CSR could boost market says Travis Perkins boss

Next week’s Comprehensive Spending review might actually be good for parts of the market, according to Travis Perkins.

Chief executive Geoff Cooper told the Daily Telegraph that the CSR would allow consumers to “come to terms” with the scale and shape of public spending cuts.

He said that people have been “second guessing the spending cuts”, but that getting the review out into the open would let everyone “come to terms with it and get on with their lives”.

Yesterday’s trading update showed a 7.1% like-for-like growth in sales per trading day at Travis Perkins’ builders’ merchant division. However retail big ticket items at the Wickes chain had risen less in recent weeks.

Cooper also warned that there will be “a bit less building” by housing developers this winter.

“It is important not to get carried away with short-term indicators,” he said.