Builders on roof

Construction projects increase as housebuilding thrives



The value of new construction contracts reached £5.8bn during August based on a three-month moving average, resulting in a 7% increase on the month, according to a new report.


The Economic & Construction Market Review from Barbour ABI found that the residential construction sector performed strongly and accounted for £2.7bn, the highest recorded figure since the industry analyst began tracking the series.

Barbour ABI found that the high level of residential work greatly helped the number of construction projects commissioned in August, seeing a monthly increase of 20% and up 15% on August 2016.

Commercial and retail building reached £785m in August, a monthly increase of 47%, while infrastructure (£696m) continued to struggle, recording a 44% decrease on July.

London led all regions with 20% of the UK’s construction contract value, while the North West accounted for 14%.

“The construction sector can once again be thankful for the strong showing of the residential sector, which provided £1.8bn more than any other sector in August, along with an increase of 55% compared with August 2016,” said Michael Dall, lead economist at Barbour ABI.

“It is encouraging to see the number of projects increasing steadily, particularly the larger projects from the commercial and retail sector.

“However, a lack of investment in infrastructure across August and for the most part of 2017 is not encouraging, as we haven’t seen many major projects come to fruition, especially after it was highlighted as a government priority earlier in the year.”



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