Powered Now Homeserve, the repairs and improvement company is expected to announce pre-tax profits of £191 million.
These results helps to further demonstrate the UK home improvement, trade and DIY sectors are absolutely booming.
Homeserve Results
Homeseve, who also own Checkatrade (a Powered Now partner) was promoted to the FTSE 100 last spring and saw revenues of £536.7 million in the six months to September 30th 2020, this was up 17% on the same period last year.
These results are great for Homeserve, but also a fantastic health check on the whole industry and directly impacts the small and medium trade and construction sector in the UK, which employs about a million people.
Home improvement spending continues to increase
Home improvement spending nationwide has been growing at a rapid pace, despite the economic doom and gloom of a year in lockdown.
- One enabling factor for this is the steady increase in home values. Total homeowner equity and property prices continue to grow, which has allowed people who owned their own home to feel richer and more disposed toward putting money toward improving their homes.
- The Stamp Duty Cut, which we have covered extensively on our blog, has seen a range of new and existing buyers entering the market. Our research has shown that savings made by the tax cut are being directly spent on home improvements.
- Another factor is the age of the nation’s housing. The UK has a lot of ageing properties, and this is in spite of all the new stock built during the boom.
Improve then move?
In many cases the boom in home improvements is down to bored Brits looking to improve their existing property with a view to increasing its value later.
According to Rightmove, the number one reasons for wanting to move home include being closer to friends and family or to increase space (especially gardens). However with the Stamp Duty cut coming to an end many home owners are now looking to renovate and lock in value. This has provided yet another driver for rapid growth in this sector, especially for companies such as Homeserve and Checkatrade.
We Say
The growth at Homeserve and Checkatrade is both really encouraging and a boom to the small and medium trade sector. While lockdown is lifting in the UK we only expect this growth to continue as the domestic market starts to continue its recovery.
