Construction Contracts Awarded Rise as Industry Warms From Cold Winter

CHESHIRE OAKS, England, May 23, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

• The CPA/Barbour ABI Index for April, which measures contract awards, was 8% higher than in March
• Allies and Morrison named as the most influential architectural firm of the last 12 months in Great Britain
• Contractor FM Conway is the name at the top of the contractors' league table last month

Construction contracts awarded were up last month, according to the latest data published by the Construction Products Association (CPA) and Barbour ABI.

The CPA/Barbour ABI Index for April, which measures contract awards, was 8% higher than in March, as Spring finally sprung, suggesting that Q2 will be better than Q1.

The Index, part of the Business Barometer, published today by Building magazine, is a monthly guide to construction economics and contract wins. Each month league tables are updated with the latest contract awards across the industry, showing which firms are winning the most work and where. The CPA/Barbour ABI Index is the leading monthly measure of construction activity in the 10 key sectors of Private housing, Public housing, Public education, Public health, Commercial offices, Commercial retail, Commercial hotels, Commercial leisure, Industrial factories and Industrial warehouses.

Noble Francis, CPA economics director, said: "The latest CPA/Barbour ABI Index for April, which measures contract awards, was 121, 8% higher than in March. This is partly due to spring arriving, finally, after the snow-affected March, but the rise in the index does represent some much needed growth. Of course the growth in April is far too early to be calling any sort of sustained recovery in construction but at least it indicates that Q2 should be better than Q1."

The Business Barometer also includes league tables, produced by Barbour ABI. In these top 50 league tables it names Allies and Morrison as the most influential architectural firm of the last 12 months in Great Britain. The report shows the company has worked on projects with a total construction value of £1,764m. The second most influential firm in the UK was Barton Willmore of Reading followed by Sheppard Robson based in Camden. Allies and Morrison is an architecture and urban planning practice based in London. It operates from its own studios in Southwark Street,

Contractor FM Conway was the surprise name at the top of the contractors' league table last month, after two major highways jobs gave it a contract haul of £272m. The firm won two major highways maintenance contracts - one a £72m contract with the London borough of Southwark and the other a £200m job with transport for London.

Notes to Editor

The Business Barometer is available online from Building magazine, a link is here: http://www.building.co.uk/business-barometer. A copy is available on request.

Group Director of Barbour ABI, Simon Mahoney is available for interview.

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 is part of UBM, 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.

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The Construction Products Association (CPA) acts as a single voice to promote and campaign for construction product manufacturers and suppliers of this major UK industry. The construction products industry is at the heart of the UK economy, providing essential materials for the built environment including our homes, schools, hospitals, factories, offices, roads, railways and other infrastructure. The Association represents the leading suppliers, manufacturers and innovators of the construction industry.