Project starts and detailed planning approvals decreased compared to both the previous quarter and the previous year. More positively, main contract awards grew on a year ago.
Offices overview
Office work starting on site totalled £1.23bn during the three months to November, a 39 per cent decline compared with the preceding quarter, to stand 35 per cent down on the previous year. No major projects (£100m or more) started on site, a decrease compared with the previous quarter and a year ago. Underlying starts (less than £100m in value), in contrast, grew 24 per cent compared with the preceding three months on a seasonally adjusted (SA) basis and were 2 per cent higher than a year ago.
Totalling £1.71bn, office main contract awards decreased 20 per cent compared with the preceding three months to stand 6 per cent up on the previous year. Major projects totalled £845m during the period; a 38 per cent decrease compared with the preceding three months but a 47 per cent increase on the previous year. Underlying contract awards increased 12 per cent compared with the preceding three months (SA) but declined by 17 per cent compared with the previous year to total £867m.
Office detailed planning approvals, totalling £2.21bn, slipped back 34 per cent on the preceding three months and 59 per cent compared with last year. Major project approvals were 63 per cent down compared with the preceding three months and 79 per cent down on a year ago, totalling £850m. In contrast, underlying project approvals were 21 per cent up (SA) compared with the previous quarter and increased 5 per cent on a year ago, to total £1.36bn.
Size of office projects
The ‘£50m to £100m’ value band jumped 111 per cent year-on-year to total £653m. In contrast, starts in the ‘£20m to £50m’ value band fell 39 per cent year-on-year, totalling £276m. The ‘Up to £5m’ value band decreased 11 per cent year-on-year to total £151m.
Project starts in the ‘£10m to £20m’ value band fell 2 per cent year-on-year, totalling £105m. Project starts in the ‘£5m to £10m’ value band faced a 73 per cent decline year-on-year to £41m. There were no starts in the ‘Over £100m’ value band, marking a decline compared with the same period last year.
Regional
London was the most active area of the UK for office starts, accounting for 63 per cent of the total value during the three months to November, despite the value having decreased 45 per cent compared with the previous year’s levels. Office work starting in the Capital totalled £771m. The North West also experienced a 6 per cent slump on a year ago. The value of projects starting on site in the region added up to £76m, accounting for 6 per cent of the office sector.
In contrast, at £77m, the South East experienced a strong performance, with starts having grown 179 per cent on last year’s levels, to account for 6 per cent of the sector. Accounting for the same share, the West Midlands grew 32 per cent on a year ago to total £72m. Totalling £47m, the East Midlands also jumped five times compared with last year to account for a 4 per cent share.
London also had the largest share of detailed planning approvals (21 per cent), with a total value of £465m, despite having decreased 84 per cent on last year’s figures. Accounting for an 11 per cent share of approvals, Scotland decreased 14 per cent on a year ago to total £254m. Accounting for a 10 per cent share at £219m, the South East slipped back 53 per cent compared with last year.
The North West, on the other hand, grew 25 per cent to total £309m, a 14 per cent share of office consents. Accounting for a 13 per cent share, the West Midlands also increased 398 per cent to total £295m. Wales accounted for an 8 per cent share, having jumped 90 times on a year ago to total £175m.
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