East of England leads UK for industrial construction deals

The East of England accounted for nearly half the total value of industrial construction contracts across the UK in July.

This dominance was helped greatly by the 240-acre Gateway Park Distribution Park in Peterborough – set to bring more than 8,000 jobs to the local area.

The news from construction intel specialist Barbour ABI comes 24 hours after it was revealed that science & technology were driving a similar boom locally in the office market.

Barbour ABI, which supplies construction data to the Office for National Statistics, Cabinet Office and Treasury, says the value of industrial construction contracts across the East of England totalled more than £180 million in July.

This accounts for 44.4 per cent of the overall contracts awarded for the sector UK-wide – an increase of 40.2 per cent on July 2013.

The report also shows that the region accounted for 11 per cent of the total value of construction contracts awarded across all sectors in July, hot on the heels of London and the South East with 15 per cent each and the North West with 12 per cent.



Michael Dall, lead economist at Barbour ABI, said: “Industrial construction activity in July was at its highest since Christmas and the East of England was right at the forefront of this growth. This is largely down to the award of a £140 million contract for the 240-acre Gateway Park Distribution Park in Peterborough, which is set to bring more than 8,000 jobs to the local area.

“Warehouse and storage projects were the most predominant in the industrial sector last month, accounting for 58 per cent of contract value in July, and this doesn’t look set to change as long as sites such as the one in Peterborough are still ripe for development.”

Source: http://www.businessweekly.co.uk/