Quantem Market View Report Q3 2026

Over the past quarter, the Quantem team has reviewed the latest market activity and brought together its key insights on the trends shaping the construction industry.

The UK construction and development market remains polarised, with reduced private housebuilding and commercial activity, public frameworks, defence and large infrastructure projects provide some optimism. Near-term conditions remain challenging: construction sentiment has fallen, borrowing costs are still elevated, input costs are rising faster than tender prices, and economic and policy uncertainty is delaying private investment while squeezing contractor margins. Although reported construction output has grown modestly, this appears partly distorted by an earlier spike rather than signalling a sustained recovery. Longer-term prospects are more encouraging, supported by a £718 billion public infrastructure pipeline, planning reforms, strong investment in AI data centres, progress on major commercial schemes and positive workload expectations. Overall, the sector presents selective growth opportunities, but continued insolvency risk, material-cost inflation and financing pressures mean that investment and delivery decisions will require careful risk management.

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