Non-Pressure Pipes & Fittings

Reports are researched and written by MBD’s in-house, specialist business-to-business consultants. Research is based on both an analysis of official information and on original trade research, providing both a quantitative and qualitative view of the market. MBD’s unique range of frequently updated reports provide an integrated body of on-going research, enabling deep understanding of the prevailing trends and drivers of these trends based on trade opinion.

The following abbreviations appear in this report:

The fortunes of the UK plumbing products industry are partly dependent on the new construction market, which has been strongly affected by the banking crisis, subsequent economic downturn, and flat economy. Demand has generally been more steady in the refurbishment sector, though austerity has encouraged delays in discretionary spending.

This report addresses the following key questions concerning the plumbing products markets:

• How strongly will the market develop over the next five years?

• Is that growth sustainable over the entire five years and what will be the market drivers?

• Which regions hold the best prospects?

• Which product sectors now hold the best prospects?

• How have companies involved in the market faired during the downturn that followed 2008?

The construction industry has a reputation for being highly cyclical, and growth or declines tend to exaggerate specific GDP development. This was very evident during the historic boom/bust years, and while some argued that the cyclicality of the market subsequently declined, this only reflected the more even GDP development. Consequently, the economic difficulties caused by the collapse of the financial sector have had a marked impact on construction industry output.

Certain sectors are also significantly influenced by government policy and public spending. In the past, this has often not reflected economic activity, giving sectors a cushion from overall development, but the current economic turmoil has been of such magnitude that the government has been forced to reduce public expenditure irrespective of political policy.