The latest Glenigan Construction Review (May 2025) reveals a mixed outlook. Project-starts are up 33% over the last three months, offering a welcome uplift after a tough Q1.
But behind the spike lies a more complicated picture:
• Main contract awards are down 10% year on year
• Overall project activity is 17% lower than 2024
• A 52% spike in planning approvals is linked to just one major project!
So while green shoots are emerging, market volatility and political uncertainty continue to shape the road ahead.
The office sector performed poorly during the three months to April, with declines in project starts, main contract awards and detailed planning approvals against both the previous three months and a year ago. More positively, underlying project starts (less than £100 million) rose against both the previous three months and 2024 levels.
Data centres are a relatively small but fast expanding segment of the office sector. The surge of investment in AI development, alongside rising demand from more established uses of processing capacity, is spurring investment in new data centres. This is expected to help drive sector growth over the next two years.
You can read full details in the May Glenigan Construction Review here. This information can help you uncover where momentum is building and where confidence is still lacking. With the pipeline narrowing, a full view of the market is more valuable than ever for shaping effective strategy.
