Following a turbulent two years, in Q1 2024, we experienced a steadying in the construction industry. Post-pandemic inflation appears to be moving in a positive direction with construction costs normalising.
Reflecting on predictions of a recession, made in the later quarters of 2023, the market has proved resilient with much to now be positive about.
At The Wigley Group, we have managed disruption in the markets well. Building on a strong performance in Q1 2024, which has seen construction commence on a £1.2m school remodelling project in Birmingham, The Wigley Group is well-placed to take advantage of future opportunity.
Over the next 12 months, we will continue to develop our approach. For us, this means growing our talent pipeline, strengthening our supply chain, and leveraging data to unlock opportunity across our portfolio of projects.
Growing our talent pipeline
At The Wigley Group we have an experienced and capable team in place. As we grow, and to take advantage of the opportunities ahead, we know we will need skills at all levels.
Within the construction business, we continue to develop relationships with local schools and colleges. We are supporting students develop real-world experience, with the aim of attracting skilled individuals into our team.
With a strong development pathway within the business, our aim is to create opportunity for people. This means building a local team and leveraging the talent on our doorstep in Warwickshire and further afield.
Strengthening our supply chain
We’ve seen how disruption to global supply chains can have an impact right down to the smallest construction project.
Whilst the impact of the Ukraine war appears to be abating, there remain additional risks in the Middle East. Difficulties for shipping in the Red Sea, or the Suez Canal, may yet lead to cost pressures here in the UK.
This is why having a robust, and diversified, supply chain remains critical to the successful management and delivery of our customers’ projects. Inevitably, this means continuing to rely on global trade, but also building relationships with suppliers in the UK.
Having a robust supply chain with strong relationships – built on mutual trust and understanding – is vital if we are to mitigate risk and continue to deliver efficiently and effectively for our customers.
Leveraging data to unlock opportunity
Our team at The Wigley Group has access to unique and proprietary data, built on decades of real-world experience. We build this into our approach to better unlock value for our clients and customers.
Early engagement is critical. We can work with customers throughout the design phase (RIBA stages 2-4), looking at various options to identify the best approach to the design and delivery of a project. This has the benefit of avoiding abortive design costs and making improvements to the development programme.
By analysing solutions against our database, we can then validate construction costs and provide reassurance that our customers are achieving best value.
This approach has the potential to turn a marginally unviable project into a viable one. Early engagement with us is critical as the true success of a project is established at the outset and The Wigley Group are well placed for this.
The outlook
There is much to be positive about in the market today and at The Wigley Group we are well positioned to support our customers unlock additional value.
Whilst there are risks ahead, which could yet impact global supply chains and construction costs, with the right mitigations – and people – in place, the rest of 2024 looks set to be an exciting, opportunity-led year.
- Charles Hicks, Commercial Lead