Data

Less than 1 per cent of social value created by construction firms comes via carbon reduction measures, figures shared with Construction News indicate. Data from construction software provider Compliance Chain shows that more than 98 per cent of the £6.8bn social value created through its frameworks comes from easy-to-achieve measures…

Output in the construction industry is expected to grow by 2.5 per cent in 2025, thanks to a recovering housing market. That is despite concerns around the Building Safety Act leading to “considerable delays” to some high-rise housing and commercial projects, the Construction Products Association (CPA) has said. The private…

UNDER PRESSURE Year-on-year revenue fell by 11 per cent at family-owned CN100 contractor Mulalley in its 2023/24 annual accounts. Pre-tax profit also fell from £3.1m to £600,000 in the year to 31 March 2024. Director Eamon O’Malley said: “This decrease underscores ongoing competitive pressures, the fragility of our supply chain,…

Construction output increased by 0.4 per cent in August, bouncing back from a 0.4 per cent contraction in July.  New figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show new private housing saw a spike in activity, with workloads increasing by 3.4 per cent.  New commercial work also picked…

SHIFTING SANDS Sand and gravel sales fell by 10 per cent in the second quarter amid road scheme uncertainty, according to the Mineral Products Association. Director of economic affairs Aurelie Delannoy said: “Government uncertainty is hurting our sector and the broader construction supply chain. The latest cancellation of the Stonehenge…

Building costs are set to increase by 15 per cent over the next five years, according to a new forecast by the Building Cost Information Service (BCIS). The data company said that tender prices will rise by 20 per cent in the same period. It also predicted that tender prices…

Rising turnover and slumping profit characterise the CN100 2024 index of top UK contractors, but the outlook remains broadly positive There is a saying among economists that “if you torture the data long enough, it will confess”. At Construction News we like to think that our interrogation techniques reveal the…

James Eager, director at Eric Wright Construction According to the latest figures from the S&P Global UK Construction Purchase Managers’ Index (PMI), the construction growth rate has reached a two-year high, providing yet another indication of the sector’s resilience and adaptability, regardless of the many negative pressures it faces.  “We…

The construction industry has moved closer towards meeting its net-zero ambitions but tough finances and a lack of data are holding back further progress, research has suggested. According to the latest biennial NBS Sustainable Futures Report, nine out of 10 respondents worked on projects with sustainable outcome targets, with almost…

The Construction Leadership Council (CLC) is abandoning a tech project aimed at eliminating retentions due to a lack of industry engagement.  In October 2023 the CLC announced it was launching a pilot project with trade body Actuate UK, Cranfield University and not-for-profit Get It Right Initiative to tackle project defects…