New research from Legal & General suggests Britain’s appetite for home improvement remains strong, with kitchens leading the charge in adding perceived value.
In its ‘Great Home Renovation’ study of 2,000 UK homeowners who completed renovation work in the past year, more than half (56%) said a kitchen remodel was the project most likely to boost a property’s worth.
The spend backs that up: the average outlay on a kitchen refit came in at £11,731, peaking at more than £14,000 in Wales.
For KBB retailers, the data reinforces the sector’s central role in a still-robust home improvement market. Legal & General valued the UK home improvements sector at £29.7bn in 2024 (5.1% uplift year on year) as homeowners continue to favour renovating over relocating.
The survey also aligns with wider market signals showing homeowners staying put. Almost half of those polled said they simply preferred to improve rather than move, while three in 10 cited financial reasons for staying where they are. Just 9% said they’d rather relocate than renovate in future.
Younger households were more likely to be driven by life-stage triggers, with 25- to 34-year-olds citing growing families as a key reason to start a project. Meanwhile, more than one in five respondents aged 55+ said they had taken on a renovation during retirement.
Renovation activity was particularly lively in Norwich and Bristol, where more than half of homeowners had undertaken work in the previous 12 months.
Although the “dream kitchen” is still high on the wishlist, the trend across the board is towards lighter-touch or smaller-scale projects. Some 85% of respondents said they carry out renovations “always”, “often” or “sometimes”, suggesting an ongoing pipeline of incremental work rather than large, single projects.
Unsurprisingly, funding remains a pressure point. Most homeowners dipped into savings (77%), while nearly a quarter used credit cards – a figure rising to 38% among millennials.
The average kitchen spend also rose modestly with age, from around £11,500 for 18- to 24-year-olds to more than £12,500 among 35- to 44-year-olds.
Looking ahead, 41% said they would be open to renovating again if needed, while more than a quarter described themselves as “excited” about future projects. Enthusiasm was highest in Yorkshire and the Humber (48%).
