Marginal gains: Why contractors need help to make a bigger profit

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For years, margins have barely shifted much beyond 3% and, to some, talk of 5% and above seems fanciful. But others believe that mandating a figure like that would turn the industry on its head

Can you spot the difference?

“[The firm] argues that margins of 2% to 2.5% in construction undermine arguments that the private sector is ripping off the taxpayer.” That was a line from a newspaper article on whether contractors were, well, fleecing the state.

“You can’t run a multibillion-pound business on a 2% margin. That’s not normal business practice.”

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