I’m an optimist at heart. Most of the construction folk I meet are too. Commercially focused and practically minded, bosses in this sector tend to be confident they will find a way forward no matter how tricky the terrain.

I still hold to that view, but events do keep piling up and even the most determined optimists are being sorely tested right now. Donald Trump’s overwhelming presidential election victory in the US last week is front of mind, unleashing a fresh round of geopolitical uncertainty and the prospect of substantial tariffs hitting the global economy.

Back on home turf we are still absorbing the consequences of the Budget, and in particular that national insurance contribution double-whammy which landed a 1.2 percentage point rise on top of lowering of the threshold to £5,000. Many bosses will have priced in the percentage rise, but the threshold change they would probably not have seen coming, and firms will now feel the impact directly on their bottom line.