12 COMMENT
to finance for SME builders in a way that would pay most dividends in terms of delivering new homes. The survey suggests, not only that poor loan to asset value or loan to cost ratios are now the biggest financial headache smaller builders face, but that, if the currently typical offer from lenders of 60 per cent to 65 per cent of project cost rose up to 80 per cent, then SME builders would be able to bring forward on average 40 per cent more new homes. If the Government can design policies that would allow this gap to be bridged, then it stands to reason that output will rise.
The acute shortage of skilled labour in construction is also fast rising up the list of concerns for SME builders and developers. The percentage of respondents citing a shortage of skilled workers as a major barrier to growth rose compared to last year. The UK construction sector is particularly reliant on EU labour, with just under one in 10 workers in the sector having been born in the EU. What’s more, EU migrants are heavily concentrated in London, where one in three construction workers were born in the EU, and fewer than half were born in the UK. The skills shortages will likely get worse still. Brexit and the end of free movement threatens to further exacerbate
the skills shortages we already have. It is unsurprising therefore that, when asked to look ahead over the next three years, more SME housebuilders cited skills shortages as a likely barrier to growth than access to finance. While we wait to hear what the post-Brexit immigration system will look like, we are hopeful that the Government will listen to the needs of the sector.
The results of the FMB’s 2018 House
Builders’ Survey were published in early September and launched in Parliament. Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government James Brokenshire MP spoke at the launch and Melanie Onn, Shadow Housing Minister spoke on behalf of the opposition. The launch was sponsored by JCB and JCB Finance. To view the survey in full visit:
www.fmb.org.uk/housing-and-planning
WWW.HBDONLINE.CO.UK
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