Industry News

2013 has been one of the most positive years for our sector in a long time. UK construction output reached its highest levels since September 2007, buoyed by increased forecasts for the UK economy as a whole from both the IMF and the Ernst & Young Club.

The two key drivers of growth have been housing and commercial. For the 12 months to the end of September, housing was up 15.6% with private commercial growing by 12.5% over the same period. Overall, business activity within the construction sector has now been rising for 7 consecutive months.

On the commercial side, the rate of expansion is the fastest since 2007 and the growth in new build office developments is continuing apace, particularly in London. Currently 5m sq. ft of office space is being developed in the Square Mile alone with a further 9.7m sq. ft of developments across central London as a whole. Obviously, the supply chain implications of this work are good with strong potential for fit-out and interior refurbishment providers.

The popularity of the Crossrail route, combined with strong demand from media, tech and telecom companies on the outer edges of the City are all underpinning this development. According to Jones Lang LaSalle, vacancy rates in the City are currently running as low as 3-4% and for the first time since 2010 we are seeing rental rises feed through.

Retail is also looking much healthier than at any point in recent history. The worst of the retail failures on the high street now seem to be behind us and with a marked increase in consumer confidence, prospects for expansion look good. 

In particular, the retail warehouse market looks interesting, with strong demand for space from the likes of Decathlon, Nike and Adidas - is that a knock-on from last year’s Olympics? Are more of us dusting down the running gear?

And, as the housing market improves, the outlook for the DIY sheds is encouraging as once again we take to DIY to do up our houses to sell (or paint over the interesting decor choices of the previous owners ...)

In terms of infrastructure, just last week the government unveiled The National Infrastructure Plan (NIP) as part of the Autumn Spending Review. It detailed a £375bn spend on communications, transport, energy and water projects. This is being supported by the insurance industry, which has pledged investment of £25bn between now and 2019. Comment from insurers such as Legal & General has suggested that whilst they are prepared to consider infrastructure investment, they may not confine their involvement to new build alone. They are also interested in looking at housing, energy, hospital and schools.

The treasury have stated that of the £375bn committed to the NIP, £115bn will be accounted for during the remainder of this parliament. £150bn will be delivered between 2015 and 2020, with the balance flowing through after 2020.

The projects outlined in the NIP are wide ranging and include:

•  Improvements to the A50 around Uttoxeter by 2016.
•  Support for the development of a new nuclear power station at Wylfa in N Wales.
•  The port of Felixstowe to benefit from improvements to the A14.
•  The redevelopment of the railway station at Gatwick airport with a cash injection of £50m.
•  A contribution towards Thomas Heatherwick’s garden bridge, designed to connect North and South London across the Thames at Victoria.

Turning to the residential sector, the Government’s Help to Buy Scheme has undoubtedly had a major impact on the housing market. Combined with an improvement in buyer sentiment as the unemployment rate continues to fall, this sector is well placed as we move into 2014.

Homebuilders in the South-East are getting an extra fillip with the announcement from Boris Johnson that he has pledged to build 420,000 new homes in the capital over the next decade.

Having negotiated £1bn from George Osborne’s £3bn affordable housing settlement to help fund this expansion 15,000 of the first wave of new homes will be affordable housing, with a further 5,000 being made available to private renters.

In a programme reminiscent of the housebuilding drive seen in the 1930’s, Boris has a vision of new garden suburbs springing up around London. These will be combined with the regeneration of existing urban areas, such as Barking Riverside, one of the first districts earmarked for development with the building of 10,000 new homes.