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 (£)
London577,000,000
East Midlands215,000,000
Republic of Ireland167,000,000
South East158,000,000
Scotland142,000,000
Yorks & Humber118,000,000
West Midlands112,000,000
North West109,000,000
Wales64,000,000
North East47,000,000
East of England45,000,000
South West38,000,000

Planning approval totals by region:

RegionValue (£)
London911,000,000
Republic of Ireland631,000,000
South East492,000,000
South West417,000,000
East Midlands304,000,000
East of England278,000,000
Northern Ireland264,000,000
West Midlands208,000,000
Scotland153,000,000
North West144,000,000
Yorks & Humber128,000,000
Wales92,000,000
North East26,000,000

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 (£)
London101,000,000
North West94,000,000
Republic of Ireland35,000,000
East of England29,000,000
South East28,000,000
Scotland11,000,000
West Midlands11,000,000
South West5,000,000
North East4,000,000
East Midlands3,000,000
Yorks & Humber3,000,000
Wales0

Planning approval totals by region:

RegionValue (£)
London394,000,000
South West276,000,000
North West56,000,000
Republic of Ireland46,000,000
Northern Ireland38,000,000
East Midlands19,000,000
South East17,000,000
West Midlands15,000,000
East of England14,000,000
Yorks & Humber10,000,000
North East8,000,000
Wales7,000,000
Scotland7,000,000

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 (£)
London411,000,000
Yorks & Humber133,000,000
South West107,000,000
Republic of Ireland93,000,000
East of England66,000,000
North West64,000,000
East Midlands55,000,000
Wales52,000,000
Scotland49,000,000
South East15,000,000
West Midlands14,000,000
North East5,000,000

Planning approval totals by region:

RegionValue (£)
Yorks & Humber747,000,000
North West344,000,000
East of England332,000,000
Scotland322,000,000
Wales154,000,000
South East133,000,000
South West118,000,000
West Midlands113,000,000
East Midlands86,000,000
London26,000,000
North East25,000,000
Republic of Ireland9,000,000
Northern Ireland4,000,000

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 (£)
Republic of Ireland164,000,000
London154,000,000
North West152,000,000
South West111,000,000
South East100,000,000
West Midlands55,000,000
Scotland47,000,000
East Midlands36,000,000
East of England31,000,000
Yorks & Humber12,000,000
Wales9,000,000
North East0

Planning approval totals by region:

RegionValue (£)
West Midlands551,000,000
South East161,000,000
Republic of Ireland88,000,000
South West86,000,000
Yorks & Humber74,000,000
Scotland52,000,000
East Midlands49,000,000
Wales42,000,000
London33,000,000
East of England25,000,000
North West14,000,000
Northern Ireland8,000,000
North East6,000,000

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 (£)
Republic of Ireland75,000,000
South West33,000,000
East Midlands28,000,000
London25,000,000
West Midlands23,000,000
South East19,000,000
Wales16,000,000
North West14,000,000
Scotland13,000,000
North East11,000,000
Yorks & Humber7,000,000
East of England6,000,000

Planning approval totals by region:

RegionValue (£)
West Midlands81,000,000
London70,000,000
South West63,000,000
South East58,000,000
Republic of Ireland36,000,000
Scotland31,000,000
East Midlands21,000,000
North West16,000,000
Yorks & Humber14,000,000
East of England5,000,000
Wales2,000,000
North East1,000,000
Northern Ireland1,000,000

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 (£)
Republic of Ireland109,000,000
London89,000,000
Wales67,000,000
West Midlands57,000,000
South East47,000,000
East of England42,000,000
Scotland37,000,000
Yorks & Humber29,000,000
North West26,000,000
South West5,000,000
East Midlands2,000,000
North East220,000

Planning approval totals by region:

RegionValue (£)
Republic of Ireland59,000,000
Wales44,000,000
South West41,000,000
East of England38,000,000
South East38,000,000
London37,000,000
Yorks & Humber16,000,000
North East13,000,000
Northern Ireland13,000,000
Scotland12,000,000
West Midlands9,000,000
East Midlands9,000,000
North West9,000,000

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 (£)
Scotland700,000,000
Republic of Ireland52,000,000
North West50,000,000
West Midlands13,000,000
Yorks & Humber12,000,000
East of England10,000,000
South West5,000,000
London4,000,000
South East2,000,000
Wales2,000,000
East Midlands1,000,000
North East1,000,000

Planning approval totals by region:

RegionValue (£)
Republic of Ireland49,000,000
Yorks & Humber20,000,000
East Midlands7,000,000
North West6,000,000
London5,000,000
East of England4,000,000
South East3,000,000
South West2,000,000
North East2,000,000
Northern Ireland1,000,000
West Midlands1,000,000
Scotland250,000
Wales0

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