Industry News
Southern
Builders Are
Growing
Despite Rise
In Costs
Construction firms in the south of
England enjoyed strong growth in the
first quarter of 2018, according to the
Federation of Master Builders (FMB)
South.
Key results from the FMB’s latest State
of Trade Survey, which is the only
quarterly assessment of the UK-wide SME
construction sector, include:
In terms of workloads, expected
workloads and enquiries, the combined
indicator for the performance of South
Eastern construction SMEs the balance
of responses remained clearly positive at
+17%, but fell by 6 percentage points
compared with the previous quarter,
indicating a slight fall in positive
responses;
In terms of workloads, expected
workloads and enquiries, the combined
indicator for the performance of South
Western construction SMEs, the balance
of responses rose 16 percentage points
in Q1 2018 compared with the previous
quarter, to +20%, indicating a marked
increase in positivity;
More construction SMEs predict rising
workloads in the coming three months,
up from 38% in the previous quarter to
49% in Q1 2018;
90% of builders reported increasing
material prices in Q1 2018, this is the
highest reading on record.
Housebuilders call on
Government to recognise
progress and not provide
ammunition for NIMBYs
Industry can deliver Government
targets but needs support
• Housing supply above 1950s
levels and on track to meet
Government’s 1M target
• Industry delivers fastest
increase in output ever
recorded
• Help to Buy supporting tens of
thousands per year into home
ownership
• Latest customer satisfaction
scores bounce back as industry
reacts to quality issues
• Investment by builders in
future delivery up
• Housebuilders made £6bn
contributions to infrastructure
and local services last year
• Private sector now delivering
half of all affordable homes
Housebuilders today called
on ministers to recognise the
achievements of the industry
in delivering the Government’s
housing commitments and meeting
every challenge Ministers have
Following Sajid Javid’s appointment
as home secretary, Theresa May
has nominated James Brokenshire
MP as the new secretary of state
for housing, communities and local
government.
laid down. The industry is well
on target to deliver the million
homes Government challenged
it to but is highlighting the risk
of negative rhetoric about new
housing supply “providing cover
for NIMBYs and energising anti-
housebuilder campaigners” and
damaging attempts to address the
skills shortage.
With housing supply now above
the levels recorded in the post war
years and up 74% in four years;
satisfaction scores released today
showing build quality is improving;
private sector builders providing
50% of all affordable housing as
part of community contributions
of over £6Bn a year; tens of
thousands of new employees being
recruited and trained; and a record
number of planning permissions
being applied for as the industry
gears up to deliver Government’s
pledges to young people and 300k
homes a year, the industry believes
Government should be recognising
the progress being made by private
sector housebuilders and working
with them to positively position an
industry that needs public support,
and more recruits, to deliver
Government targets.
Richard Beresford, chief executive of the NFB, said:
“SMEs have a crucial role in building communities and
place-making across all regions of the UK. SMEs have a
unique understanding of their local communities and smaller
development face less opposition. Carillion has, hopefully,
taught us not to put too much faith in the market’s larger players
delivering on public aspirations. A more diverse market that
encourages SME participation is key to fixing the housing crisis.”
The House Builders Association (HBA) – the house building
division of the National Federation of Builders (NFB) –
congratulates Mr Brokenshire on his appointment and looks
forward to working with him to promote the importance of SME
house builders.
With the share of SME house builders witnessing an 80% decline
over the last three decades, the number of home completions
went down from 242,360 in 1988-89 to 178,450 in 2016-17.
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