Barbour ABI's New Landscape Tool Shows What's Hot and What's Not Within the Construction Sector

CHESHIRE OAKS, England, May 9, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Expert provider of market intelligence for the Built Environment sector Barbour ABI has launched its rapid review tool - Landscape. Landscape is a visual tool for plotting what's 'hot' (or what's stagnating) so companies can map forthcoming business opportunities and spot changes in key market sectors and regions within Great Britain.

The release of this new tool comes as the number of construction projects reported by Barbour ABI on a national basis as being put on hold fell to its lowest level for over four years in Q1 2013. In this first quarter, 218 projects were put on hold, down 9% on the previous quarter and down a 79% on Q1 2012.

Public sector projects being placed on hold were 18% down on the previous quarter and down 77% on the corresponding quarter last year. Private sector projects going on hold also saw a fall, with numbers 8% down on the previous quarter and 79% down on the first quarter of 2012.

Landscape also highlights that:

• Northern England is the hottest region with the most percentage growth in the quarter, in the Commercial & Retail sector
• In the Leisure sector, only the Midlands and East are cooling with the rest of the country seeing a quarterly percentage growth in construction opportunities
• The report says that internet shopping is creating opportunities with distribution depots while the Midlands and East is getting hotter in the Industrial sector

Coming at this time, the introduction of Landscape for Q1 2013, is ideally placed to provide decision makers throughout the supply chain with an accessible snapshot of forthcoming work. 

Adam Valentine, Group Content Director at Barbour ABI, said:

"Landscape is a powerful tool as it provides a regional snapshot with the ability to drill down into more information, quickly and easily. We see this tool as important for business planning as companies look to allocate resources and focus in what is broadly a tough construction environment but which is experiencing the green shoots of recovery in some market sectors. It also has resonance for policy makers and planners too as we look to get Britain as a whole building again and support further economic recovery across all regions."

Landscape offers a comprehensive view by market sector and by region of the construction market in Great Britain. It also highlights key construction contracts and schemes that are impacting on trends in each market sector. It provides for the option of comparison on previous quarters, by sector and by region, to help track trends.

Market sectors that are covered in Landscape include: Care Residential, Civic & Public, Commercial & Retail, Education, Hotel, Industrial, Medical & Healthcare, Residential, Sport, Leisure and Transport.  Also covered are important Infrastructure sectors: Power, Rail, Road and Water. These are mapped across seven regions: the Midlands & East, North (North West & North East), London, South East, South West, Scotland and Wales.

Barbour ABI is the leading provider of construction intelligence products, providing UK companies with sales leads, contact data, CRM software and market intelligence. Its reputation is built and maintained by the in house team of market researchers who have excellent working relationships with planning authorities and other relevant information providers, including Government departments.

Barbour ABI was recently made responsible for publishing data for the UK Government's Construction and Infrastructure Pipeline, which outlines future construction and infrastructure projects where public funding is agreed. 

Barbour ABI produces the CPA/Barbour ABI Index monthly alongside the Construction Products Association (CPA), and is the chosen data provider for the CPA Forecasting Panel.

Barbour ABI is part of UBM plc's specialist media division UBM Built Environment. UBM Built Environment is widely acknowledged as having some of the most iconic brands in the market, including Building, Property Week, Building Design (BD), RESI, Barbour Product Search, Public Property Summit, Sleep, Decorex, Interiors and Ecobuild. 

Notes for Editors:

Landscape is available on subscription from Barbour ABI on a quarterly basis. Review editions of Landscape are available. 

To find out more go to http://www.barbour-abi.com/landscape/Landscape_Q1_2013.html  or call +44(0)151-353-3500