The latest report from Barbour ABI has shown September has been the second best performing month of 2018 so far, with commercial and retail contracts reaching £5.6 million – despite a 6.1% decrease compared to August
The latest edition of the Economic & Construction Market Review from industry analysts Barbour ABI highlights levels of construction contract values awarded across Great Britain.
The largest project in September was the £187.5 million 10 Bank Street mixed-use development in London, almost double the value of the second largest project on the month.
Three out of the four largest projects in September came from London. This has greatly helped the capital to contribute the largest share of commercial and retail contracts awarded for the month with a total of 18.2%
The South East added a 15.3% share followed closely by the North West with 13.1%.
Commenting on the figures, Michael Dall, Lead Economist at Barbour ABI, said: “The last three months has seen a renaissance for commercial and retail construction, with various large projects commissioned and a growing flow of confidence back into the sub-sector.
“However industrial was the only other sub-sector to see any sort of growth in September, as bigger sectors such as infrastructure and residential are struggling to break the monthly £2 billion contract value barrier consistently, an achievement that was found more regularly in 2017.”
Across the construction sector in September, commercial and retail projects reached £814 million, its best month since July 2016.
Three quarters of these projects were office-led, such as the £60 million Lidl Headquarters development in Chessington.
Infrastructure and residential, the two largest sectors within construction, both saw decreases last month, 11.7 and 5.9 per cent compared to the figures from August.
