Brickmaker’s woes deepen the UK housebuilding gloom
News Source
•Mon, 02 Nov 2026 17:23:41 GMT
📰 What Happened
Ibstock, the UK's biggest brickmaker, has issued a profit warning. Sales in the third quarter were 22 percent below its own expectations. It is cutting production by a fifth.
UK brick market volumes fell 17 percent year on year in July and August. Ibstock's shares dropped 11 percent, close to their lowest since the company returned to the stock market in 2015.
Full-year earnings should land in the mid-40 million pound range, against about 60 million pounds the City expected.
🔍 The Backstory
British housebuilding has been slowing for two years. Higher interest rates make mortgages costly, so fewer people buy homes and builders sell fewer houses. Berkeley Homes said six months ago it would stop buying new land and hiring staff.
The government's new Your First Home scheme, a kind of Help to Buy replacement, was announced in the budget. It starts next April, but buyers may wait for the cheaper loans, which could weaken demand before then.
The government wants 1.5 million new homes in this parliament.
🎯 Why It Matters
Fewer homes built means higher rents and prices for everyone. It also puts construction jobs at risk in areas that depend on housebuilding.
Ibstock, the UK's biggest brickmaker, has issued a profit warning. Sales in the third quarter were 22 percent below its own expectations. It is cutting production by a fifth.
UK brick market volumes fell 17 percent year on year in July and August. Ibstock's shares dropped 11 percent, close to their lowest since the company returned to the stock market in 2015.
Full-year earnings should land in the mid-40 million pound range, against about 60 million pounds the City expected.
British housebuilding has been slowing for two years. Higher interest rates make mortgages costly, so fewer people buy homes and builders sell fewer houses. Berkeley Homes said six months ago it would stop buying new land and hiring staff.
The government's new Your First Home scheme, a kind of Help to Buy replacement, was announced in the budget. It starts next April, but buyers may wait for the cheaper loans, which could weaken demand before then.
The government wants 1.5 million new homes in this parliament.
Fewer homes built means higher rents and prices for everyone. It also puts construction jobs at risk in areas that depend on housebuilding.