UK Builders still waiting for the 'Boris bounce'

The key results of the FMB’s State of Trade Survey for Q4 are: 21% of builders reporting lower workloads; 37% of builders predicted higher workloads over the coming months; Northern Ireland saw an increase in workloads and enquiries; The industry expects material and wage costs to rise over; 19% of builders said they had taken on extra staff.

“The end of 2019 was a very turbulent period in the UK, both politically and economically, with Brexit gridlock and a General Election.” said Brian Berry chief executive of the FMB “When you consider this, along with the bad weather we saw in October, it is not surprising that the order books of small and medium-sized construction firms took a hit. We know that many consumers were holding off making important spending decisions until the outcome of the General Election was known and this took its toll on workloads”

Mr Berry continued: “Builders are more optimistic for the for the future, however, with over a third of SMEs predicting higher workloads over the coming three months. We are yet to see if there has been a so called ‘Boris bounce’ yet, following the election result, but there are some positive signs. For example, employment levels amongst SMEs have returned to positive ground for the first time since the start of 2019. This of course, brings with it concerns around skills shortages, and SMEs continue to struggle to hire key trades such as bricklayers and carpenters”

“With the Budget due in early March, this provides a perfect opportunity to restore some confidence back into the construction industry. Builders will be instrumental in delivering key government objectives such as 300,000 new homes by the mid-2020s and reaching Net Zero carbon emissions by 2050. Radical policies will be needed to deliver these targets which should include reform of the planning system and a new strategy to make our existing homes more energy efficient.”