A job well done

The lighting of the flame at tonight’s opening ceremony can rightly be a moment for proud reflection on the part of the UK construction industry.

Take a second to bask in the warm glow of a job well done.

Look back to 2005, and how many people would have predicted that the Games would be delivered on time, on budget, and without major disputes? There can be a debate about how government officials were allowed to come up with an initial cost estimate that fell so woefully short of the real price of staging the Games, but, once the final £9.3bn budget was set, the mammoth construction project - one that will ultimately see a new piece of London created from an urban wasteland - has been managed impeccably, albeit at a high cost. This week we look back on the major moments that shaped it all.

Olympic success has been hugely positive for how the industry is perceived – if only those firms that have made such a valuable contribution were allowed to talk about it

It’s hard not to feel a certain amount of schadenfreude at the sight of Nick Buckles, the hapless chief executive of G4S, in front of MPs last week. When the Games were won, so soon after the bruising Wembley saga, you might have assumed that it would have been an Ian Tyler, Vince Corrigan or Ray O’Rourke facing the wrath of the press days before the Olympic opening ceremony. That this wasn’t the case is down to the success of the Olympic big build. It has been hugely positive for the way in which the UK construction industry is perceived – if only those firms that have made such a valuable contribution were allowed to talk about it.

It’s possible to argue the Olympic Delivery Authority had a huge slice of luck with the recession striking when it did. Suddenly contractors wanted the work: certainly it seems a very long time since the ODA managed to get just one bidder to build the Olympic stadium.

But it’s that same recession which makes it impossible for the industry to rest too long on its laurels following its Olympic success. More dire news on the economy this week shows construction output is now thought to have fallen 10% in just six months, which, if true, is a near catastrophic collapse. Last week’s government promise to underwrite investment in infrastructure, analysed here, feels like an anaemic response in comparison.

Our annual ranking of the UK’s top 150 contractors and housebuilders is also an opportunity to take stock. It shows how they are adjusting to a new reality by cutting overheads, moving into new geographical markets and sectors, and trying to preserve margin at the expense of revenue. But it’s a vicious new world and there will be more casualties – as we saw this week, with £66m turnover M&E contractor Airedale.

With public sector projects ending, and some predicting a decade of economic stagnation, it is tempting to see the completion of the Olympic build as the end of a golden age for UK construction. For the sake of the industry and all those working within it, we have to hope that this is not the case.

Joey Gardiner, assistant editor