Stadiums and data centres will help drive the North West building sector ahead in 2024, a new report has revealed.
The latest Construction Market Intelligence (CMI) from Rider Levett Bucknall shows the region’s property market is seeing investment across a range of sectors and that the outlook is looking more positive. Meanwhile another report published this week suggests the wider North West economy has returned to growth and is starting to create jobs.
Construction industry consultant Rider Levett Bucknall’s latest CMI report shows that despite tough economic conditions “Manchester remains a favoured city for private residential development and commercial developments” while Liverpool is seeing an increase in the number of affordable housing developments. It said the region was attractive to emerging industries including life sciences, advanced manufacturing, and materials research and hydrogen generation.
And it said: “While projects were slow to get off the ground in previous quarters, there are now signs that developers are more willing to progress projects and there are signs of a slow increase in bidding opportunities coming to market, suggesting a more optimistic outlook.”
As Liverpool FC , the report noted the ongoing , as well as proposals for extensions at Manchester United and Manchester City, saying: “the stadia sector remains key to the economic impact on the region.”
It said the data centre market was also growing, noting projects including . And it also said there were several ongoing projects in the energy sector, including major proposals for hydrogen projects and RLB’s work on a district heating network in Liverpool.
The report also showed that some inflationary pressures were cooling, with contractors increasingly willing to competitively tender projects on fixed prices.
Steve Gillingham, managing partner for RLB North West, said: "There are signs that developers are more willing to progress projects than in 2023, with a slow increase in bidding opportunities coming to market. Contractors are willing to competitively tender projects on fixed prices and risk margins appear to be reduced, or removed, suggesting a return to more viability and stability.
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"There are upticks in many of the sectors with existing work continuing and / or new projects planned including the data centre, energy and logistics and manufacturing, residential, stadia and educational sectors that will drive the continued growth in demand for sustainability buildings and infrastructure in the region."
NatWest’s Regional PMI survey for the North West, also published this week, saw its flagship index move into positive territory for the first time in six months. The headline North West PMI Business Activity Index measures the month-on-month change in the combined output of the region’s manufacturing and service sectors, with any figure above 50 showing growth. For January it stood at 51.5, up from December's 48.8.
Malcolm Buchanan, chair of NatWest’s North Regional Board, said: "The first batch of PMI data for 2024 indicated a positive start to the year for companies in the North West. Business activity picked up in January amid signs of improving demand, with the increase in workloads also benefitting the region’s labour market. Employment rose notably and at one of the quickest rates seen nationally in January.
"That said, it is important to acknowledge that the upturn in activity follows a downturn throughout most of the second half of last year, and that business expectations towards growth prospects for the next 12 months remain subdued by historical standards. Nevertheless, the latest figures on the whole are encouraging, and this also goes for the survey’s price indicators which showed slower increases in both input costs and output prices in January.”