According to Windows & Doors 2015, a new market report from business intelligence provider Key Note, in 2014, the UK market for windows and doors grew by 3.8%, with growth of 4.9% recorded over the 5-year review period between 2010 and 2014.

To a considerable extent, the overall market for windows and doors — both globally and within the UK — is dependent on the volume of construction output; both the newbuild sector and the repair, maintenance and improvement (RM&I) sectors account for substantial markets.

Moving forward from the 2008/2009 recession and subsequent economic malaise, construction in Britain is now back in growth, with output growing by 10.7% between 2009 and 2013, thus providing opportunities for the windows and doors market. Looking forward, it is anticipated that construction in the UK will continue to grow, in order to meet the escalating demand for the UK’s rising population.

For the RM&I sector, the installation of double glazed windows and doors in new buildings has the potential to reduce future demand in the sector, in the sense that modern products — with their enhanced durability — typically tend to last longer. However, the RM&I sector has tangibly benefited in recent years from the introduction of the Green Deal, which has fuelled homeowners’ demand to upgrade components of their home for both environmental and financial purposes.

In a global sense, the market for windows and doors is expected to be robust going forward, in particular in developing nations such as the People’s Republic of China and India, where construction output is forecast to develop at a rapid rate in the coming years. Additionally, the rising population of the planet will also inevitably lead to enhanced demand for housing and public buildings, thus generating further opportunities for the ‘new’ sector of the windows and doors market.

Key Note forecasts that between 2015 and 2019 the UK market for windows and doors will grow by 13.3%, buoyed by the rising output from the country’s construction industry, in addition to the anticipated new homes and public buildings which will need to be built in order to accommodate the UK’s expected annual population increases.