Office demand outstrips construction as new starts plummet Property New London office construction starts have fallen to their lowest level since 2004, just as businesses up their demand for workspace, says Joanna Hodgson On a frosty Wednesday last week, the famed panoramic view from north London’s Alexandra Palace, featuring a host of landmarks including the Shard and HSBC Tower, had an abundance of cranes [...]
Construction marks full year of decline in blow to Labour Property The construction sector has now marked one full year of a decline in output, according to a leading survey, blowing a hole in Labour’s ambitious housebuilding targets. S&P Global’s monthly survey showed the sector had fallen under a threshold for neutrality in output for the twelfth successive month. The reading for December was also the [...]
City watchdog fines ex-Carillion finance chiefs for market manipulation Regulation The City watchdog has fined the former finance directors of collapsed construction firm Carillion for their role in making “misleading” statements from the company. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said both Richard Adam and Zafar Khan were aware of “serious financial troubles” in Carillion’s UK business but failed to reflect this in company announcements. Adam [...]
Crane drain: Construction falls to 10-year low December 22, 2025 Commercial property development in the UK has plunged to its lowest level in over a decade, as tighter monetary conditions and sparse demand continue to weigh on construction. According to a fresh analysis from Costar, just 68m square feet of offices, industrial and retail sites was being developed at the end of September, a 16 [...]
UK on ‘recession watch’ as economy contracts amid Budget chaos December 12, 2025 The UK economy shrank 0.1 per cent in October – the second consecutive month of decline – as businesses paused investments amid consistent speculation about upcoming tax hikes in Rachel Reeves’ second Autumn Budget. The latest figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) dealt another blow to the Chancellor’s growth agenda as new [...]
Construction in worst downturn for five-and-a-half years December 4, 2025 The construction sector suffered its worst downturn in output for five and a half years last month, new figures have shown, in a warning to the Labour government as it hopes to build 1.5m homes by 2030. A monthly S&P Global survey showed that the decline in output rapidly accelerated over the month, with the [...]
UK manufacturing edges into growth territory for first time in over a year December 1, 2025 UK manufacturing has edged into growth territory for the first time in over a year following months of struggle piling onto the sector. The S&P Global UK Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index™ (PMI) hit a 14-month highof 50.2 in November, up from 49.7 in October. This placed the industry above the all-important 50 mark which indicates [...]
Construction sector delivers growth warning ahead of Budget November 26, 2025 The economic growth being promised by the government is in jeopardy unless the Budget delivers a boost for the construction industry, sector leaders have warned. Figures within the construction industry have said the delivery of key Labour infrastructure projects is at risk unless Rachel Reeves offers the “clarity and stability” needed by the sector to [...]
UK construction productivity still stuck in the 90s, warns industry body November 21, 2025 Productivity in Britain’s construction sector is now lower than in 1997, according to a new report. Decades of under-investment have left delivery capacity “dangerously thin”, a new report by Oxford Economics for the Construction Plant-hire Association (CPA), Half-Built Britain, has warned. CPA chief Steven Mulholland said the report should serve as a “wake-up call” for [...]
Housebuilding around train stations to be given default green light November 18, 2025 Planning proposals for homes around train stations will be given an automatic green light in the latest Government drive to speed up housebuilding. Housebuilders will be encouraged to build more homes within a 15-minute walk of transport links, and councils in England will also now be required to tell the government when they intend to [...]