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 (£)
Republic of Ireland670,000,000
East Midlands242,000,000
London176,000,000
South East170,000,000
East of England123,000,000
South West92,000,000
North West84,000,000
Yorks & Humber56,000,000
West Midlands50,000,000
North East44,000,000
Scotland25,000,000
Wales3,000,000

Planning approval totals by region:

RegionValue (£)
Republic of Ireland984,000,000
London567,000,000
South East268,000,000
Scotland261,000,000
Yorks & Humber189,000,000
East of England183,000,000
East Midlands181,000,000
West Midlands155,000,000
South West149,000,000
Northern Ireland148,000,000
North West126,000,000
Wales77,000,000
North East52,000,000

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 (£)
London648,000,000
South East578,000,000
Yorks & Humber94,000,000
East of England24,000,000
Republic of Ireland17,000,000
North East14,000,000
East Midlands14,000,000
South West11,000,000
Wales10,000,000
West Midlands9,000,000
Scotland8,000,000
North West2,000,000

Planning approval totals by region:

RegionValue (£)
London166,000,000
Yorks & Humber103,000,000
South East32,000,000
Republic of Ireland32,000,000
North West26,000,000
East Midlands25,000,000
Scotland14,000,000
West Midlands11,000,000
Wales10,000,000
South West8,000,000
North East5,000,000
Northern Ireland5,000,000
East of England4,000,000

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 (£)
London1,135,000,000
Scotland366,000,000
North West320,000,000
East of England168,000,000
South West157,000,000
South East68,000,000
West Midlands62,000,000
Yorks & Humber38,000,000
East Midlands38,000,000
North East37,000,000
Wales10,000,000
Republic of Ireland8,000,000

Planning approval totals by region:

RegionValue (£)
Scotland627,000,000
East of England425,000,000
West Midlands292,000,000
East Midlands231,000,000
South West145,000,000
Yorks & Humber140,000,000
South East123,000,000
Republic of Ireland91,000,000
North West73,000,000
North East17,000,000
London10,000,000
Wales9,000,000
Northern Ireland8,000,000

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 East317,000,000
North East211,000,000
East of England76,000,000
Republic of Ireland64,000,000
London59,000,000
North West44,000,000
West Midlands43,000,000
South West31,000,000
Scotland30,000,000
Yorks & Humber28,000,000
Wales23,000,000
East Midlands17,000,000

Planning approval totals by region:

RegionValue (£)
Republic of Ireland2,686,000,000
South East308,000,000
South West74,000,000
West Midlands61,000,000
Yorks & Humber46,000,000
East of England41,000,000
North East32,000,000
Scotland29,000,000
East Midlands23,000,000
Northern Ireland14,000,000
Wales11,000,000
North West6,000,000
London2,000,000

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 (£)
London171,000,000
South East113,000,000
North East52,000,000
North West41,000,000
West Midlands38,000,000
East of England38,000,000
Republic of Ireland18,000,000
East Midlands18,000,000
South West11,000,000
Scotland9,000,000
Yorks & Humber4,000,000
Wales3,000,000

Planning approval totals by region:

RegionValue (£)
Republic of Ireland86,000,000
Scotland66,000,000
Yorks & Humber62,000,000
Wales56,000,000
North West46,000,000
West Midlands36,000,000
East of England23,000,000
South East19,000,000
East Midlands8,000,000
London8,000,000
Northern Ireland7,000,000
South West4,000,000
North East1,000,000

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 (£)
North East355,000,000
London103,000,000
Scotland49,000,000
South East22,000,000
North West21,000,000
Republic of Ireland16,000,000
East of England16,000,000
Yorks & Humber14,000,000
West Midlands10,000,000
South West7,000,000
Wales7,000,000
East Midlands7,000,000

Planning approval totals by region:

RegionValue (£)
Republic of Ireland87,000,000
Northern Ireland25,000,000
Scotland20,000,000
London18,000,000
South East16,000,000
North West16,000,000
Yorks & Humber14,000,000
South West12,000,000
East Midlands10,000,000
East of England10,000,000
Wales9,000,000
West Midlands4,000,000
North East2,000,000

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 (£)
East of England672,000,000
Wales61,000,000
West Midlands50,000,000
Republic of Ireland48,000,000
East Midlands34,000,000
South West11,000,000
Yorks & Humber4,000,000
Scotland3,000,000
South East3,000,000
London2,000,000
North East1,000,000
North West0

Planning approval totals by region:

RegionValue (£)
Republic of Ireland56,000,000
East Midlands20,000,000
East of England7,000,000
West Midlands6,000,000
South West4,000,000
South East4,000,000
Scotland3,000,000
Northern Ireland2,000,000
London2,000,000
North West1,000,000
North East1,000,000
Wales487,500
Yorks & Humber330,000

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