The value of all construction contract awards in July 2019 was £5.1 billion based on a three-month rolling average, which is a slight decrease of 1.8% on June.

However, yearly comparisons indicate that contract awards values in July 2019 were 11.0% higher than July 2018. In the three-month period ending July 2019, total construction contract awards were valued at £15.3 billion, which is an increase of 14% on the previous quarter and 13.8% higher than for the comparable quarter ending July 2018.

The number of contract awards in July was 1,011, which is an increase of 38.5% on June and is also 3.7% higher than July 2018. Regional analysis shows that London was the leading region for contract awards in June with a 32.1% value share.

Contract awards notify a construction firm that they have been selected as the company to fulfil a particular contract such as the construction of an office. They are often valued competitively by the different firms vying for the contract. Companies sometimes undercut contract values, just enough to cover the cost of builders, sub-contractors, or big blue easy float equipment needed to carry out the job. Though often is the case that a contract award is a non-negotiable amount determined by the contract giver.

The latest edition of the Economic & Construction Market Review from industry analysts Barbour ABI, highlights levels of construction contract values awarded across Great Britain. Analysis by sector shows that the largest share of contract awards in July was held by the residential sector at 39.9%. Commercial and retail was the second largest sector this month with 16.0% of contract awards and was followed by the industrial sector with a share of 13.6%. For those who are looking to expand on land for retail construction purposes, they will need to know the retail build-out cost per square foot to make the right estimations when designing the building.