Forterra's spending leaves it in a tight spot as demand remains weak

The dreadful timing of Forterra's (FORT) £140mn expansion programme is evident in its results. The brickmaker sought to capitalise on the supply deficit that leads to hundreds of millions of bricks being imported to the UK every year, but has done so at a time when demand has fallen off a cliff. Brick despatches are down by 30 per cent, with the biggest falls experienced in the volume housebuilding sector, which made up 66 per cent of Forterra’s 2022 sales.