Retrofit Market Intelligence 2025

01

Overview - what this report covers

797,891 improvement recommendations recorded across 47 distinct work types in 10 regions. One property can appear in multiple categories - each figure represents a specific improvement type recommended for a number of homes. The £3.67Bn market value is calculated from actual cost ranges in the dataset (cost range midpoint × recommendation count).

797,891

Improvement recommendations across different work types

One property can appear in multiple categories

£3.67Bn

Estimated market value

Cost range midpoint × recommendation count

47

Distinct improvement types

Solar PV is the most frequently recommended measure - 185,171 recommendations

13

Contractor work categories

47 improvement types grouped into 13 work categories · Floor Insulation appears in 27% of all recommendations

How market value is calculated: Each improvement type carries an indicative cost range in the dataset. The midpoint of that range is multiplied by the recommendation count to produce an estimated market value. This is an indicative figure - actual contract values will vary by specification, property type and contractor. All market values and recommendation counts are derived from EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) assessment data and reflect modelled improvement recommendations, not confirmed works programmes.

02

Estimated market value share - £3.67Bn total

The market is highly concentrated. A small number of categories represent the majority of the total estimated market value despite there being 13 distinct contractor work categories.

Estimated market value by work category

insight 01

Floor Insulation & Solar PV are neck-and-neck

Both represent ~£1.22Bn each - 33% of market value apiece. Despite different recommendation volumes, their average unit costs converge, making them equally valuable pipeline targets. Missing either means missing a third of the total market.

insight 02

3 categories account for 83% of total estimated market value

Floor Insulation, Solar PV & Battery, and Renewables & Low Carbon Heat together represent £3.05Bn. Contractors without capability in at least one of these three will miss the majority of available opportunities through to 2030.

insight 03

Wall Insulation is the fourth-largest category by value (£431M)

At 11.7% of total value, Wall Insulation is the fourth-largest category and the dominant work type in London. IWI/EWI specialists have a large, structurally underserved market in urban regions with older solid-wall housing stock.

insight 04

Smaller categories represent a bundling opportunity

Glazing & Doors (£67M), Boiler & Heating (£34M) and Roof & Loft (£34M) are smaller in share but represent genuine bookable contract value - particularly for contractors bundling multiple measures per property visit to maximise revenue per mobilisation.

03

Work category mix by region

How improvement recommendations are distributed across work types in each region (properties may appear in multiple categories). Yorkshire and North West carry the largest total pipelines. Greater London stands out - its Wall Insulation segment is visibly larger than every other region, reflecting its dense solid-wall Victorian and Edwardian housing stock.

Stacked Work Category Recommendations by Region

insight 01 - volume leaders

Yorkshire & North West represent over 26% of the national pipeline

Yorkshire (109,912) and North West (102,425) are the two largest regions - both driven by Solar PV and Floor Insulation. Together they account for over 26% of the entire national pipeline. Multi-year HA frameworks here offer the most scale for volume contractors.

insight 02 - london anomaly

London’s Wall Insulation towers above every other region

London’s Wall Insulation segment is visually dominant at 25,502 recommendations - nearly 3× the regional average of 8,600. Pre-1919 solid-brick stock where IWI/EWI is the only viable route drives this. A specialist market most volume contractors are not set up for.

insight 03 - category concentration

Three categories absorb 65–76% of every region's pipeline - except London

Floor Insulation (26–32%), Solar PV & Battery (22–27%) and Heating, Renewables & Low Carbon (16–22%) dominate 9 of 10 regions consistently. London is the only exception - those three fall to just 40%, displaced by Wall Insulation (28%). A national programme can be built on this top-3 pattern almost everywhere.

insight 04 - floor insulation hotspot

Yorkshire leads nationally on Floor Insulation demand

Yorkshire has 33,951 floor insulation recommendations - nearly double London’s 16,298. Pre-1970 houses with suspended timber or uninsulated solid floors drive demand well above average. A strong entry-point measure for contractors building a Yorkshire presence.

insight 05 - bundling opportunity

Floor Insulation + Solar PV & Battery are the top two in 9 of 10 regions

The same properties frequently need both - creating a natural bundling opportunity. Contractors offering combined programmes increase revenue per visit, reduce mobilisation costs, and access larger framework lots. London is the only exception, where Wall Insulation leads.

insight 06 - north east

North East: smallest pipeline, high Solar PV concentration

Despite the smallest total pipeline (38,700), the North East has one of the highest Solar PV proportions nationally. MCS-accredited contractors can build a focused regional programme with relatively limited competition compared to the Midlands or Yorkshire.

04

Regional market overview - recommendations vs market value

Regions ranked by estimated market value with both recommendation count (teal) and estimated market value £M (amber) shown side by side. North West has fewer recommendations than Yorkshire yet commands comparable market value - driven by higher-cost improvement types in its mix.

Regions ranked by market value - recommendation count vs estimated £ value

Yorkshire leads on both volume (109,912) and value (£533M). North West is close on value (£499M) with fewer recommendations - reflecting higher-cost improvements. East Midlands completes the top three at £456M. Together these three regions account for 40% of the £3.67Bn national market.

Regional detail table

Region	Recommendations	Market value	Top 3 work categories	National share

06

London deep dive - a structurally different retrofit market

London holds 11.2% of all 797,891 recommendations nationally. If demand were evenly distributed it would have 11.2% of each work category’s national total. The analysis below shows where London has more or fewer recommendations than that expected baseline.

How to read this

Imagine every region has exactly 1,000 properties that need retrofit work. Out of those 1,000, how many fall into each work category?

London: out of 1,000 London properties, 284 need Wall Insulation work

Other regions avg: out of 1,000 properties in a typical other region, only 99 need Wall Insulation

So London needs nearly 3× more wall insulation recommendations per property than the rest of England & Wales.

+25,734

Surplus recommendations above expected

Mainly wall insulation (+14,660)

−26,933

Deficit recommendations below expected

Solar PV (−10,465) & Renewables (−8,185)

9 above / 4 below

Category split vs national average

London’s housing profile drives the difference

London actual vs expected - grey = expected (11.2% of national), red = surplus, green = deficit

Expected (11.2% of national) London actual - above expected London actual - below expected

London needs far more of these per property than other regions

Wall Insulation (284 vs 99), Roof & Loft (86 vs 46), Glazing & Doors (56 vs 28), Hot Water Cylinder (57 vs 29). These reflect London’s older, denser housing - Victorian terraces, mansion blocks and converted flats where fabric works dominate.

Pre-1919 solid-brick terraces - no cavity to fill, so IWI/EWI is the only viable insulation route, driving wall insulation and draught proofing far above the national average
High density of purpose-built flats with flat roofs, original sash windows and ageing hot water cylinders generating above-average fabric upgrade demand
Large legacy stock of 1960s–80s council tower blocks with electric-only heating - driving storage heater and boiler replacement demand significantly above other regions

London needs far fewer of these per property

Solar PV (117 vs 247), Renewables & Low Carbon Heat (57 vs 158), Floor Insulation (182 vs 285). Leasehold flats, roof access issues and planning restrictions suppress renewable and floor insulation work in London significantly.

Most London homes are leasehold flats - freeholder consent required for roof works makes Solar PV and solar thermal installations difficult or impossible to arrange
Shared roofs in purpose-built blocks serve many flats - individual PV installations require whole-building agreement, rarely achieved in practice
Floor insulation is largely irrelevant for flats - the floor is another flat’s ceiling, so ground-floor exposure is far less common than in house-dominated regions

Full comparison table - London vs average of other 9 regions

Category	London recs	London % share	Avg other regions %	Index vs avg	London Rank	Signal for contractors

insight 01 - largest surplus

Wall Insulation at 2.9× average - London’s defining measure

Index 287. London’s 25,502 wall insulation recommendations dwarf every other region, with the largest absolute surplus of +14,660 above expected. Pre-1919 solid brick is the dominant wall type. IWI/EWI contractors who build a London presence access a market that national volume players cannot easily serve.

insight 02 - surplus

Roof & Loft and Hot Water Cylinder both nearly double the average

Roof & Loft index 187 (+3,230 surplus), Hot Water Cylinder index 198 (+2,286 surplus). London’s high proportion of 1960s–80s purpose-built flats with individual cylinders and flat roofs drives demand above every other region. Contractors offering combined cylinder + flat roof programmes are uniquely well-positioned in London.

insight 03 - largest deficit

Solar PV at less than half the expected rate - index 48

London generates only 10,543 Solar PV recommendations against an expected 21,008 - a deficit of -10,465. Leasehold ownership, shared roofs and conservation areas create structural barriers. Solar contractors should not expect a London volume comparable to Northern regions.

insight 04 - lowest category

Floor Insulation: London records just 66% of the expected rate

London generates 16,298 floor insulation recommendations against an expected 24,474 - a deficit of -8,176. London is predominantly flats where the floor is another flat’s ceiling, so ground-floor exposure is far less common than in house-dominated regions outside the capital.

07

Compliance gap vs total retrofit market - two views side by side

Left: 96,280 homes rated D–G that must reach EPC C by the 2030 Decent Homes Standard deadline. Right: total retrofit market value from improvement recommendations across all rated homes, in the same region order. The divergence reveals which regions have hidden retrofit opportunity beyond compliance alone.

D–G rated homes by region (must reach EPC C by 2030)

Estimated market value - all rated homes (£M)

The divergence highlights the difference between compliance-driven demand and total retrofit opportunity. Yorkshire and East Midlands rank high on both - worst-rated stock AND largest retrofit markets, making them the clearest priorities. North West is the standout outlier: only 9,674 D–G homes (5th nationally) yet £499M market value (2nd) - its large volume of C-rated homes still need Solar PV, floor insulation and heating upgrades. Compliance urgency and total market size are different things. Contractors who only chase D–G compliance work miss the majority of available work in regions like North West and East of England.

08

Strategic conclusions - what this means for RMI contractors

Five evidence-based actions drawn directly from the data in this report.

UK Social HousingRetrofit RecommendationsMarket Intelligence 2025

UK Social Housing
Retrofit Recommendations
Market Intelligence 2025