微密圈

Housebuilding returned to growth last month new figures out this morning have said but the sector鈥檚 revival was not enough to stop a drop in overall construction activity for the sixth successive month.

The bellwether S&P Global UK Construction Purchasing Managers Index hit 48.8 in June 鈥� up from 47.9 recorded the month before 鈥� but still below the 50 no change mark. Any score below this figure means contraction.

Housebuilding edged back into the black with a score of 50.7, a jump from the 45.1 figure registered last time. Kelly Boorman, national head of construction at restructuring firm RSM, said the rise 鈥渋mplies that recent government announcements to remove red tape and unlock new homes are finally mobilising projects despite market uncertainty around house prices and planning delays鈥�.

But the good news was offset by the fastest fall in commercial activity since May 2020 which slipped from 49.5 in May to 45.1 last month. Civil engineering activity continued to remain in the doldrums with a score of 44.2 and the sixth successive reverse.

The index added: 鈥淣ew orders decreased at an accelerated pace. This contributed to the weakest degree of business optimism across the construction sector for two-and-a-half years.鈥�

Tim Moore, economics director at S&P Global, said of the overall mood: 鈥淪urvey respondents widely cited fewer tender opportunities, rising competition for new work and a projected headwind from subdued business investment during the year ahead.鈥�

Rection to the latest figures was underwhelming with Gareth Belsham, director of Bloom 微密圈 Consultancy, saying: 鈥淓ven the most optimistic of builders would struggle to declare the glass half full.

鈥淵es, the overall contraction in industry workloads continues to ease and housebuilders even saw output rise in June. That鈥檚 the good news.

鈥淏ut on the other side of the ledger, commercial sector workloads fell sharply [and] infrastructure and civil engineering work contracted even more rapidly.

鈥淭he real cause for alarm is the continued decline in new orders - as they are the key to where the industry goes from here. Builders鈥� order books have got progressively thinner every single month in 2025 so far, and this is taking a severe toll on construction industry sentiment.鈥�

And Lloyds Bank鈥檚 Max Jones, director of infrastructure and construction, said: 鈥淏usinesses may be hoping that the government鈥檚 new infrastructure strategy generates momentum.鈥�

Business expectations for the year ahead cooled in June, with 34% of the survey panel anticipating a rise in output, while 18% expect a decline 鈥� the lowest degree of optimism since December 2022.