The bathroom and kitchen POD market is forecast to see significant growth in 2016, with a new AMA report predicting that by 2019 it will be up 29% on 2015 levels.
The ‘Bathroom and Kitchen PODs Market Report – UK 2015-2019 Analysis’ estimated the market to be worth £137 million in 2015. The improved performance reflects a recovering UK economy, however, it still remains lower than its peak value in 2009.
The prefabricated POD market saw a rapid decline between 2009 and 2012, driven mainly by the economic crisis and downturn in the housing and construction sectors, which led to some major suppliers exiting the market.
PODs are said to provide consistency of build quality under factory conditions, speed up assembly and reduce trades on site – all of which, said AMA, will all help sustain market growth in the face of skills shortages.
Now recovering, the market continues to be dominated by shower-room PODs, with around half of the market value, followed by bathroom PODs. Kitchen PODs only represent five per cent of the market, with the wider variation in layouts, sometimes open-plan, meaning fewer opportunities for standardised POD units.
“The key sectors served by PODs, such as student accommodation, flats and apartments, care homes and hotels, are all expected to show growth in the coming years, perhaps with the exception of the MOD sector,” said Hayley Thornley, research manager at AMA Research.
“As the POD market has matured, new opportunities are also arising for refurbishment of existing PODs, alongside new build. Upgrading and renewal of POD interiors in student accommodation, for example, to compete with the quality of new-build projects, presents a developing area of work in this marketplace.”