Bristol builders buck brick bottleneck

News
27/04/2018

Bristol builders are bucking national trends – and managing to escape the worst of the materials shortages which are impacting small businesses across the country.


Fast-growing Helm Construction has avoided the ‘brick bottleneck’ by stockpiling materials – and maintaining a good working relationship with its suppliers.


Senior Buyer Adrian Pearson said:

“With so much work in the pipeline both nationally and locally it’s no surprise suppliers are struggling to keep up with demand.

“Rising prices have squeezed margins - as many small businesses are reluctant to pass the increases on to the client.

“We are seeing shortages in certain areas. In the main we are getting decent supply because of the relationship we have with material suppliers and sub-contractors. We also forecast a shortage in certain products and stocked up accordingly.

“There will continue to be pressure on material supply going forward and the pricing will continue to be effected by dollar/euro exchange rate.”

Adrian Pearson explained:

“A large proportion of the material used in construction is imported so fluctuations in the exchange rates have a significant impact on the cost to build in the UK.

“We are banking on this strong demand to withstand and offset the increases in material prices we are seeing.”


In certain parts of the country building firms are being told to wait for more than a year for certain brick orders.


Adrian Pearson concluded:

“By stockpiling the materials we need we have also avoided having to advise our clients to use alternatives to the materials specified.”


Helm Construction is active on a dozen and more sites around the West.