It looks like we are finally going to see sustained growth in the UK construction market, after a very difficult period since the financial recession first hit in 2008. It certainly has some way to go – total output in 2012 at £83 billion (in 2012 prices) was still only at the same level as 2002 in real terms. However, growth of around 2.4% in 2013 is forecast by leading body Construction Products Association to be followed by 4 years of c4% p.a. growth to 2017. Led by private house-building […]

Napoleon got it wrong. We really are a nation of small businesses, not (just) shopkeepers. According to the government, 99.9% of the 5 million UK businesses are SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises), employing less than 250 people. It gets even better – 99% of businesses employ less than 50 people. In total, 75% of private sector businesses do not employ anyone beside the business owners. In some sectors, SMEs represent more than 70% of total private sector employment – including construction and real estate – while for manufacturing it is […]