IN Brief:
- Travis Perkins’ group like-for-like revenue fell 1.7% in the first quarter.
- Merchanting revenue declined 2.3%, while Toolstation UK delivered like-for-like growth.
- The update points to continued weakness in materials demand from housebuilding and infrastructure markets.
Travis Perkins has reported a 1.7% fall in group like-for-like revenue for the first quarter of 2026, as subdued construction activity continued to weigh on its core merchanting business.
The building materials distributor said trading conditions remained challenging during the three months to 31 March. Its merchanting segment recorded a 2.3% like-for-like revenue decline, with activity levels still muted across parts of the market serving housebuilders, contractors, and infrastructure customers.
Group total revenue was down 3.1%, including the effect of network changes. In merchanting, total revenue was down 4.2%, with a network change of 1.9% reflecting the disposal of Staircraft in 2025. The division recorded price and mix growth of 1.0%, but like-for-like volume fell 3.3%.
Toolstation UK delivered a stronger first quarter, with like-for-like revenue growth of 2.6% and total revenue growth of 3.2%. Travis Perkins said the business continued to benefit from estate maturity and range development. Toolstation Benelux remained under pressure, with like-for-like revenue down 7.1% and volume down 8.8%.
The group said its merchanting businesses were making progress in passing through manufacturer price increases and delivering procurement benefits, while continuing to maintain market share in the general merchant business. It also said it would remain focused on managing overheads, identifying operational efficiencies, maintaining capital discipline, and improving cash generation.
The update shows the split condition of the UK building products market. Repair, maintenance, improvement, and smaller trade-led demand can provide some resilience through channels such as Toolstation, but large-format merchanting remains more exposed to housebuilding starts, infrastructure packages, and general contractor confidence. When project starts slow, volume pressure lands quickly in merchant branches.
The figures also highlight a recurring tension across the materials supply chain. Manufacturers are seeking price increases to recover input, energy, transport, and labour costs. Merchants then have to pass those increases into a market where volumes are soft and customers remain cost-sensitive.
Price recovery can defend margin, but it can also suppress activity if contractors delay purchases, substitute products, or reduce stockholding. That makes the balance between availability, price discipline, and customer retention more difficult, particularly where contractors are pricing work against short validity periods and uncertain workloads.
Merchant sales respond quickly to live site conditions. They are shaped by whether plots are being opened, subcontractors are active, civils packages are moving, and trades are buying materials for current work rather than sitting on future pipelines. A softer merchanting quarter therefore points to a market still waiting for stronger conversion from planning and tender activity into site demand.
Travis Perkins’ first-quarter figures do not suggest a sudden fall in demand, but they do show that recovery in the UK construction products market remains uneven. Volume weakness in merchanting, stronger Toolstation UK trading, and continued pressure in Benelux together point to a sector still adjusting to higher costs, cautious clients, and a project pipeline that has not yet translated into broad-based product demand.
