Recovery underway for construction project-starts

The value of work starting on-site rose by 22% during the three months to August on a seasonally adjusted basis, although starts were still 32% lower than a year ago, according to Glenigan.

Residential starts during the three months to August were 34% lower than a year ago, but climbed 21% against the preceding three months (seasonally adjusted), and non-residential work commencing on-site declined by a third against the previous year. However, against the preceding three months (seasonally adjusted), starts climbed 29% during the three months to August.

Rhys Gadsby, Glenigan’s economic analyst, said: “Encouragingly, the vast majority of sectors experienced an increase in the value of starts during the three months to August against the preceding three months.

“However, the industry still has some-way to go, with the value of work starting on-site still sharply down on a year ago. The latest Glenigan Index shows a 32% fall in the value of starts during the three months to August against the previous year. With lockdown restrictions eased, we anticipate the value of starts to increase over the coming months.”

Rhys continued: “The health sector experienced the biggest increase in the value of starts, increasing by 86% against the preceding three months (seasonally adjusted) and was the only sector to be up on a year ago.”

For most parts of the UK, the value of starts during the three months to August were still down on a year ago.

The sharpest falls occurred in Scotland and Yorkshire and the Humber, with both experiencing falls of 50%. The value of starts in the north east, London and Wales were 46%, 45% and 42% lower than a year ago respectively.

The south west was the only region to experience a rise against the previous year, with the value of starts climbing 32%.