The demolition works market - France (2025)

1.2 The global market is growing

The global demolition market is estimated to be worth $***.* billion in ****, and $*** billion in ****, based on annual growth (***) of *.**%.

Size of the construction and demolition market France, **** - ****, in billions of dollars Source: ****

It's a growing market, made up of different branches, notably the construction and demolition waste recycling market, and the demolition robots market, the evolution of which is outlined below.

Size of the construction and demolition waste recycling market World, ****-****, in billions of US$ Source: ****

Global demolition robots market size World, ****-****, in millions of US$ Source: ****

The size of the global robot demolition market is expected to grow rapidly, with a CAGR of **.*% between **** and ****. This strong growth is fuelled by a rise in construction worldwide in the context of urbanization, but also by an increase in demand for robots and automation in the demolition industry.

In addition, the current global context is favorable to the development of the demolition market : in ****, while China is in the midst of a real estate crisis and some major real estate groups are going bankrupt, the largest demolition in Chinese history is taking place, with the demolition of ** skyscrapers covering an area of ***,*** m*[***]

1.3 Size of the French demolition market

Size of demolition market (***) France, ****-*****, in millions of euros Source: ****

The size of the demolition industry market has grown steadily in recent years (***), reaching a record value of *.* billion euros in ****. In ****, overall market sales were valued at just *** million euros. The national market has thus grown significantly, by almost **% in * years.

1.4 The impact of COVID-19 on the demolition market

The impact of COVID-** on sales of demolition activities (***) France, **** & ****, index *** in **** Source: ****

The graph above compares the revenue index of NAF **.**Z, i.e. demolition activities, in France between **** and **** to study the impact of COVID-** on the industry.

We can deduce that the pandemic caused the market to contract around April and May, when the revenue index fell below ***. In May ****, the value was ***.**; in the same month, a year later, it was **.**, a drop of **%. This drop is explained by the implementation of containment in France, which has put an end to commercial activity in the demolition sector.

By ****, sales in the sector had returned to and even exceeded their pre-covid-** health crisis level.

2.1 Demand drivers

The demolition market depends on several key factors influencing demand, which in turn depend on underlying events in the construction sector. We list and analyze the most important of these below.

New construction

This measure is important because more new construction correlates with more demolition. This follows the logic that new buildings replace old ones. In many cases, of course, it is also unused space that is chosen (***), and so demolition is not necessary. However, the proportion of buildings constructed on previously built-up sites is sufficient to consider the number of new constructions as a driver of demand.

New construction France, ****-****, in thousands Source: ****

Building construction costs :

Construction Cost Index (***) France, ****-****, base *** in **** Source: ****

The cost of construction has risen steadily since ****. In the first quarter of ****, the index value reached *,***, up **% on the first quarter of ****. Until then, almost every quarter since **** has recorded an increase in construction costs. There has been a noticeable acceleration in this rise, particularly in ****. This trend can be mainly attributed to rising raw material prices.

However, from Q* **** onwards, the cost index began to fall, although it remains higher than in ****.

This upward trend in construction costs could have a negative impact ...

2.2 Demolition permits

Number of property demolition permits France, ****-****, in units Source: ****

The number of demolition permits in France has been growing overall since ****. There has been a notable increase in the number of demolition permits since the years ****-**** compared to the years ****. In ****, **,*** numbers were issued , compared with **,*** in ****(***). Fewer demolition permits were issued in **** during the health crisis.

2.3 Geographical breakdown of demolition demand

In ****, the French region with the highest number of demolitions is the Grand-Est, with **% of all demolitions. In second place was Nouvelle Aquitaine (***).

In general, and in the light of other years, it is not possible to say that one region stands out more than another over the long term. there is also a high degree of volatility in the number of demolitions by region from one year to the next, although we can assume that the share of older buildings is higher in the above-mentioned regions.

2.4 An example of a demolition request: churches

Another small part of the market is the destruction of monuments, artifacts and churches.

Number of churches destroyed per year France, ****-****, in units Source: ****

Church demolition, described above, has increased over the past year, peaking in **** and **** with * demolitions. **** sees the destruction of two churches (***).

2.5 Demolition of urban facilities (bridges, roads, etc.)

Growing demand:

Certain types of deconstruction work are on a much larger scale than house demolition, and require truly cutting-edge technical expertise, as in the case of bridges, roads, prisons, blocks of flats, high schools and factories.

In today's context of urban decongestion, the creation of new green spaces, modernization, reorganization and rebalancing of the national territory, the demand for demolition of this type of structure is very high.

There is also a strong demand for demolished buildings or facilities where intervention is difficult (***).

Who can meet these demands?

To carry out these technical demolition feats, we often call on major construction and public works groups such as Vinci or Eiffage, through their demolition subsidiaries Cardem and Demcy, who are experts in this type of construction (***) and can carry out these highly complex tasks.

These groups therefore benefit from numerous demolition certifications[***]:

qualibat **** (***), aFNOR and Qualibat **** "Asbestos treatment" certifications mASE certificate iSO **** and ISO ***** (***) Qualibat **** (***)

To illustrate this very high demand, in **** Demcy was involved in *** deconstruction projects. Selective removal and sorting at source enabled the recovery and recycling of ***,*** tonnes of materials. In ****, Demcy generated sales of almost ** million euros.

Examples of demolition projects by Demcy (***) in ****:

Ford factory in ...

3.1 Market analysis

The French demolition market is fragmented; in ****, there were *** companies in the sector, with *,*** employees.

Number of employees and companies in the demolition sector (***) France, ****-****, in units Source: ****

Since ****, competition has intensified considerably, with an increase in the number of companies of over ***%. At the same time, the number of employees has risen by **%. On average, by ****, there will be **.* employees per company.

In other words, the industry has become even more fragmented since ****. Barrier entries are few and far between.

The Île-de-France, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Grand-Est regions have the highest number of demolition companies in France, with ***, ** and ** respectively. These three regions stand out for their high concentration of companies specializing in this sector.

3.2 Finance: is demolition profitable?

The data below, published in **** in the INSEE sector files, correspond to the year **** and are the most recent available to date. What's more, they cover a slightly broader scope than the simple demolition activity covered by our study, since they also include site preparation activities.

*These figures apply to the whole of NAF code **.* (***), which comprises three categories of which demolition is one. In other words, the code covers more than just demolition, which must be taken into account when studying the figures.

Between **** and ****, we can see an increase in EBITDA and net income, (***), but also in investments. However, wages, after rising between **** and ****, have since fallen.

Source: ****

3.3 Share of demolition companies in the construction sector

Distribution of the number of companies in the construction industry, by type France, ****, in Source: ****

Demolition companies represent a small part of the overall construction sector in France. Indeed, in ****, just *% of all registered construction businesses were demolition-related.

This reflects a certain structure of demand: the number of demolition companies (***) is very small compared to general construction work, which accounts forsince the number of demolition companies is very low compared to general construction work, which accounts for **% of all companies, the rate of new construction or renovation is much higher than that of building demolition.

3.4 Summary table of the demolition process

4.1 Service overview

The actual process of demolishing a building follows a fairly strict framework that includes preparation, execution and aftermath.

First of all, the executor needs a demolition plan that examines the processes involved in the actual event. This plan may include the following [***] :

the location of the building to be demolished ; the distance between the building to be demolished and adjacent structures such as other buildings, monuments, roads, etc. [***] : the structural support system of a building; building structural support system ; demolition plan: sequence, method, etc. of demolition; safety plan: covered walkways, safety nets, catch platforms, etc. ; method for handling construction debris; the time required for the procedure.

Secondly, demolitions involve the use of explosives or non-explosives. This in turn determines the need for equipment. Some of this equipment is listed below:

The rotary crusher ; The fixed crusher; Multi-jaw crusher; Demolition tongs; Concrete tongs ; Demolition grapple ; Universal shears ; Scrap shears ; Dismantling shears ; Hydraulic shears ; Hydraulic rock breaker (***) ; Mini shears ; Mini concrete crusher; Pole grinder; Demolition ball.

Source: ****

4.2 Price and cost analysis

Source: ****

The price of demolishing a house will therefore average between €** and €*** excluding VAT in December **** for a cubic meter demolished, whatever the surface area. This average cost will be increased if additional technical constraints need to be taken into account. So, for example, you need to add between €*** and €*** to the bill for a ton of asbestos rubble removed. [***]

In France, the price of demolishing a medium-sized house (***) ranges from €*,*** to €**,***, excluding VAT and including labor. The price mainly depends on the complexity of the demolition project and the region in which it is located. Naturally, larger cities have higher costs, with work in Paris being particularly pronounced.

VAT on demolition in France is **%. In the case of partial demolition, an intermediate VAT rate of **% may be applied if the demolition is compulsory to carry out conversion or maintenance work on a dwelling built more than two years ago and benefiting from this favorable tax rate.

Removal of asbestos-containingdebris generally costs between €*** and €***.

4.3 Residues created by industry

f Source: ****

In ****, around ** million tonnes of construction waste were produced in France. **% of this waste comes from the deconstruction of buildings. Three quarters is inert waste such as rubble, concrete, tiles or bricks, and around a quarter is so-called "non-hazardous" waste such as wood, plastic, scrap metal, packaging or plaster. Finally, less than *% is hazardous waste such as asbestos waste or solvents. In other words, the demolition industry faces a major recycling and waste management challenge, to ensure that its operations do not have a negative impact on communities and the environment in general.

To solve this problem, recycling channels are being organized, some of which are already well established. In fact, inert waste has been recycled for over ** years. Once sorted, crushed and sieved, inert waste is mainly used in road construction. In addition, technology is enabling more efficient and circular recycling; for example, research projects are underway to enable inert waste to be recycled in order to make it concrete.

Other construction waste that is increasingly recycled includes gypsum. Thanks to an innovative process, it is now possible to recycle both cardboard plaster and plaster bonded to an insulation complex. The recycled raw material is then fed into ...

5.1 Regulations

Who can demolish buildings?

To carry out demolition work, the person carrying out the project must be a professional holding a certificat d'aptitude professionnelle (***) and introduces partial access to an activity. Thus, since June *, ****, it has been necessary to hold a CAP, or a BEP, or an equivalent diploma, or to provide proof of three years' professional experience in the trade or part of the activity envisaged in order to be able to exercise it. A person qualified in a trade may, however, carry out the tasks of a related trade in the same group of activities without additional qualifications, provided that these tasks require skills similar to those used in the main trade. On the other hand, people who are partially qualified in an activity subject to qualification can only carry out the part of the activity corresponding to their qualification.

Registration with the Répertoire des Métiers is compulsory and also concerns micro-entrepreneurs (***).

Summary of regulations

The profession is subject to the Unified Technical Documents (***). These contain the technical rules for carrying out construction work using traditional methods.

For example, to use explosives, professionals in the sector must inform the Health, Safety and Working Conditions Committee (***). The transport ...

6.1 Segmentation

• Avenir Deconstruction
• Brunel Demolition - Premys
• Cardem (Eurovia)
• Occamat (EPC Groupe)
• Demcy (Eiffage)
• Snadec