UK construction contract awards valued at £4.9 billion for August 2019
Published by Lucy Stewardson,
Editorial Assistant
World Cement,
According to Barbour ABI, the value of all construction contract awards in August 2019 was £4.9 billion, based on a three month rolling average. This is a decrease of 5.6% on July and a decrease of 18.7% when compared to August 2018.
However, in the three month period ending August 2019, total construction contract awards were valued at £15.2 billion. This is an increase of 2% on the previous quarter and 1.8% higher than for the comparable quarter ending August 2018. This figure has been held up by several substantial contract awards in June and July 2019.
The latest edition of the Economic and Construction Market Review from the industry analysts Barbour ABI, highlights levels of contract values awarded across Great Britain. The residential sector continues to dominate contact awards and held the largest share in August with 42.5%. Dominance by the residential sector meant that all other sectors have a much smaller share this months. Infrastructure was the second largest sector in August with 14.0% of awards, followed by education with a share of 11.4%, which was only marginally ahead of the industrial sector, accounting for 11.3% of construction contract awards.
The leading region in August was London, with a share of 17.0% of awards, followed by Yorkshire and Humber with a share of 13.5%, and then the East Midlands with 11.0% of all construction contract awards. The largest contact award in August was the £120 million development by the University of Leicester, for a new academic building and 550 space multi-storey car park on the Freeman’s Common site.
“The decline in project awards in August may be due to seasonality, and follows a strong June and July,” said Tom Hall, Chief Economist at Barbour ABI and AMA Research. “However, it is concerning to see a 18.7% decline compared to August 2018. The total value of contract awards was held up by the residential sector. While the Spending Review announced by the Government this month suggests future increases in investment for sectors, including infrastructure and medical and health, it will take a while for projects to commence.”
Read the article online at: https://www.worldcement.com/europe-cis/23092019/uk-construction-contract-awards-valued-at-49-billion-for-august-2019/
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