Builders’ Merchant like-for-like value sales for November down -0.4% year-on-year

The latest Builders Merchant Building Index (BMBI) report, published in February, shows builders’ merchants’ like-for-like total value sales in November 2025 were -0.4% lower than the same month in 2024. With one less trading day in November 2025, unadjusted value sales were -5.1% down year-on-year, while volume sales were down -8.5% and prices up +3.7%.

By value, unadjusted for trading day differences, five of the twelve categories sold more in terms of value compared to November 2024. Renewables & Water Saving (+5.1%) and Workwear & Safetywear (+4.0%) were the best performing categories. Of the two largest categories, Timber & Joinery Products (-2.4%) sold less but fared better than Total Builders Merchants, while Heavy Building Materials was the weakest category overall (-8.4%).

 

Month-on-month, November’s like-for-like value sales were down -2.0%, which take into account three less trading days in the most recent month. The unadjusted value sales were -14.8% lower. Volume sales fell -19.3%, and prices climbed +5.7%. All categories sold less, however Workwear & Safetywear (-0.2%) and Kitchens & Bathrooms (-3.8%) fell less than the others. Of the three biggest categories, Timber & Joinery Products (-13.5%) performed better than Total Builders Merchants, Heavy Building Materials (-16.8%) declined more, and seasonal category Landscaping (-25.2%) was weakest.

In the 12 months December 2024 to November 2025, like-for-like value sales were up +1.1% compared to the previous 12-month period (December 2023 – November 2024). Without the adjustment for one less trading day in the most recent 12 months, total value sales were +0.7% higher. Volumes increased +1.9% and prices came down -1.2%. By value, nine categories sold more with Renewables & Water Saving (+4.3%) the front runner. Timber & Joinery Products (+1.1%) and Heavy Building Materials (+0.1%) grew more slowly. Decorating (-2.8%) was the weakest.

With two less trading days, like-for-like value sales for the year-to-date (January to November) were +1.4% higher than the first eleven months of 2024. Unadjusted, total value sales year-to-date were up +0.6%.

Mike Rigby, Managing Director of MRA Research which produces the BMBI report says: “While it takes years for governments to commission major projects, and many more years for them to be implemented, on occasion a government can have an almost immediate impact on the economy and our daily lives. At the start of the Covid pandemic for example, the Government virtually stopped the economy when it told everyone to go home immediately and stay there.

“During November, in the chaotic run up to the budget, the Government did it again. It created so much uncertainty and unease that many consumers and businesses stopped or paused their spending on larger items and projects until they could see what the Chancellor announced.

“In the event the news was mixed, but the damage was done to November’s figures.

“Consumers’ confidence dropped two points in November to -19, according to the GfK Consumer Confidence index. But then the country appeared to give a huge sigh of relief as the budget wasn’t as bad as they’d feared. All five measures of confidence were up in December compared to November, and the overall index recovered two points to -17. The major purchase index was up four points to -11 from -15 in November, which is a very positive indicator of future spending on RMI and larger home projects.

“But overall confidence at -17 is the same as in December 2024, so the year as a whole has not progressed, and the country is still waiting for the better times it voted for to materialise.”

Set up and run by MRA Research, the BMBI – a brand of the Builders Merchants Federation – is a monthly index of builders’ merchant sales, and the most reliable, up-to-date measure of Repair, Maintenance, and Improvement (RMI) activity in the UK. The index is based on actual sales from GfK’s Builders’ Merchant Point of Sale Tracking Data, which captures value sales out to builders from generalist builders’ merchants, accounting for 88% of total sales from builders’ merchants throughout Great Britain. An in-depth review, which includes commentary by sector experts, is provided each quarter.

November’s BMBI report is available to download at www.bmbi.co.uk.