Strong prospects for demolition for construction projects

Last Updated:

22nd March 2022

The prospects for the demolition sector look strong with nearly half a billion pounds-worth of projects approved in the last two years according to Glenigan’s construction industry research.

This pipeline is already fuelling workload at leading demolition contractors.

Keltbray recently started a £24 million demolition package for Great Portland Estates on the City Place House development in central London (Project ID: 21535491).

This is one of the largest demolition jobs on Glenigan’s database. Many packages are much smaller, such as John F Hunt’s recent £300,000 deal to clear a site at Southwark in south London for developer U&I (Project ID: 21297378).

The average demolition-only project given planning permission in the last two years is valued at £639,000 by Glenigan, but work is often included in an overall project then sub-contracted out.

The overall pipeline of construction projects including demolition work and with planning permission granted in the last two years is £61.5 billion according to Glenigan’s industry analysis.

Sector	Number of Projects	Value (£m)
Private Housing	1,842	26,688
Offices	357	11,243
Social Housing	404	4,913
Industrial	559	4,764
Hotel & Leisure	379	3,688
Health	196	3,562
Retail	326	2,897
Education	240	1,290
Infrastructure	111	1,193
Community & Amenity	152	1,047
Utilities	51	207
TOTAL	4,617	61,493

A total of more than 4,600 projects including demolition have secured planning in the last two years. More than a third of these demolition jobs are tied to private residential schemes, which have a total value of £26.7 billion.

There is also nearly £5 billion-worth of social housing projects with planning and that include demolition work. Central & Cecil Housing Trust has set up an £80 million four-year framework agreement, which housing associations can then use to procure demolition work. Keltbray, Erith and Squibb are among the 16 contractors signed up and now have chances to bid for work (Project ID: 20276705).

Office jobs

In terms of overall project value, the second largest sector is office and commercial with £11.2 billion-worth of schemes that include demolition work.

Major commercial projects featuring demolition and set to start this year include the £50 million Fitzrovia scheme at Tottenham Court Road in central London. Joint client’s M&G Real Estate and

Prudential have signed up Kier as main contractor with Deconstruct lined up for the demolition (Project ID: 20280288).

Erith, which is the UK’s biggest demolition contractor in terms of turnover according to Construction News, has the work on the £85 million Verdant office scheme in the City of London (Project ID: 20220888). Joint clients Arindel Properties, Beltane and Topland are currently procuring a main contractor and construction should start this summer.

Industrial prospects

The industrial sector also has strong prospects. Glenigan’s market research shows that 559 industrial projects with demolition work included have been granted planning permission since 2020.

There is also £3.7 billion-worth of hotel and leisure schemes with demolition work required and planning granted. Recent demolition only packages in this sector include John F Hunt’s £38 million job to clear a site in Hackney for client Concierge 11 (Project ID: 21547171).

The retail sector has suffered from a shift to online shopping but nearly £3 billion-worth of projects requiring some demolition work have also been approved. Budget supermarkets Aldi and Lidl remain among the industry’s Top 50 biggest clients. Work coming up in this sector includes a £5 million plan from Aldi to demolish a former Jaguar dealership in Amersham to build a new store (Project ID: 21094137).

With the industry pressing on with work, the demolition sector has plenty of opportunities coming up.

Glenigan customers can see details of new demolition work in all sectors if part of your subscription.

Not a Glenigan customer, but would like to see detailed sales leads for demolition work in your regions? Request a free demo of Glenigan today so we can show you the size of the opportunity for your business.