The ‘Brexit resistant’ glass and glazing industry

A major survey of glass and glazing installers has revealed how the industry is reacting to the current economic and political climate.

Improveasy commissioned Insight Data to survey more than 11,000 installers, asking them their views on issues related to the industry and the wider economy.

The survey began by focusing on issues directly related to the respondents’ businesses and showed that more companioes (64%) reported that leads in 2017 had increased – compared to the previous year – than those who said these figures had stayed the same or decreased.

Similarly, 41.17% of installers said they have seen the number of domestic project completions increase in the past year.

Most (over 60%) respondents also stated that their cash flow and employee numbers had remained steady.

Regarding the wider economy, 70.6% of respondents claimed that recent political developments had had an impact on their business.

However, installers may define this effect as either negative or positive and the statistics suggest that 2017 has been a reasonably positive year for many in the construction and home improvement industries.

With Brexit on the horizon – the UK is due to leave the EU no later than March 2019 – the survey also raised questions regarding the future of the UK economy.

Most installers responded saying that they believe GDP, exports, and unemployment will remain at their current levels rather than increasing or decreasing, perhaps indicating respondents’ uncertainty about the current climate. By contrast, 67.64% agreed that inflation will go up.

Looking forward into the year ahead, just over half (52%) said they expect their business to perform better in 2018 than it has in 2017.

Austin Barcley, Improveasy’s managing director, said: “Frankly, we’re all probably fed up of hearing about Brexit but it is an unavoidable issue that is having an impact on many sectors and supply chains in the UK. Overwhelmingly though, our industry is looking robust and installers appear to be confident about the future of their businesses.”

Improveasy provide installers with finance solutions that they can offer to homeowners.

Companies that partner with them can also access sales training seminars, alongside a host of innovative finance options.