Despite a lack of confidence in the UK construction industry, things are beginning to look up for the sector, it has been claimed.
Construction firms expect some improvements to their business performance over the next year after a difficult 12 months in 2010. Turnover is expected to increase by 2.4 per cent after falling by three per cent over the last 12 months.
However, the latest ICAEW/Grant Thornton UK Business Confidence Monitor fell by 1.3 points in the fourth quarter of 2010 to 6.3 points compared to the 7.6 points seen in the third quarter.
This is the lowest Confidence Index for the sector seen so far this year and is a significant decline from the considerably more buoyant 24 points seen in the first three months of the year.
"With continued restricted access to capital, many construction businesses will be experiencing cash flow problems which won't be helped by demand in the sector seeing some shrinkage following the government's spending review and stagnant housing conditions," said Phil Westerman, construction partner at Grant Thornton.