FEBRUARY CONTRACT AWARDS RISE BY 11% BUT REMAIN BELOW
AVERAGE LEVELS In February 2021, contract awards increased by 11% compared with January to £4.7bn. This remains below average levels, but underlying activity has increased as no single project was valued over £200m. Similarly to January, distribution centres make up two of the top four contract awards.
The latest edition of the Economic & Construction Market Review from industry analysts Barbour ABI, highlights levels of construction contract values awarded across Great Britain.
Sector analysis shows that residential strengthened in February to £1.9bn with strong activity in the West Midlands. Infrastructure also picked up, rising £78% to £900mn following a disappointing January.
UNDERFLOOR CLIMATE MANAGEMENT LAUNCHES SERVICE TO PROVIDE HVAC
DESIGN EXPERTISE An experienced team of HVAC technical specialists is launching a new service to provide design expertise and systems for commercial developments.
UnderFloor Climate Management (UFCM), which is a part of the Polypipe group, will work with architects, developers and contractors to help deliver integrated underfloor heating systems for commercial projects including residential apartment buildings, hotels, student accommodation and office developments.
The service is headed up by Rachel Smith, UFCM Managing Director, who has a wealth of experience within the built environment sector. Andrew Coy, who has a solid background in developing heating products and systems for the residential and commercial heating market, joins the team as Commercial Director.
UFCM has been developed as a solution to the fast-evolving landscape of the HVAC sector with Net Zero Carbon targets, a move towards
06 | WHAT'S NEW
The industrial sector, led by warehousing, continued as the hottest sector, with two of the top four projects being distribution centres: a distribution hub in Wakefield worth £186mn and a Lidl distribution centre in Bedfordshire with a value of £100mn.
https://www.barbour-abi.com/zones/2103032-Snap-Analysis-March-Output-File-%20v2.pdf
Commenting on the figures, Tom Hall, Chief Economist at Barbour ABI and AMA Research said: “There was not a huge amount to see in February as planning activity was maintained; no pre-budget optimism to be seen. Contract awards strengthened slightly while planning
applications and approvals weakened. Approvals particularly are looking fragile. Elsewhere the significant activity in warehousing and distribution continued, and infrastructure contract awards returned to previous levels after a weak January.”
Download the full report here.
ground and air source heat pumps and the design demands of achieving the most living space for sale on increasingly small building footprints.
The UFCM team will work with architects, developers and contractors to advise on project design and specify the best design solution using a comprehensive range of underfloor heating systems for the project brief.
more renewable energy sources and a changing building design process drastically affecting the demands on heating design. These elements will impact on the requirements of developers looking to maximise the opportunities of the population growth and rapidly changing skylines across the UK’s major city centres.
There is now a concerted move away from legacy heating systems that are offering diminishing performance towards systems compatible with the available smart control technology, renewable heating sources such as
Rachel Smith, Managing Director, UnderFloor Climate Management, said: “UFCM is here to work with architects and consultants to design and deliver sustainable, usable and comfortable heating systems for the new generation of residential tall buildings, and large developments that are transforming how we live, work and socialise in UK cities.
“Our team offers technical expertise unrivalled in the industry, tried and trusted systems and a thorough understanding of commercial construction markets. We are already working with some of the UK’s major developers who see the value and longevity in using new technology and design methods and our team is going to be delivering large building heating systems that are fit for modern living and comfort and the changing face of office work.”
www.ufcm.co.uk
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