Archive for category: General News

UK Infrastructure and Housing Boom: Strategic Investment Opportunities in Labour’s Policy-Driven Construction Surge

The UK’s chronic housing shortage—1.3 million households on waiting lists and 160,000 children in temporary accommodation—has positioned Labour’s 1.5 million homes target as a cornerstone of its economic agenda. With bold planning reforms, a £600 million workforce training initiative, and £39 billion committed to affordable housing through 2036, the government has created a policy framework primed to drive long-term demand for construction materials, engineering expertise, and infrastructure assets. For investors, this alignment of political will and capital allocation presents a rare opportunity to capitalize on structural growth in sectors set to benefit from sustained government spending.

The Policy Foundation: Labour’s Triple Play of Reforms

Labour’s strategy hinges on three pillars: mandatory housing targets, brownfield/grey belt land prioritization, and workforce expansion. By requiring councils to approve 370,000 homes annually and fast-tracking planning approvals via £100 million in planning officer hires, the government is aiming to eliminate the 14% drop in completions since 2019. Meanwhile, the reclassification of “grey belt” land—lower-quality green zones—opens up 1.2 million acres for development, with strict “golden rules” mandating infrastructure and affordable housing. This creates a clear pipeline of projects for construction firms and REITs.

The workforce training initiative, targeting 60,000 new construction workers by 2029, addresses a critical bottleneck: 35,000 unfilled vacancies and a projected need for 239,300 additional workers. Investments in Technical Excellence Colleges, apprenticeships, and industry placements aim to boost skills in digital tools (BIM, AI), sustainability, and traditional trades. For investors, this signals reduced labor-related project delays and a workforce capable of executing complex, net-zero compliant builds.

Investment Sectors to Watch

Construction Materials: Cement, steel, and insulation firms stand to benefit from the 30% rise in annual housing starts needed to hit targets. Companies like CRH (CRH), a global leader in construction aggregates, and Forterra Group (UK brick manufacturer) are well-positioned.

Sectors like low-carbon materials (e.g., carbon capture-ready cement) will gain further tailwinds as net-zero mandates tighten.

Engineering and Construction Firms: Firms with expertise in large-scale projects and brownfield redevelopment, such as Balfour Beatty (BBY) and Carillion (now part of Costain), are likely to secure contracts.

Companies with strong ties to the Construction Skills Mission Board—such as those implementing innovative training programs—will enjoy labor cost stability and project certainty.

Infrastructure REITs: British Land (BLND) and Landsec (LAND), which focus on mixed-use and affordable housing, should benefit from the £2 billion annual Affordable Homes Programme.

Land Trend

REITs with exposure to “new towns” (e.g., 10,000-home developments) may see premium valuations as demand for denser, transit-oriented communities grows.

Risks and Considerations

While the policy environment is supportive, execution risks remain. Planning delays, skills shortages, and funding shortfalls (e.g., housing associations’ £2.2 billion gap by 2028) could slow progress. The Office for Budget Responsibility’s projection of only 1.3 million homes by 2029/30 underscores the need for sustained political focus. Investors should prioritize firms with diversified revenue streams, strong balance sheets, and direct ties to government programs.

Strategic Investment Advice

Long-Term Plays: Allocate to materials and REITs with exposure to affordable/social housing, which benefits from Labour’s classification of such projects as “critical infrastructure.”

Sector Rotation: Shift capital from volatile sectors (e.g., tech) to construction firms with order backlogs and ESG-aligned projects.

Dividend Capture: Infrastructure REITs and blue-chip construction firms often offer stable dividends, ideal for income-focused portfolios.

Conclusion: A Structural Bet on UK Growth

Labour’s reforms have transformed housing from a political liability into an investment catalyst. The confluence of policy certainty, skilled labor expansion, and long-term funding creates a compelling case for strategic exposure to construction materials, engineering firms, and infrastructure REITs. While near-term hurdles like skills shortages persist, the structural tailwinds of demographic demand, brownfield development, and net-zero compliance ensure this is a multi-year opportunity. Investors who align with these trends now may reap rewards as the UK rebuilds its housing stock—and its economy—over the next decade.

Source: AInvest

_{An artist’s impression of the northern entrance to the proposed Lower Thames Crossing (Photo: Joas Souza)}

Britain is lagging behind Europe on delivery of key infrastructure due to an “overly complex and slow” planning system, bureaucracy and a shortage of builders, a new report has warned.

Delays to building major roads, railway and energy projects will harm the economy, regional equality and the move to net zero, the study by the Council on Geostrategy think tank found.

The Government’s Planning and Infrastructure Bill and 10-year infrastructure strategy aims to streamline legislation surrounding critical major projects.

But ministers must “go even further” by enforcing strict deadlines for statutory consultations, international benchmarking to identify underperformance in the UK and supply audits of construction material for large-scale projects, the report said.

“Bold targets” for the transport network should include a high-speed rail line extending beyond Birmingham, ensuring Hull, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Sheffield, Newcastle, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Glasgow are better connected.

Improving main trunk roads should also be priortised, its author Dr Mann Virdee, a senior research fellow in science, technology and economics, argued.

The Elizabeth Line on London’s Tube, finished four years late and £4bn over budget, and the Lower Thames Crossing, which is at least £3.5bn over budget, were among delayed major projects highlighted by the paper, titled “Road to nowhere: Britain’s infrastructure problem”.

Connecting Essex and Kent, the Lower Thames Crossing is Britain’s biggest road scheme, and was first proposed by the government 16 years ago.

But it has not yet begun construction, with its planning application almost 360,000 pages long.

Hinkley Point C, the UK’s first nuclear power station to be developed in more than 20 years, could be delayed by another four years until 2031, with rising construction material and labour costs due to Brexit blamed.

Big infrastructure projects require a Development Consent Order (DCO) from the government, but their approval time grew from 2.6 years in 2012 to 4.2 years in 2021.

The notorious £100m HS2 bat tunnel was among more than 8,200 consents required by the high-speed operator from public bodies.

Problems with HS2, which is now delayed beyond a target date of 2033, “exemplify the scale and extent of the challenge” of delivering large-scale infrastructure in the UK, the report said.

“At the same time, other countries are showing the scale of their infrastructure ambitions,” it added.

“Spain’s high-speed rail network is the longest in Europe at nearly 4,000km – the second longest in the world after China.”

Britain’s motorway system was also far behind leading nations across Europe, data compiled by the study showed.

In the UK, there is 3.3 miles (5.4km) of motorway per 100,000 people, way below Spain’s 22 miles (35.6km), Portugal’s 18 miles (29.4km), France’s 11 miles (17.4km), Germany’s 10 miles (15.8km) and Italy at 7 miles (11.9km).

Britain was also bottom of the table when it came to km of motorway per 100 sq km of land area, with just one mile (1.5km) – less than half of Germany, Spain and Portugal who all had more than two miles over the same area.

The UK has added only 65 miles (105km) of motorway in the last decade, according to government figures, putting it well behind other nations in Europe.

Extending motorways was one of the best ways to improve connectivity across regions as a country’s population grows, the report said.

But over the last 35 years, the UK added 420 miles (680 km) of motorway, the Financial Times has reported, a fraction of what other nations have managed, and a period which saw the population expand by 11 million.

“That is particularly important for countries such as the UK, which struggle to build other forms of transport, such as railways, in a cost-effective manner,” it added.

Another project delayed for decades is a third runway at Heathrow, which has faced numerous legal challenges over environmental issues.

Data shows that 58 per cent of all decisions on major infrastructure were subject to judicial review since 2012, compared to a historical average of around 10 per cent.

The Government should also push for near universal next-generation data connectivity, Dr Virdee said, with the UK ranked last among 15 leading economies for 5G, according to a recent report.

“Britain faces deeply entrenched barriers to delivering the infrastructure it needs for the 21st century,” he said.

“The planning system is a primary culprit, characterised by excessive complexity and bureaucracy.

“However, the challenges extend beyond planning – include policy instability and volatile funding, high industrial electricity costs and a shortage of construction workers.”

The barriers were interconnected and creating a “cycle of inertia” which is difficult to break, he added.

A government spokesperson said transport is an “essential part of our mission to rebuild Britain” and drive economic growth as part of its “Plan for Change”.

“That’s why we are taking decisive action to speed up the planning processes that will deliver the transport infrastructure we need, and our 10-year infrastructure strategy sets out a strategic approach so we can deliver the right infrastructure in the right place,” they added.

Projects under way included the TransPennine route upgrade would significantly improve connectivity between Manchester and Leeds, they said.

East West Rail would “unlock growth across the Oxford-Cambridge corridor”, while the Lower Thames Crossing would almost double road capacity across the River Thames east of London, the spokesperson added.

by Joe Duggan

Source: iNews

Lack of fixed export tariff for selling surplus energy is holding back UK businesses

from installing more rooftop solar, says Longevity Power

A govt-backed price guarantee for selling excess energy would provide much-needed certainty for UK

companies and landlords to install solar PV systems on their buildings

The ongoing lack of a government-backed guaranteed price for selling back surplus clean power to the UK energy grid is discouraging businesses, property firms and commercial landlords from installing solar PV systems at their properties and holding back the expansion of solar across the country. That’s according to Longevity Power, the strategic renewable energy consultancy.

Anthony Maguire, Managing Director at Longevity Power, explained why the absence of a government-backed fixed export tariff is hampering commercial and industrial (C&I) solar rollout and causing the UK to fall behind other European countries including Germany, the Netherlands, and France.

He said,

“The biggest obstacle to the UK fulfilling its solar potential is the lack of a stable and supportive policy from Westminster. There is no fixed export price, no net metering framework, and no ecosystem for mid-sized community-level solar installations.

“Solar in the UK doesn’t require direct subsidies – but what it does need is better long-term pricing certainty to unlock investment, which current Smart Export Guarantees (SEGs) set by energy firms don’t provide.”

Maguire’s comments follow the announcement last month by energy secretary Ed Miliband about new rules that will require nearly all new homes in England to be fitted with mandatory solar panels. The rules will form part of the Government’s new Future Homes Standard, which is set to publish this autumn.

Earlier this year, in March, the Government announced a £180M investment for installing solar panels at hundreds of schools and hospitals across the UK, to be delivered via new state-owned energy company Great British Energy.

But according to Maguire, the Government is overlooking the significant contribution that solar systems installed on the roofs of offices, warehouses, factories, retail centres, and other commercial buildings such as car parks could make to reducing emissions and decarbonising the UK’s energy system.

He said,

“The business case in the UK simply isn’t compelling enough right now for companies, landlords or tenants to invest in rooftop solar systems. The UK lacks a properly priced export tariff that would allow asset owners whose own electricity consumption is modest to sell on the surplus power that they generate at a guaranteed price.

“The limited financial incentive to installing rooftop solar is the reason why it’s still a “nice to have” for businesses and not a strategic priority.”

Maguire identified other measures that the Government could put in place to encourage more solar uptake among UK companies and commercial property owners.

“Establishing a framework that corresponds to the US community solar model could dramatically expand solar installations. In American states where these policies are in place, large rooftops and brownfield sites host mid-scale PV systems built by private developers or energy providers that supply power to offsite residential customers and businesses alike on a subscription basis.”

He continued, “Another measure for the UK to adopt would be a regulatory rooftop usage mandate similar to the legislation approved by France in November 2022, which requires minimum solar coverage on all new and existing commercial roofs and car parks. It’s these kinds of policies that shift solar from being optional to becoming essential.”

Maguire concluded by saying,

“The current Government has taken major steps in recent months to grow solar uptake in the UK. But Westminster must do more if it wants to stand a chance of hitting its stated goal of hosting 47GW of solar capacity by 2030, as laid out in its Clean Power 2030 Action Plan.

“Putting in place a guaranteed multi-year export price would provide the stability and certainty for businesses and asset owners to commit to solar for the long term with the knowledge that they can make a reasonable return on their investment.”

“DHF has played a key role in shaping the built environment’s evolving competence framework, contributing its expertise as a member of SLG 10 – Installation and Maintenance,” she continues.  “This group focuses on addressing competence challenges within the installation and maintenance sector.  Our involvement is identifying training gaps and defining the skills needed to meet the requirements of the Building Safety Act 2023, ensuring the sector is better prepared to deliver safe, compliant work in line with new regulatory expectations.  We are also developing a Building Hardware Training Programme to provide a solid foundation in the fundamentals of building hardware, an initiative that supports the delivery of safer, more compliant building environments by ensuring workers are equipped with essential knowledge and skills.”