Forterra 2025 results: kiln upgrades and closures explained for project teams
Reviewed by Joe Ashwell
First reported on The Construction Index
30 Second Briefing
Brick and block producer Forterra delivered 2025 revenue of £386.0m, up 12.1% year-on-year, with adjusted profit before tax rising 62.9% to £36.0m despite muted aircrete and aggregate block despatches and an 8% fall in UK domestic brick despatches in January 2026 versus January 2025. Output gains came from both kilns at the Desford brick factory running simultaneously for the first time and near-complete redevelopment of the Wilnecote plant, plus strong demand for Bison precast concrete flooring. Statutory results absorbed £6.7m of restructuring costs from closing the Formpave and Bison Bespoke Precast divisions, while Forterra launched its Omnia extruded brick slip range at Accrington.
Technical Brief
- Forterra remains the sole manufacturer of Fletton brick, marketed under the London Brick brand.
- Brick volume growth exceeded overall UK market demand, despite exposure to a weak house-building sector.
- Statutory EBITDA slipped to £48.9m from £54.7m after restructuring and exceptional items.
- Statutory profit before tax edged down to £23.3m from £24.8m once exceptional costs were recognised.
- Restructuring included £6.7m costs from closing the Formpave and Bison Bespoke Precast divisions.
Our Take
Within our 37 Materials stories, Forterra is one of the few UK-focused building products groups showing double‑digit revenue growth while statutory EBITDA is flat to down, which signals that margin recovery is being driven more by restructuring and mix than by volume leverage alone.
The £6.7m restructuring tied to Formpave and Bison Bespoke Precast closures suggests Forterra is concentrating capital and operational focus on higher‑throughput assets like Desford and Wilnecote, which typically improves unit costs and delivery reliability for major housebuilders over a multi‑year horizon.
An 8% rise in UK domestic brick despatches into early 2026, against Forterra’s 12% revenue uplift, implies the group is likely benefiting from price and product‑mix gains in brands such as London Brick and Accrington rather than simply tracking underlying market volumes.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
Related Articles
Related Industries & Products
Construction
Quality control software for construction companies with material testing, batch tracking, and compliance management.
Mining
Geotechnical software solutions for mining operations including CMRR analysis, hydrogeological testing, and data management.
CMRR-io
Streamline coal mine roof stability assessments with our cloud-based CMRR software featuring automated calculations, multi-scenario analysis, and collaborative workflows.
HYDROGEO-io
Comprehensive hydrogeological testing platform for managing, analysing, and reporting on packer tests, lugeon values, and hydraulic conductivity assessments.
GEODB-io
Centralised geotechnical data management solution for storing, accessing, and analysing all your site investigation and material testing data.