CTSO IN THE UK: A BUILDING MARKET RICH IN POTENTIAL
This month, we look at the UK building market, where large-scale new housing development in tandem with extensive maintenance and renovation opportunities make it a natural choice for CTSO to locate…
As you would expect in a country with more than 60 million inhabitants, the British housing market is one of the biggest in Europe. And unlike some other countries, it is still growing – between 2002 and 2008 the number of new dwellings built in the UK grew from 181,000 to 215,000.
In the UK, there is a strong emphasis on owning one’s own house (rather than renting). As the number of new houses increases, so does the number of resident-owners – unlike the situation in France, for example, which has a more dispersed settlement.
Another striking characteristic of the UK building market is the potential for public renovations. Around 47% of the total renovation market is accounted for by public buildings, e.g. health, education etc.
The home improvement market
The UK, like most countries across Western Europe, offers huge potential in the area of home improvement, renovation and maintenance. In particular, the demand for environmental upgrading work is growing all the time, and this is of significant interest to CTSO .
The Guardian newspaper estimates that of the 18,000 or so buildings that are owned by the State, nearly 8,500 are considered to be ‘energy sieves’ in need of upgrading.
With a combination of strong growth in the new housing market and high demand for renovation work (in particular ecologically-driven improvements), the UK is an ideal market for CTSO – and its consultants.
