News
Glenigan - Fewer projects on hold as private sector confidence steadies
13/04/2010
For the second consecutive month Glenigan’s figures for shelved projects gave reason for optimism. The value of projects (under the value of £100m) that were put on hold in the first quarter of 2010 dropped 24%, compared to the previous 3 months, and were 59% down against the same period a year ago. There were 18% fewer projects put on hold than during the than the last three months of 2009 and there was also a 10% quarterly rise in the value of re-started projects.
Private housing prospects appear encouraging. Whilst private housing projects still accounted for 24% of new projects put on hold during March, the sector also accounted for 27% of re-started projects during the month and only6% of cancelled work. Office projects also performed strongly this quarter, as the value of work being put on hold falling 54% on the previous three months.
In contrast the public sector construction projects have accounted for a high proportion of project cancellations. In particular 46% of all cancellations during the first quarter were education projects. The rise in project cancellations is in advance of an marked tightening in government capital funding from this month and an anticipated slowing in new project starts.
Many regions saw marked declines in the levels of stalled projects. The East Midlands experienced a 57% quarterly drop, while the North West and London figures saw respective falls of 52% and 36%. Northern Ireland, however, did not fare so well. The postponement of projects such as the £12.86m school build in Bangor has resulted in the region recording a 32% rise in the value of stalled projects under the value of £100m. The region typically relies more heavily upon publicly funded projects, and so has suffered as public funding for education has dried up.
Article taken from the Glenigan subscriber newsletter - made freely available to CIMCIG members. See the current issue here - http://www.glenigan.com/newsletter2010/apr13th2010_custnews.asp
