Talking Business: Call for more public investment in construction

CONSTRUCTION firm Wates Living Space is calling for more public investment cash to be pumped into building projects.

The firm, which has spent £160m with Black Country-based suppliers since 2007, suggests such investment will stimulate the economy.

Construction is one of the featured sectors in a new supplement from TheBusinessDesk.com based on our Talking Business series of interviews, carried out in partnership with KPMG. One of the interviewees is Andy Elwell, managing director of West Bromwich-based construction firm Anglo Holt. Click here to download it.

Wates quotes research that shows every £1 spent on construction output yields a £2.84 return. This impact is created by a number of direct and indirect factors such as an increase in supply chain output, the benefits felt by additional sectors such as manufacturing and the increase in household spending as a result of construction income.

Stewart Reid, business director for Wates Living Space, said: “Together with last week’s downgraded forecast for the UK economy, these figures reinforce the importance of investing in construction as a means of stimulating economic growth.

“Investment in local construction projects enables contractors like us to pass this investment through a locally-based supply chain thereby boosting employability and benefitting the local economy.”