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Published: August 2017
Pages: 36
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About this report

This report reviews the UK pest control market. It quantifies the market size and historical growth rates, probes key factors behind these figures and explores segmentation of the market and drivers of profitability.

It also carries out an in-depth analysis of the relevant drivers of industry growth – in particular the macroeconomic environment and factors which determine volume and price for pest control work – setting out historical trends and forecasts.

Key trends in recent years have included changes in regulation, working practices and supply structure. In particular, there have been significant changes in local authority pest control provision.

We believe that, in order for those involved in the market to make the best decisions in this complex and changing environment, they need to have access to the best information and understanding of the trends and drivers. The aim of this report is to provide this.

It contains:
– Quantification of market size and historical growth rate
– Summary of market trends
– Analysis of the performance of leading pest control service providers
– Market and driver forecasts

It is intended for pest control companies themselves, as well as investors, banks, analysts, consultants and other parties with interests in the sector.

What are the sources and methodology?

This report is based on
– Publicly available data including company annual reports, websites, press releases and government statistics
– Interviews with service providers, customers and pest control market experts
– In-depth analysis of the macroeconomic environment and relevant market drivers
– Our own experience of advising companies and investors involved in the pest control and facilities management industries, both in the UK and elsewhere in Europe

Information from these sources has been synthesised and presented clearly and concisely with extensive use of charts and tables to illuminate points and support conclusions.

Report Highlights

Pest control market growth and drivers
The total value of the UK pest control market is now over £400m.
The market has grown from both increases in volume – driven by increase in the number of relevant premises, greater uptake of pest control contracts and trends towards higher service levels – and price
The chart shows how pest call-outs by local authorities segment by type of pest. It confirms that the main types of pest encountered in the UK are rodents (eg rats and mice), flying insects (wasps, moths, mosquitoes), crawling insects, (fleas, cockroaches, ants, bedbugs) and birds (pigeons).

Pest control segmentation

Key industry issues
Key value drivers include sales capability, customer retention, success in selling on higher service levels, increasing technician productivity and optimising business mix. The leading companies have launched initiatives across these areas.
Entry barriers to local pest control are relatively low with a history of new operators being set up by workers who have learned their trade while either working for a local authority or one of the large companies.
Market and segment entry barriers include accreditation – where a national register of pest control technicians has been created – and having the necessary scale to service national accounts
There is some evidence of both bundling of contracts with other FM services and in-sourcing of pest control by large companies.
Pest control is a relatively labour intensive business with technician salaries in the region of £14-25,000.

Competitive landscape
Rentokil remains the market leader, and is the best known brand amongst consumers, with a handful of other operators having the scale to provide a national service and many smaller providers, some of whom operate as part of franchise networks.
Other leading operators include Ecolab and MITIE.
Local councils have historically been significant providers of pest control services
– Many are reviewing their provision to meet government spending reduction targets with some having already taken the decision to either contract out provision of their services or withdraw them entirely.
– Numbers of local authority pest control officers are significantly lower than a decade ago.

Outlook
Forecast growth in the numbers of restaurants and hotels is likely to increase demand for pest control, as is the change in mix towards chains – who are more likely to have full-service contracts than independents. However, other trends such as closure of pubs and the shift of shopping from the high street to the internet are less favourable for the industry.
A key area for uncertainty is Brexit, given the role that EU legislation plays in regulating the industry, and the potential knock-on impact of lower economic growth.
.

About this report 2
What is this report about? 2
What does it contain? 2
Who is it intended for? 2
What are the sources and methodology? 2
Summary 3
Market background, growth and drivers 3
Key industry issues 3
Competitive landscape 3
Outlook 4
About Apex Insight 5
Company background 5
Consulting services 5
Related research 5
Research subscriptions 5
List of charts and tables 8
The pest control market 9
Market definition 9
History and regulations 9
Impact of regulation on the market 10
Customers and contracts 11
Market size and growth 13
International comparisons 13
Industry profitability 14
Market drivers 16
Discussion of market drivers 16
Drivers and their impact 17
Seasonal and geographical variations 22
Characteristics of the market 23
Entry barriers and accreditation 23
Value drivers 23
Competitive landscape 25
Main operators 25
Rentokil 25
Ecolab 26
MITIE 27
Safeguard 27
Pestokill 27
Prokill 28
Smaller companies 28
Local authorities 28
In-sourcing of pest control by customers 29
Outsourcing of pest control by public sector customers 29
Forecasts 30
Outlook for market drivers 30
Outlook for key pest control segments 31
Market forecast 33
Risks 34
Brexit 34
Appendix 35
Glossary of terms 35

List of charts and tables

Pest control segmentation by type of work / % of market value 9
Pest control market segmentation by type of customer / % of market value 12
UK pest control market size / £m 13
International comparisons: pest control market size relative to population / £ per head 13
Revenue per technician (employee) / £'000 15
UK GDP in current prices (money GDP), inflation (GDP deflator) and real GDP / % annual changes 17
UK Inflation: Consumer price index and GDP deflator / % annual change 17
UK food manufacturing turnover, purchases and gross profit / £bn 18
Number of restaurants and pubs in the UK / thousands 18
Number of hotel rooms in the UK / thousands 19
UK food retail sales / £bn 19
UK supermarket numbers / thousands 20
UK retail store opening and closure numbers / thousands 20
Density of new residential starts in England / dwellings per hectare 21
UK House building: permanent dwellings started / thousands 21
UK pest control market shares / £m 25
Pest control provision by local authorities 28
UK GDP in current prices (money GDP), inflation (GDP deflator) and real GDP / % annual changes. Historical and OBR 2017 forecast 30
UK Inflation: Consumer price index and GDP deflator / % annual change. Historical and OBR 2014 forecast 30
Outlook for market drivers 31

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