The market for contractors shows no signs of improvement according to latest figures from trade association and market intelligence provider The Builders’ Conference.
An analysis of tenders submitted in the first quarter of 2013 by the organisation demonstrate no signs of “green shoots of recovery” as the number of new construction tenders remain very similar to the previous quarter. The Builders Conference has more than 750 members ranging from relatively small subcontractors to members of the UK Contractors Group.
“The worst recession in construction since the great depression is not over yet and with no major shovel ready projects lined up, businesses will have to maximise what contracts they currently have,” says chief executive Neil Edwards.
The number of projects tendered in the period is down 3% compared to the fourth quarter of 2012 and down 9% on the same quarter in 2012.
The value of these projects in the period is also down 60% (last quarter had 2 exceptional projects which have made this differential figure so large) compared to the fourth quarter of 2012 and down 15% on the same quarter in 2012.
Looking at the data by work category, red figures are still more prevalent than black over the period with the rail sector being worst hit mainly due to Crossrail projects already well under way.
By way of public spending this has slightly increased in the first quarter where the private sector has decreased by 7% showing the Coalition government’s idea of the private sector taking up the slack of capital expenditure has not quite come to the fore yet, says the organization.
However, the news on the Green Deal looked more hopeful as more than 9,000 Green Deal assessments have been lodged since the scheme launched at the end of January, according to new statistics from the Department of Energy and Climate Change.
The figures show that a total of 9,268 assessments had been lodged at the end of March, up from 1,803 at end of February.
Commenting on the statistics, Richard Griffiths, policy and campaigns consultant at the UK Green Building Council, said: “These new statistics are encouraging and it is now clear that there is real momentum behind the Green Deal and ECO. Businesses are clearly seeing the potential in the retrofit market with an increase in the number of companies signing up to be assessor organisations.
“However, the real proof will be how many of these assessments are ‘converted’ into installations. Long-term incentives will be key to ensuring that there is continued demand for the Green Deal and not just an initial bubble.
“It is also positive to note that many of our members have anecdotally reported an increase in demand for retrofit related services outside of the Green Deal which is likely to have been spurred by the news coverage and advertising around the scheme.”
The news comes as the government put £50m towards financing its flagship Green Deal scheme. The Green Deal Finance Company (GDFC) said it has that it has been backed by £50m of funding from government as part of its £244m initial funding package, which it announced last month.
The government has put £20m into the company and has provided a guarantee of up to £30m of contingency funding. The £20m will only be called upon once the other funding in the pot is exhausted, and the £30m contingency fund is only for use if defaults on Green Deal loans rise higher than expected. The contingency funding is provided through the government’s UK Guarantees scheme, which aims to underwrite infrastructure projects.
Sixteen stakeholders in the company also put in funding totalling £69m including contractor Carillion, insulation firm InstaGroup and housing provider Gentoo, reported Building.
