Tuesday 05 February 2019 5:35 pm | Updated: Monday 03 June 2019 1:48 am

Regional construction activity booming despite Brexit gloom, says Deloitte

Construction activity at four major regional UK cities is at record levels, despite uncertainty around Brexit causing industry growth to falter, according to research.

Accounting firm Deloitte’s regional crane survey covering Leeds, Birmingham, Manchester and Belfast showed growing activity across sectors including projects building office space, hotels, retail sites, education facilities and student housing.

Manchester led the way with 78 sites under construction – more than Los Angeles, Chicago and Seattle, according to Deloitte’s equivalent research in the US.

Simon Bedford, partner and regional head at Deloitte Real Estate, said: “That might have seemed like a remarkable stat a few years ago given Manchester only had one crane in the sky in 2011 but today the figure is a massive 78 sites under construction.”

“To have construction figures this healthy is somewhat of a surprise given a myriad of market uncertainties,” he added.

“Developer confidence is a key indicator for economic health and to have this many significant construction starts over the last 12 months, especially in speculative office schemes, is testament to the resilience of the regions and appetite for growth.”

The survey struck a more optimistic tone than the most recent IHS Markit/CIPS UK Purchasing Managers’ Index, which said the sector eased to its slowest growth for ten months in January as the industry lost momentum.

Output in commercial, residential and civil engineering construction fell from December and employment growth slowed to a two and a half year low, according to the closely followed measure of industry activity.