September rebound in construction output should be supported by lenders said Aldermore
Commenting on the ONS’s construction figures for September.
Charles Haresnape, managing director, mortgages and commercial lending at Aldermore Bank said: “After August’s unexpectedly low figures, increased output of 1.8% in September is a welcome sign from a vital part of the economy. While month by month data can sometimes give a slightly more volatile picture, output for Q3 was up by 0.8%, in line with the estimate used in the previous month’s preliminary estimate of British economic growth in the third quarter.
“In the first six months of 2014 alone, work has begun on the construction of 100,000 new homes in the UK, suggesting there are plenty of opportunities for skilled contractors to be working in the industry, but access to finance remains a problem for many smaller developers. In the 1990s, the SME and regional sectors (those building fewer than 2,000 homes per annum) built as much as 80% of new homes in the UK but over the past five years this figure has fallen to under 50%.
“The ONS annual business survey showed that the contribution of the UK’s non-financial businesses to the economy reached £1tn for the first time in 2013, with 8.1% growth, and it is essential that lenders support the construction industry to support a broad based recovery in the UK.”