How UK construction can ease the capacity squeeze

With UK GDP growing by 0.1 percent in Q4 2022 and by the same amount in the first quarter of 2023, the country has successfully avoided a recession. In response, both the Bank of England and the IMF have upgraded their forecasts for the UK’s economic prospects in the second half of the year.

But few in the construction industry are celebrating yet. Construction demand remains weak, credit conditions are challenging and contractor capacity is becoming increasingly constrained.

Contraction seems to be on the horizon. While conditions are far from perfect, the current period of fragile calm nevertheless offers clients and their programme managers a valuable opportunity to take stock, recalibrate and identify new ways of tendering and managing projects more effectively.

At a glance