Construction Industry Sector Review by Barbour ABI

A monthly review to showcase the industry’s top performing sectors by region to give you the latest insights into UK construction trends.

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Previously available as a downloadable PDF, our Construction Industry Sector Review is now published directly on our website. This change makes the report easier to access, share, and revisit — no downloads or subscriptions required.

The Construction Industry Sector Review has one simple purpose: to enable you to see the hottest sectors in your region, and the hottest regions in your sector.

View the latest edition below⬇️

Residential

This consistently thriving sector has the potential for positive knock-on effects in other major sectors that you may be focusing upon. A large residential development may signal immediate commercial and retail opportunities, as well as future education and healthcare opportunities.

The sector also features a more varied set of criteria than you might think. The largest numbers in the sector may usually come from private developments, housing associations, and apartment blocks, but retirement homes, hostels, halls of residence, and barracks all factor into the numbers for this huge sector. If you are targeting any of these subsectors, then this is where your business needs to focus on.

Contract award totals by region:

RegionValue (£)
London510,000,000
Republic of Ireland243,000,000
South East230,000,000
South West199,000,000
North West176,000,000
West Midlands152,000,000
Scotland115,000,000
East of England110,000,000
North East65,000,000
Yorks & Humber52,000,000
Wales50,000,000
East Midlands46,000,000

Planning approval totals by region:

RegionValue (£)
South East864,000,000
Republic of Ireland573,000,000
London572,000,000
East of England396,000,000
South West281,000,000
North West254,000,000
West Midlands188,000,000
Scotland168,000,000
Yorks & Humber140,000,000
East Midlands118,000,000
North East110,000,000
Northern Ireland49,000,000
Wales35,000,000

Commercial & Retail

The success of this sector can have major impacts on both the nation’s wider economy and other construction sectors, such as the Residential sector.

The dynamics at play in the huge office subsector have changed significantly in the past several years, with the traditional office space battling for supremacy with the growing shared workspace industry. Combining this trend with the ever-continuing changes to the High Street, this sector is a vital one to pay close attention to when considering your strategy for 2025 and beyond.

Contract award totals by region:

RegionValue (£)
East of England326,000,000
London292,000,000
North West150,000,000
South West72,000,000
South East70,000,000
East Midlands59,000,000
Yorks & Humber36,000,000
West Midlands28,000,000
Wales23,000,000
North East8,000,000
Scotland8,000,000
Republic of Ireland6,000,000

Planning approval totals by region:

RegionValue (£)
London917,000,000
North West294,000,000
South East150,000,000
Republic of Ireland64,000,000
East of England35,000,000
Scotland34,000,000
West Midlands26,000,000
South West24,000,000
Yorks & Humber15,000,000
North East12,000,000
Wales12,000,000
East Midlands4,000,000
Northern Ireland3,000,000

Infrastructure

This sector tends to be dominated by large-scale projects. It encompasses everything from motorway/road works, power facilities, utility plants, and rail improvements to station upgrades and new builds.

Major contractors tend to be key players in this sector. On the client side, government bodies, local councils, and large-scale utilities businesses will consistently be involved and will be looking for partners on their major projects. If any of these organisations are the types of business that you want to target, then this is the sector for you to focus on.

Contract award totals by region:

RegionValue (£)
South East962,000,000
London452,000,000
Scotland359,000,000
East of England300,000,000
East Midlands162,000,000
Yorks & Humber100,000,000
South West99,000,000
North East78,000,000
West Midlands64,000,000
Republic of Ireland45,000,000
Wales40,000,000
North West14,000,000

Planning approval totals by region:

RegionValue (£)
Scotland3,416,000,000
North West1,515,000,000
West Midlands656,000,000
Republic of Ireland470,000,000
South West399,000,000
East of England380,000,000
South East357,000,000
East Midlands230,000,000
North East227,000,000
Yorks & Humber154,000,000
London44,000,000
Wales22,000,000
Northern Ireland1,000,000

Industrial

With this sector encompassing a wide array of major works, the opportunity for connections is vast and features figures across a distinct scope of industries.

In recent times we have seen the warehouse subsector boom, at least in part down to the move for retail to online shopping, seeing major retailers move from city centre storefronts to large out-of-town distribution centres. Tracking the key players in this industry could be a vital factor for those wanting to find success in the Industrial sector.

There are huge opportunities to connect with large developers and major contractors in industries as varied as food production, scientific/research and development fields, agriculture, chemicals, retail, and many more.

Contract award totals by region:

RegionValue (£)
South West169,000,000
North West112,000,000
South East73,000,000
East of England70,000,000
Wales69,000,000
East Midlands66,000,000
Yorks & Humber61,000,000
Republic of Ireland45,000,000
West Midlands24,000,000
Scotland18,000,000
London9,000,000
North East4,000,000

Planning approval totals by region:

RegionValue (£)
Wales1,256,000,000
Yorks & Humber165,000,000
South East101,000,000
East of England84,000,000
North East70,000,000
West Midlands63,000,000
Republic of Ireland62,000,000
Scotland58,000,000
North West51,000,000
South West45,000,000
East Midlands24,000,000
Northern Ireland18,000,000
London8,000,000

Education

The Education sector stretches further than the traditional state schools that may be typically thought of when considering this sector.

Nurseries, private schools, colleges, universities, special requirement schools, and training centres are all part of this permanently important sector.

Whilst its monthly figures may not be as consistently high as some other sectors, the vital need for education to continue to improve should ensure that projects are always in play. With Barbour ABI you can find contact details of the key players of every education project in the regions that you want to target.

Contract award totals by region:

RegionValue (£)
North West202,000,000
East of England117,000,000
Scotland81,000,000
Yorks & Humber72,000,000
West Midlands62,000,000
South West62,000,000
London60,000,000
East Midlands34,000,000
South East34,000,000
North East31,000,000
Wales18,000,000
Republic of Ireland11,000,000

Planning approval totals by region:

RegionValue (£)
East of England214,000,000
West Midlands86,000,000
North West74,000,000
London51,000,000
Scotland33,000,000
East Midlands29,000,000
Yorks & Humber28,000,000
Republic of Ireland24,000,000
Wales21,000,000
South West19,000,000
South East19,000,000
Northern Ireland18,000,000
North East2,000,000

Hotel, Leisure & Sport

The Hotel, Leisure and Sport sector features exactly what it says on the tin. Hotels, motels, pubs, and restaurants frequently dominate the sector. Whilst leisure centres, arenas, stadia, and exhibition centres are the drivers of success in the leisure and sport subsectors.

With such a variety of activity in the sector, there are opportunities for you to target key figures from private hotel chains of all sizes, local councils, sports teams & leagues, major events businesses and many more fields.

Contract award totals by region:

RegionValue (£)
Scotland172,000,000
London105,000,000
South East48,000,000
North East38,000,000
West Midlands32,000,000
North West25,000,000
Yorks & Humber24,000,000
East of England21,000,000
Republic of Ireland20,000,000
South West17,000,000
East Midlands10,000,000
Wales1,000,000

Planning approval totals by region:

RegionValue (£)
London152,000,000
South East76,000,000
Scotland55,000,000
East of England49,000,000
North West43,000,000
Republic of Ireland39,000,000
North East37,000,000
West Midlands37,000,000
Northern Ireland29,000,000
South West19,000,000
East Midlands15,000,000
Yorks & Humber12,000,000
Wales8,000,000

Medical & Healthcare

With a Labour government taking power in 2024, there may be a greater focus on the Healthcare sector in the coming years. Government schemes to build or refurbish a number of hospitals before 2039 will also have a major impact on the opportunities available in the sector.

The opportunities in medical and healthcare include: public and private hospitals, secure facilities, surgeries, health and medical centres, hospices, nursing homes, veterinary services, and more. NHS Trusts, local governments and private healthcare providers are the clients most consistently involved in medical and healthcare projects that you should aim to follow and target if you are looking to grow within this sector

Contract award totals by region:

RegionValue (£)
North West60,000,000
West Midlands33,000,000
East Midlands32,000,000
Yorks & Humber25,000,000
London16,000,000
East of England16,000,000
Republic of Ireland9,000,000
South West3,000,000
North East1,000,000
South East482,000
Scotland360,000
Wales0

Planning approval totals by region:

RegionValue (£)
Republic of Ireland49,000,000
Yorks & Humber18,000,000
East Midlands11,000,000
North West9,000,000
South East7,000,000
London4,000,000
East of England4,000,000
North East3,000,000
South West1,000,000
West Midlands1,000,000
Scotland397,000
Wales344,000
Northern Ireland176,000

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