Search Acumen comments on ONS Construction output in Great Britain, 11 January 2019
Andy Sommerville, Director at Search Acumen, comments: “The UK’s construction output continued to rise at a pace at the back end of 2018, no doubt fuelled by the impact that a strong Help to Buy scheme has had on the residential sector, particularly over the last year. Building is booming.
“But not all is well that constructs well. The numbers are bright at first glance, but dig a little deeper and we see that private commercial developments in particular have struggled to get even, with output between September and November 2018 barely moving from the previous three months, and the most recent three months down 4% against average annual figures. It goes without saying that the Brexit clouds of uncertainty have likely driven this malaise.
“Our commercial real estate industry is the crown jewel of the UK economy. And while it may be that some investors are avoiding the sector completely, we hope many more are biding their time and preparing to take advantage of the opportunities that arise, post-Brexit.”
