Ian Cheshire, CEO of Kingfisher, revealed that the London-based company is focusing on the do-it-yourself part of its business in anticipation of a surge in demand, on the back of the government’s Funding for Lending and Help to Buy schemes ‘breathing life’ into the housing market.
The DIY and professional building retail market in the UK shrank by £7bn between 2008 and 2012, but Cheshire is hopeful that this trend could rebound within six months of housing transactions picking up.
“If lending starts and these first-home buyers come back into the market, you will see do-it-yourself come back in,” Cheshire said.
House prices in England and Wales increased to a record in May as the availability of mortgages improved.
Gross mortgage lending rose by 17% last month to the highest level since October 2008, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders.
LSL Property Services reported that purchases by first-time buyers climbed to a 13-month high in April, with the number of transactions rising 15% from the previous month.
“U.K. government measures look well aimed at reviving first-time buyers, and with them overall housing transactions and DIY spend,” said James Griznic, an analyst at Jefferies.
“As a result, we expect a major U.K. like-for-like pick-up and margin expansion at Kingfisher.”
