Social housing boost in Manchester and construction pay rises above UK average

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS: Social housing boost in Manchester and construction pay rises above UK average

Manchester social landlords increase new home delivery by 55%

The latest figures show that Greater Manchester Housing Providers (GMHP), which currently has 24 members, delivered 2,362 new build homes during the financial year to March 2022 – up from 1,522 the year before.

The report from Inside Housing also found that a further 1,947 new homes were started on site in 2021-22, representing an investment of more than £330m in new housing in the area.

Members also secured planning consent for 1,177 new properties during the same period.

Almost 60% of the new homes completed in 2021-22 were for social and affordable rent, with investment also being made in developing new homes for people with support needs and homes for low-cost homeownership, such as shared ownership.

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Construction pay rises above average

The Office of National Statistics has revealed that from April to June (Q2 2022) growth in average total pay (including bonuses) was 5.1%, and growth in regular pay (excluding bonuses) was 4.7% among employees in April to June 2022.

Construction pay growth was 6.3%, helped by strong bonus payments. Logistics, retail and hospitality sectors saw the largest growth rate at 7.7%.

However, in real terms (adjusted for inflation), growth in total and regular pay fell on the year in April to June 2022 at 2.5% for total pay and 3.0% for regular pay; this was a record fall for regular pay.

Average total pay growth for the private sector was 5.9% in April to June 2022, and 1.8% for the public sector. The TCI shares index, compiled for us exclusively by the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), hit a four-year high in February 2020 but crashed by 40% a month later as the first of a wave of lockdowns was introduced.

Bonus payments are continuing at the high levels seen over the last six months, after a slightly lower level in May 2022.

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Construction shares rally during summer trading

Research for The Construction Index (TCI) has shown the value of shares in contractors quoted on the UK stock markets recovering but still below pre-pandemic levels.

The TCI Share Index has gradually recovered and between February 2021 and January 2022 it never dipped below the 100-point marker.

However the post Brexit and pandemic recovery has seen materials prices rise, shortages cause supply delays and more recently surging energy costs. All these factors have weighed heavily on construction industry share prices.

Many larger contractors have defied analyst predictions and picked up work across a range of sectors but the failure of one of the few remaining smaller listed contractors, NMCN, did little for the City’s appetite in low profit-margin contracting.

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