Builders Merchants Journal – BMJ Publishing to Builders Merchants and the UK merchanting industry for more than 95 years
MRA Building Market Reports (MRA Reports) has released its latest quarterly update on the general builders’ merchant market.
The UK Builders’ Merchants Q1 Update: Pulse & Forecasts report showed that, although market confidence levels haven’t improved, 41% of merchant branches expect their sales to increase in Q1 compared with sales over the same period in 2025.
MRA Reports director, Anna Eriksson comments: “In terms of the outlook for the market, demand remains weak, and Q4 2025 was disappointing for many merchants. We hoped that confidence would build as interest rates and inflation approached more normal levels, but the year started with new tariffs and a war in the Middle East, creating more uncertainty around material, energy and fuel prices, as well as a risk of supply chain disruption.
“However, though merchants’ confidence in the market is low, their sales expectations and confidence in the performance of their own business tell a different story. Some businesses are clearly doing well despite the challenging climate; some have even continued to expand in Q1. Other than that,
there are no obvious signs of a major uplift in activity in the short term, but we expect RMI work to start to recover this year and are optimistic for the longer term as more newbuild projects stuck in the pipeline are given the go-ahead.”
