A monthly snapshot of the UK construction industry covering contract awards, planning approvals, and applications by sector, featuring expert commentary and detailed data visualisations.
Previously available as a downloadable PDF, our Construction Industry Monthly Snapshot is now published directly on our website. This change makes the report easier to access, share, and revisit — no downloads or subscriptions required.
Accessible anytime, the Construction Industry Monthly Snapshot offers a more seamless and interactive experience – keeping you closely connected to the insights that matter most.
Education increases for a second month running to £750m, the highest since January this year. The two largest projects are in the North West.
Commercial & Retail performed well in July, increasing 47% to £1.1bn. The largest project in this sector was the mixed development at Botanic Place in Cambridge.
Infrastructure saw a 21% increase to £2.6bn, the highest value since February this year. The £400m Thameside Energy Recovery Facility was the largest Infrastructure award this month.
A positive month for Contract Awards, sitting above the 2024 and 2025 monthly average. 12 projects above £100m help boost awards to 10% above June’s value. An addition of 137 projects against last month points to a slightly more confident sector. However, progress to site may continue to be slow given the continued difficulties with the labour shortage, material costs and the Building Safety Act. Major Infrastructure projects accounted for 8 out of 10 of the largest value awards this month with Residential taking a backseat from its usual prowess. In contrast to an uptick in Awards, construction activity looks to be down significantly according the the bellwether S&P Global UK Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index. This data signalled the largest downturn in activity for over 5 years.
Education recovered well after a poor June to £580m, the highest value since October 2024 and the highest proportional change of all sectors. 14 projects approved were over £10m.
Industrial saw an increase of 76% to £1.9bn. Over half of this value comes from the development of an Electric Arc Furnace at Port Talbot Steel Works.
Hotel, Leisure & Sport increased 66% on June to reach £500m, beating the 2025 Q2 average and almost reaching the 2024 average. The largest project in this sector in the 433 bed Park Royal hotel in London.
Residential approvals sit flat on last month at £3.1bn, on par with the 2024 average. The 3 largest projects are all £150m developments in London and the South East.
The North West saw a 225% increase in approval value against June, mainly due to the Mona Offshore 1500MW Wind Farm which will be placed 30km offshore in the Irish Sea.
All sectors except Commercial & Retail performed poorly in June.
Commercial & Retail recovered from a disappointing May returning to the heights of March and April at £860m.
Education saw the largest proportional dip in May, falling to £180m, its lowest value in over 18 months.
The North East saw a large increase in application value due to a Data Centre development in Redcar Bulk.
A monthly snapshot of the UK construction industry covering contract awards, planning approvals, and applications by sector, featuring expert commentary and detailed data visualizations.
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The Construction Industry Monthly Snapshot acts as a leading indicator of current and future activity in the construction industry. All values provided are at current prices, expressed in £bn unless stated otherwise and are non-seasonally adjusted.
The RSI is an index that measures current activity levels relative to
the last 5 years. It is presented on a scale of 0-100, where:
● 0 is no activity,
● 100 is the maximum possible activity, and
● 50 is the average level of activity.
The sectors that are included in the Construction Industry Monthly Snapshot are:
Our January edition of the snapshot features a review of the construction industry in 2024. This edition contains even more insight on the industry’s performance, including additional expert commentary, comprehensive data tables and concise visualisations.
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