Sectors with the most work revealed as 2020 project approvals unveiled

Clients were given approval to push ahead with nearly £107bn worth of work in 2020, according to the latest data from information specialist Glenigan.

The figures (see below) reveal the most work was awarded in the private housing sector, with firms here receiving approval for schemes worth just over £37.42bn – or around 35% of all work awarded in the year.

The top client in this sector was a team featuring Dartmouth Capital Advisors, London Borough of Richmond Upon Thames and Reselton Properties, which received the nod for one deal worth £1.25bn – the redevelopment of the Stag Brewery in south-west London.

The client receiving the most approvals across all sectors was the Department for Transport, which was given permission for 20 projects worth £4.8bn.

The sector to receive the next highest value of approvals was hotel and leisure, with clients here given permission for £10.5bn of work.

This was followed by those in the industrial sector, at £10.4bn, and commercial clients being approved for £10bn worth of work.

Meanwhile, the data has also revealed the top spending clients for December.

Britishvolt was the single biggest spending client at £2.6bn. This was the deal it struck with ISG to build its battery gigaplant in Blythe, Northumberland.

The sector with the highest was industrial – largely due to the Britishvolt deal. Overall, clients in this sector awarded £3.03bn of work.

The next biggest spending sectors were infrastructure, at £1.5bn, and private housing at £895m.

In total, almost £8.1bn of work was handed out in the last month of 2020.

* private housing awards data refers to external contracts only and does not include frameworks

** projects awarded by a joint venture are listed independently to both single party clients