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Glue & Adhesives Manufacturing in the UK Industry Data and Analysis
The UK glue and adhesive manufacturing industry has navigated a turbulent landscape over the past five years, shaped by input cost volatility, shifting downstream markets and heightened import competition. A surge in global energy prices in 2021-22 squeezed profit margins, as raw material costs rose to levels that producers could not readily pass on to customers. While sectors such as construction, repairs, and packaging have provided steady demand, allowing manufacturers to maintain stable output, more cyclical areas, particularly automotive adhesives, faced headwinds from falling UK vehicle production. Meanwhile, import penetration has soared as buyers have sought out lower-cost adhesives from producers in countries like Germany, where economies of scale have yielded significant price advantages. Larger domestic manufacturers have responded by ramping up investment in automation, scale, and speciality products, seeking to offset price pressure with operational efficiencies and by broadening their product portfolios.
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What's included in this industry analysis
IBISWorld's research coverage on the Glue & Adhesives Manufacturing industry in the United Kingdom includes market sizing, forecasting, data and analysis from 2015-2030. The most recent publication was released December 2025.
About this industry
What's this industry report about?
The Glue & Adhesives Manufacturing industry in the United Kingdom operates under the SIC industry code C20.520. This industry comprises companies that manufacture glue and prepared adhesives. In total, about 30,000 different adhesives are used in a vast array of areas, from automotive engineering to footwear. Adhesives are an increasingly essential raw material input for a host of downstream industries. Related terms covered in the Glue & Adhesives Manufacturing industry in the United Kingdom include adhesive, curing, anaerobic, petrochemical feedstock and voc.
What's included in this industry?
Products and services covered in Glue & Adhesives Manufacturing industry in the United Kingdom include Anaerobic adhesives, Cyanoacrylate adhesives and Epoxy adhesives.
What companies are included in this industry?
Companies covered in the Glue & Adhesives Manufacturing industry in the United Kingdom include Henkel Ltd, Sika Ltd and BASF plc.
Performance
What's included in the Performance chapter?
The Performance chapter covers detailed analysis, datasets, detailed current performance, sources of volatility and an outlook with forecasts for the Glue & Adhesives Manufacturing industry in the United Kingdom.
Questions answered in this chapter include what's driving current industry performance, what influences industry volatility, how do successful businesses overcome volatility, what's driving the industry outlook. This analysis is supported with data and statistics on industry revenues, costs, profits, businesses and employees.
Products & Markets
What's included in the Products and Markets chapter?
The Products and Markets chapter covers detailed product and service segmentation, analysis of major markets and international trade data for the for the Glue & Adhesives Manufacturing industry in the United Kingdom.
Questions answered in this chapter include how are the industry's products and services performing, what are innovations in industry products and services, what products or services do successful businesses offer and what's influencing demand from the industry's markets. This includes data and statistics on industry revenues by product and service segmentation and major markets.
Geographic Breakdown
What's included in the Geographic Breakdown chapter?
The Geographic Breakdown chapter covers detailed analysis and datasets on regional performance of the Glue & Adhesives Manufacturing industry in the United Kingdom.
Questions answered in this chapter include where are industry businesses located and how do businesses use location to their advantage. This includes data and statistics on industry revenues by location.
Competitive Forces
What's included in the Competitive Forces chapter?
The Competitive Forces chapter covers the concentration, barriers to entry and supplier and buyer profiles in the Glue & Adhesives Manufacturing industry in the United Kingdom. This includes data and statistics on industry market share concentration, barriers to entry, substitute products and buyer & supplier power.
Questions answered in this chapter include what impacts the industry's market share concentration, how do successful businesses handle concentration, what challenges do potential industry entrants face, how can potential entrants overcome barriers to entry, what are substitutes for industry services, how do successful businesses compete with substitutes and what power do buyers and suppliers have over the industry and how do successful businesses manage buyer & supplier power.
Companies
What's included in the Companies chapter?
The Companies chapter covers Key Takeaways, Market Share and Companies in the Glue & Adhesives Manufacturing industry in the United Kingdom. This includes data and analysis on companies operating in the industry that hold a market share greater than 5%.
Questions answered in this chapter include what companies have a meaningful market share and how each company is performing.
External Environment
What's included in the External Environment chapter?
The External Environment chapter covers Key Takeaways, External Drivers, Regulation & Policy and Assistance in the Glue & Adhesives Manufacturing industry in the United Kingdom. This includes data and statistics on factors impacting industry revenue such as economic indicators, regulation, policy and assistance programs.
Questions answered in this chapter include what demographic and macroeconomic factors impact the industry, what regulations impact the industry, what assistance is available to this industry.
Financial Benchmarks
What's included in the Financial Benchmarks chapter?
The Financial Benchmarks chapter covers Key Takeaways, Cost Structure, Financial Ratios, Valuation Multiples and Key Ratios in the Glue & Adhesives Manufacturing industry in the United Kingdom. This includes financial data and statistics on industry performance including key cost inputs, profitability, key financial ratios and enterprise value multiples.
Questions answered in this chapter include what trends impact industry costs and how financial ratios have changed overtime.
Industry Data
What's included in the Industry Data chapter?
The Industry Data chapter includes 10 years of historical data with 5 years of forecast data covering statistics like revenue, industry value add, establishments, enterprises, employment and wages in the Glue & Adhesives Manufacturing industry in the United Kingdom.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the market size of the Glue & Adhesives Manufacturing industry in the United Kingdom in 2026?
The market size of the Glue & Adhesives Manufacturing industry in the United Kingdom is £644.3m in 2026.
How many businesses are there in the Glue & Adhesives Manufacturing industry in the United Kingdom in 2025?
There are 77 businesses in the Glue & Adhesives Manufacturing industry in the United Kingdom, which has declined at a CAGR of 1.0 % between 2020 and 2025.
How may import tariffs affect the Glue & Adhesives Manufacturing industry in the United Kingdom?
The Glue & Adhesives Manufacturing industry in the United Kingdom is likely to be significantly impacted by import tariffs with imports accounting for a high share of industry revenue.
How may export tariffs affect the Glue & Adhesives Manufacturing industry in the United Kingdom?
The Glue & Adhesives Manufacturing industry in the United Kingdom is likely to be significantly impacted by export tariffs with exports accounting for a high share of industry revenue.
Has the Glue & Adhesives Manufacturing industry in the United Kingdom grown or declined over the past 5 years?
The market size of the Glue & Adhesives Manufacturing industry in the United Kingdom has been declining at a CAGR of 2.6 % between 2020 and 2025.
What is the forecast growth of the Glue & Adhesives Manufacturing industry in the United Kingdom over the next 5 years?
Over the next five years, the Glue & Adhesives Manufacturing industry in the United Kingdom is expected to grow.
What are the biggest companies in the Glue & Adhesives Manufacturing industry in the United Kingdom?
The biggest companies operating in the Glue & Adhesives Manufacturing industry in the United Kingdom are Henkel Ltd, Sika Ltd and BASF plc
What does the Glue & Adhesives Manufacturing industry in the United Kingdom include?
Epoxy adhesives and Hot-melt adhesives are part of the Glue & Adhesives Manufacturing industry in the United Kingdom.
Which companies have the highest market share in the Glue & Adhesives Manufacturing industry in the United Kingdom?
The company holding the most market share in the Glue & Adhesives Manufacturing industry in the United Kingdom is Henkel Ltd.
How competitive is the Glue & Adhesives Manufacturing industry in the United Kingdom?
The level of competition is moderate and increasing in the Glue & Adhesives Manufacturing industry in the United Kingdom.
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