(March 5): Building materials suppliers Ibstock plc and Breedon Group plc expect sales to recover in 2025, as a rebound in the UK housing market feeds through to increased demand for bricks and cement. 

Ibstock sees a “significant opportunity for a new era of housebuilding in the UK”, and expects an improvement in market volumes in 2025, it said in a statement.

Breedon is “optimistic” that 2024 represents a floor in the UK construction market, it said in a statement, noting supportive government policy, falling interest rates and a lack of inventory in the housing market. As a caveat, it noted that a recovery in confidence and investment has not yet fully materialised. 

Brickmaker Ibstock and cement supplier Breedon are set to benefit from a growing demand for new homes as UK homebuilders prepare for a busy 2025. Developers are upbeat and expect to sell more homes in 2025 after a gruelling two years of reduced demand due to high mortgage costs.

The Labour government’s planning reforms, which speed up approval for housing projects, also support momentum.

The UK’s biggest homebuilder, Barratt Redrow plc, last month said it expects full-year profit at the top end of market expectations, driven by “solid reservation activity” since the start of January, as mortgages become more affordable. 

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