The UK ventilation and air conditioning market is estimated to be worth some £0.95 billion in 2009, having declined by an estimated 17% in the 2008-2009 period. The core product sectors include air conditioning, with an estimated 52% share, ventilation with a 19% share and accessories with the balance.

Market decline in 2009 has been significant, reflecting the impact of the global economic crisis on the UK economy and on UK construction and engineering in particular. While the onset of the recession and construction downturn represented the principal adverse factors impacting on the market in 2008/9, financing constraints also impacted negatively on the market while anecdotal evidence suggests that the deferment of orders from 2009 into 2010 also contributed to the market decline.

However, many sectors of the market were sustained by positive levels of exports and after-market sales, reflecting the relatively high installed base of ventilation and air conditioning products in the UK market (and overseas).

Infrastructure opportunities include the £16 billion Crossrail Project which is likely to provide substantial long term opportunities for the ventilation and ventilation accessories sectors with around 22 tunnels to be ventilated in addition to stations and associated ducting runs.

It is likely that the cumulative impact of raw material, refrigerant and energy price rises will tend to add value to the overall market in the medium to long term.

In addition to the imminent public capital expenditure cuts, a negative impact in the domestic sector is represented by the continuing reduction in personal disposable income and in house moving levels which tends to adversely impact on the level of demand for ventilation products in particular.

The reported shortage of technically qualified air conditioning engineers is likely to represent a significant constraint, in terms of market development, in the future.

Current forecasts indicate that the UK market is likely to grow fractionally through to 2014, reaching a value of around £1.01 billion. This is slightly better than the overall forecasts for the construction industry, reflecting the greater and increasing emphasis on sustainability, efficiency and effectiveness of building services.

AMA Research’s report “Ventilation and Air Conditioning Market – UK 2010-2014” is available in hard copy or electronic format.

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