THE STATE OF THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

2021 was an unpredictable year for many businesses, but the construction industry certainly had more uncertainty than most. With booming demand for new builds, severe shortages of building material supplies and significant price inflation, it was an unusually difficult period for many businesses to navigate.

Despite the challenges though there was a boom in construction. The rise has been largely driven by the need for more housing, increased warehouse space, the need for investment and growth in healthcare facilities and significantly the £3.6bn Towns Fund from Central Government which has supported economic growth across ‘struggling’ towns in England.

But this growth is nothing new, analysts Ibis World, reported that revenue for the Construction Sector has grown 3.9% year on year since 2015, making it the second fastest growing sector in the UK economy over the last 5 years.

The noticeable difference in 2021 was that many of the projects needed to be delivered to funding application timeframes and within the fluctuating conditions of the construction industry. For this our team developed new ways of working to meet the challenges which included the introduction of Covid contingencies in contracts to limit the risk clients were exposed to for building delays, two stage tendering to allow market fluctuations to have less impact on price and increased security checks on contractors to reduce risk of non-completion.

In 2021 our Building & Cost Consultancy Team used these processes to work on over 30 different projects. As 2022 now begins, we look forward to meeting the challenges head on and supporting our clients with the efficient and effective delivery of their projects.