The UK construction sector will defy gloomy economic predictions to post a record year for output, a new report has concluded.
Analysts Leading Edge tipped the sector to enjoy growth of 3.3 per cent this year, with the value of the output rising to £135.3 billion, a new record compared with the previous high of £133.2 billion in 2007.
The report said every sector bar public housing will grow this year, with the positive outlook based on firms' healthy order books.
"Total new orders for 2015, a good indicator of what will happen in output in 2016 and 17, showed a 2.8 per cent per cent year-on-year increase," said Leading Edge director Mel Budd.
In addition, the survey said the longer-term outlook is also bright, with output expected to be 17 per cent higher in 2020 than it was in 2015.
The upbeat assessment is in contrast with the latest Purchasing Managers Index data produced by Markit and the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply, which said February growth was at a two-year low.
