OVERALL PERFORMANCE year-on-year

Focusing on the trading month of November 2021, Autumn was drawing to a close. For many, priorities shifted – with one month to go until Christmas, things may have felt quieter as work was put on hold due to money being spent on shopping and other festivities. One participant mentioned: “Towards the end of November clients started saying they would think about moving things forward after Christmas.”

Nevertheless, many participants are continuing to report increases and, on the whole, enquires increased. In a recent report released by the ONS, November saw a month-on-month increase of 3.5% in construction output. This presented the largest monthly rise in construction output growth since March 2021.

UK Landscape Barometer key highlights included:

• National turnover increased by 18%
• Projects increased by 11%
• Enquiries increased by 15%
• Conversion rates rose by 2%
• Enquiries increased by 26% for commercial landscapers
• Projects for domestic landscapers increased by 33%

Domestic landscaping

Domestic landscapers saw an average increase of 33% for projects, and turnover increased by 60%. Average project commencing time for domestic landscapers was three months, and conversion rates increased by 10%.

Commercial landscaping

Commercial landscapers displayed another positive month, with an average increase of 26% in turnover, and a rise of 26% in enquiries. Projects also saw an increase, 22%, and conversion rates were up by 38%.

One participant explained: “Clients are still taking longer to make decisions. However, more prestige clients are negotiating contracts rather than evaluating solely on price.” Although another participant mentioned the “the latest wave of COVID has dampened the market, again.”

Garden designers

Enquires for garden designers increased by 23%, and projects increased too, by 5%. A participant mentioned they are still busier than usual but “things are slowly settling.” Another participant said: “There are still lots of delays for materials and deliveries, but enquiries did pick up slightly after the October half term.” This could perhaps explain why conversion rates saw a decrease of -25%.

Design and build

For design and build companies, projects saw a significant decrease of -30%. Though on the other hand, enquires increased by 26%.

There could be some uncertainty circulating, one respondent explained: “At this point of the year I am usually well on the way to filling up the schedule from now up until February, but things are very different this year. So, we’ll have to see how it shapes up!

Nurseries and Soil suppliers

Turnover increased by 23% for nurseries, and quotes saw a small increase of 33%.

Soil suppliers were evenly split, with 50% experiencing an increase in quotes, and 50% seeing a decrease. There was also a decrease of -11% in turnover.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT THE UK LANDSCAPE BAROMETER FINDINGS

If you would like the full report or would like to contribute to the UK Landscape Barometer moving forward, please send an email to Gemma Lloyd on gemma.lloyd@eljays44.com or call on 01903 777 594.