Suppliers of building materials are expecting a good year, with more than 80 per cent of respondents to a survey by the Building Materials Federation confident of higher sales. However, the strong growth in recent years is expected to moderate.

More than 90 per cent of companies said that higher labour costs were having a significant impact on their business while 60 per cent cited higher energy costs as a concern. Less than 25 per cent said that staff recruitment was a problem.