London's contractors reject half of bid opportunities

摘要

London's biggest contractors are turning down one in two bidding opportunities due to soaring costs and growing skills shortages, according to a survey by Aecom, writes YoosofFarah. The consultant's 2015 London Contractors Survey - which polled firms including Galliford Try, Laing O'Rourke, Sir Robert McAlpine and Willmott Dixon - shows contractors focusing more on higher margin work provided by low-risk, high-certainty projects, with construction cost inflation hitting 10% this year. This has seen contractors focus more on the commercial office market due to fears that the capital's housing boom is beginning to falter. Aecom estimates that construction costs have risen by 10% during 2015, and predicts increases of 7% in 2016 and 5.5% in 2017.