Connies back above the £billion – but volume at all-time low, says Palmer
7th November 2017

The conservatory market grew by 9% to £1.05bn last year – the highest level since 2009 – but the growth was fueled entirely by average install value against continuing decline in volume which hit an all-time low of 77,000 units, according to the latest Palmer report, The Market for Domestic Conservatories 2017.

The drop in volume is slowing, however, down to 1.4% from 6% but this in itself was bolstered by a growth in replacement conservatories, without which the decline in first-time installations would be 4%.

Robert Palmer, managing director of Palmer Market Research, said: “The conservatory sector remains a pretty mixed bag. ‘White boxes’ have lost their retail appeal and the market has seen a shift to larger, higher value installations and more flexible spaces.”

Figures from Palmer show that PVC-U remains the dominant material type across sectors, with aluminium remaining static and failing to replicate the inroads that it has made in other areas. Wood is again forecast to be static this year, ahead of future decline.

The report also tracks the rapid growth seen in orangery and orangery-hybrid – up 38% in 2016. It adds: “There has been a perceptible switch to more versatile structures.”

The trend towards higher value products, reflects a broader shift across the window and door industry as a whole. The Window, Door and Conservatory Markets in Housing in Great Britain, published in September, citing growth of 1% in volume terms and 7% in value terms to £4.5bn, with fortunes very much defined by product and material type.

This is echoed in The Market for Domestic Conservatories, which is available as a stand-alone report offering detailed analysis on the trends that will define the conservatory sector through to 2021.

“Going forward as with the industry as a whole, the conservatory sector represents a mix of opportunity and some areas of potentially quite painful contraction through to 2021”, said Palmer.

“This will be influenced by product type and in many cases, style of installation. There will also be growth opportunities from some perhaps more unexpected areas, so the fortunes of systems companies, fabricators and installers will be very much down to how they position their offers now.”

www.palmermarketresearch.co.uk