Laing O鈥橰ourke back on top as market seems to grow slightly after two consecutive months in decline
Laing O鈥橰ourke retained the top spot in the building work league table in April, with a 拢299m haul of contracts - almost double its nearest rival. Confirmation of a 拢288m deal to build Alder Hey hospital for Royal Liverpool Children鈥檚 Hospital NHS Trust helped the contractor reclaim the top place.
Two major housing maintenance deals helped Willmott Dixon bag 拢175m of contracts and climb four places into second. The contractor secured repair and maintenance contracts worth 拢94.5m and 拢45.5m for Home Group North West and Home Group Central respectively.
Vinci Construction climbed into third with 拢120m of awards, while Balfour Beatty re-entered the top 10 in fourth with 拢103m worth of wins.
The news came as the CPA/Barbour ABI construction index rebounded slightly in April after two consecutive months of decline.
The index, compiled by the Construction Products Association using data from construction information firm Barbour ABI, registered 119 in April, up 2% on the previous month. The index measures contract awards and uses a January 2010 base of 100.
The index continued to outperform 2011, with the headline figure up 23% on April last year, helped by strong growth in orders in the offices and private housing sectors.
Senior CPA economist Kelly Forrest said the strong performance of the index since the start of the year reflected 鈥渟trengthening鈥� private sector sentiment, although she admitted there could be a 鈥渓ag鈥� before the wins translated into increased activity.
She said: 鈥淚t鈥檚 encouraging and there鈥檚 an appetite [for development] out there, but there鈥檚 a lot of uncertainty. Developers may want to wait and see for a few months rather than pushing the button and starting work.鈥�
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