Let's Move On

Des Moore, CEO of the TRAD Group shares his thoughts with ScaffMag on the year ahead, the election and how it will affect the industry in future years.

So the latest General Election is over and businesses and investors are starting to plot a more stable course for the future. Speaking to our clients in all sectors, I know I am not alone in welcoming the result which, no matter what side of the argument you were on, means we now have a clearer and more predictable path ahead of us, albeit with many challenges still to follow. However, this can only be good for the construction industry, which has certainly suffered during the past three years of indecision and lack of finance and investment. Firms have struggled – several have gone under, and some big names at that – people have worried about their jobs and livelihoods, and the economy has been tamped down by lack of investment and willingness to take on risk.

At TRAD UK, we did a quick poll of customers across all our businesses, representing house builders, commercial and residential developers, scaffolding and access companies, the industrial sector and investors. The results were conclusive: We are now dealing with a government that has a plan, and that has the majority needed to carry out that plan.

For all the people we spoke to, this was positive. Share prices have risen on the result; guessing the future is largely removed from forward planning – at least for the short and medium term. The expectation now is that land purchases will move faster, investors will make quicker decisions and projects that have been on hold will start to make progress.

For the industry at large, this is all great news – certainly, as I said above, in the short-to-medium term. Whilst we are all aware that there are complex trade negotiations to complete and we don’t know exactly what the lie of the land will be this time next year, there is a lot more certainty than there was at the start of December and businesses across the industry can now make stronger plans in the sure knowledge that we are leaving the EU.

As I said in ScaffMag’s December issue, there is no doubt that UK and international investors will now have confidence in the UK’s general direction and will release funds for many stalled projects across the country. Whilst some of the major infrastructure projects – those particularly subject to the political nature of the decisions involved – might still see delays, I believe that 2020 will see a much-needed uplift across the industry. But I have little confidence that this bounce, or ‘spike’ will return us to the pre-Brexit levels and we will need to structure our businesses for 2021 business levels.

What does that mean for those of us working on the ground? I have heard from many, many businesses across the industry over the past few years. I have heard stories of hardship, slow order books, projects on hold and real concern about the future of the industry as a whole. These people are friends, colleagues, competitors, suppliers and customers.

Of course, the result in December was a great relief to us all – no prospect of another referendum or more months of uncertainty – just a desire to get on with the job; to get important projects moving and to be ready to bid for the new work that will come in.

So I am greeting 2020 with a positive attitude. TRAD UK and the other ALTRAD companies are looking forward to an upturn in projects and the start of a healthy upswing in business and investment across the whole construction industry. Like all of you, I’m looking forward to the stability and economic boost this election result will deliver, but not forgetting that 2021, in my view, is where the real challenges lie and we should proceed with optimistic caution.