Thousands of building firms have reported a rise in the cost of materials, according to the Federation of Master Builders (FMB).

New research by the organisation has revealed 70% of SME's have seen an increase in prices due to the depreciation of the pound following the EU referendum.

With additional 10% to 15% increases expected throughout this year, FMB's Director of External Affairs, Sarah McMonagle, said this could result in home owners seeing the cost of their building projects increase.

"Anecdotally, construction SMEs are already reporting an increase of 22% in Spanish slate and 20% increase in timber," she said.


"A quarter of all materials used by the UK construction industry are imported – this is significant and underlines the vulnerability of the industry to sudden fluctuations in the strength of our currency. The combined pressure of higher material prices and the rising cost of skilled labour represents a serious challenge to builders.

"What this means is that home owners could start to see the cost of their building projects increase. It also means that consumer choice may be reduced as some home owners face having to compromise on aspects of their project due to the fact that certain materials have become too expensive."

Ms McMonagle added builders are finding it more difficult to price projects for customers as material prices can come at short notice, especially if they are mid-project.

"Some builders are attempting to mitigate this by introducing larger contingency funds when pricing for a job, or by stipulating in the contract that the overall contract price will change in the case of material price hikes, making client budgeting more tricky," she concluded.

(LM/MH)