Travis Perkins warns over cost rises for building materials amid Iran war

The boss of Travis Perkins has cautioned over price rises for building materials on the back of soaring energy costs, while higher fuel bills will bite.

Gavin Slark, the new chief executive of the UK’s largest distributor of building materials, said events over the last few weeks had already been affecting prices for the industry.

This has been prompted by the escalation of conflict in the Middle East which has disrupted oil and gas supplies, therefore sending wholesale prices soaring.

“In the last week or so, we’ve had communications from various manufacturing suppliers of ours saying they’re looking at energy surcharges or they’re looking at price increases to counteract energy rises,” he told the Press Association.

“If you’re very energy intensive then it’s a short-term pricing issue and it happens very quickly in terms of the price hitting your business.

“We’re very alert to it and we’re very aware of what the impact will be.”

Mr Slark said it was a “balancing act” for the retailer to pass on price increases “fairly” to its own customers but not “disadvantage ourselves”.

“I think our customers understand that energy prices are rising significantly therefore the cost price of the materials will be rising,” he said.

“I think if we can find a resolution to the conflict as quickly as possible that’s probably the best scenario in terms of managing pricing within our industry.”

The Builders Merchants Federation (BMF) revealed that the volume of sales of building materials dropped by 7.2% in January in the UK, compared with the same month last year, before the US-Israel war with Iran escalating.

The BMF said about 75% of building materials are made in the UK, but many of its members require energy for materials like steel, oils, resins and glass to manufacture goods.

Mr Slark also said rising road fuel costs could have the biggest impact on Travis Perkins, with a major part of its business being the delivery of products to builders around the UK.

He also said most of the products it sells were sourced within the UK but that there were “some small products brought in from the Far East” which could be affected by higher shipping costs.

Travis Perkins reported a pre-tax loss of £134.7 million for 2025, widening from 2024’s £38.4 million loss.

However, on an adjusted basis, which strips out the impact of one-off costs including accounting issues, it generated an operating profit of £133 million – down 12.5% year on year.

The company highlighted a stronger performance for its Toolstation brand, with revenues increasing during the year.

Travis Perkins’ share price was up by more than 5% on Tuesday.