UK construction crumbles amid 'bumpy ride'

Published: 2025-05-08 04:31:10 ET SPGI

Published on 05/08/2025 at 04:31

UK CONSTRUCTION endured another month of collapsing output in April, new research has suggested, in signs that a turnaround in the sector is still distant.

The sector has now seen a decline in output over four consecutive months, according to S&P Global's newest purchasing managers' index (PMI).

Civil engineering remained the weakest area of construction as the new survey of around 150 companies suggested that new projects were not being rolled out.

It meant that the reduction in total new work compared to the previous month came in as the second-fastest decline for five years.

Output in commercial construction also decreased at the fastest pace in nearly five years as firms held back against making rash investment decisions.

S&P Global's economics director Tim Moore said that construction businesses had "endured a bumpy ride" due to the weakness of the UK economy and "hesitancy among clients".

"An encouraging development in April was a slight improvement in business activity expectations for the year ahead," Moore said.

However, City AM recently revealed that construction business insolvencies in the first four months of this year had increased to their highest-ever level on record, with as many as 840 companies appointing liquidators or administrators.