The Builders鈥� Conference said that during March 2015, construction contract awards topped 拢6bn, representing a mammoth 63% rise on March 2014 and a new record high for the organisation's data gathering service.
There were 14 contractors that signed more than 拢100m of new orders last month. Leading the way was Laing O鈥橰ourke, which bagged five major contracts for a monthly total of 拢713m. Balfour Beatty closed 13 new contracts worth a total of 拢574m.
Builders鈥� Conference CEO Neil Edwards said: 鈥淩eceived wisdom is that in the run up to a general election, the UK construction industry goes into a voluntary stasis, battens down the hatches, sits on its hands and waits for Westminster to sound the all-clear signal. 聽This time around, however, it appears that the industry didn鈥檛 get the 鈥榮it on your hands鈥� memo.鈥�
He added: 聽鈥淲hether this euphoria will extend beyond 7th May and the subsequent political fallout remains to be seen.聽 Tenders for the post-election period currently appear stable, although Labour鈥檚 stated aim to push the HS2 project into the sidings could impact industry confidence if Ed Miliband lands the keys to Number 10.鈥�
Full details and analysis will appear in the April issue of , out soon. The top 20 for March looks like this:
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