The value of all construction contract awards in April 2019, was £5.2bn based on a three-month rolling average. This is a decrease of 2.1% on March but it is 5.7% higher than April 2018
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For the three-month period ending April 2019 total construction contract awards were valued at £15.9bn. Comparisons with the previous quarter ending January 2019 show an increase of 7.5% and this is also 5.5% higher than for the comparable quarter ending April 2018.
The number of contract awards increased by 26% in April following a 15% decline in March. Annual comparisons indicate that the number of contract awards in April 2019 is at the same level as April 2018. Thus far, 2019 has seen contract awards maintain a relatively steady level at between £5.2 and £5.4 billion indicating the continuing potential for steady underlying output growth into the medium-term.
How construction industry activity compared across the regions of the UK
Regional analysis shows that the North West had the largest share of contract awards in April at 15.7% and was very closely followed by London with a 15.2% share. The only other region to obtain more than a 10% share of contract awards in April was the South East with 14.0%.
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The largest contract award in April was in London and was the £250 million project by the University College London for a new Institute of Neurology/Dementia at the Eastman Dental Hospital site in Camden. The project will deliver 30,610 sq m of floorspace over in a 9-storey building. The Yorkshire & Humber region was the location for the second largest contract award in April with the £200 million electrification upgrade of the Trans Pennine Rail Route between Leeds and York/Selby. Valued at £200 million, the regeneration of the London Road Block in Camberley, Surrey was the third largest contract award in April which will provide a mix used site involving both residential and commercial units.
How construction industry activity compared across sectors
Sector analysis indicates that the residential sector continued to dominate in April with a 55.6% share of construction contract awards. The dominance of the residential sector meant that all remaining sectors account for significantly smaller share of contract awards this month with infrastructure the second largest sector with a 14.3% share and the third largest sector was industrial with a 12.6% share.
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The largest residential contract award was the £200 million Regeneration of the London Road Block in Camberley which will was awarded to Kier Property Developments. The largest contract award in the infrastructure sector was the estimated £200 million electrification upgrade to the TransPennine Route in Yorkshire which was awarded to VolkerRail Group Limited, J Murphy & Sons Limited and Siemens Limited. The largest contract award in the industrial sector was the £250 million development of the new UCL Institute of Neurology/ Dementia in Camden which was awarded to ISG Head Office.
