Construction industry rises 20 per cent after booming August month in London

Traditionally, August tends to be a slow month for construction - rather like most industries due to summer holidays.

However this one proved very different, as the value of new contracts awarded has reached £5.8bn based on a three-month moving average, resulting in a seven per cent increase and the highest recorded figure since March 2017.

The latest edition of the Economic & Construction Market Review, from industry analysts Barbour ABI, has highlighted the levels of construction contract values awarded in August across all UK regions. Residential construction performed strongly and accounted for £2.7bn, the highest recorded figure from the company yet.

Commenting on the figures, Michael Dall, lead economist at Barbour ABI, said: “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 per cent compared with August 2016.”

London has led all regions with 20 per cent of the UK’s construction contract value in August. The city accounted for the highest valued project in August - the £200m 1 Park Place and Wembley Park residential development valued at £150m.

Shortly after, the North West region followed suit with a value of 14 per cent of the total with regards to an £80m development of Frontier Business Park in Blackburn.

Going back to London, the two largest projects were ones in Canary Wharf and the Intu Leisure Lakeside area in Essex.

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

Looking to promote your product/service to SME businesses in your region? Find out how Bdaily can help →