View from the regions: Greater London

During the last few months I have noticed a real change of attitude now prevailing in London.

Scepticism about the recovery is declining; the conditions are now in place for sustained growth, albeit from the low levels that were reached after several years of severe recession.

The level of activity in London has visibly picked up. Tower cranes are reappearing across the City as substantial redevelopments get underway. Only a short while ago we were being told that available office space which would take another ten years to mop up.

The construction market in general is growing again and will continue to grow, I believe, for several years to come. There remain pockets of the industry where this will not necessarily be the case, particularly infrastructure and the road building programme. But for building projects the outlook looks good, particularly in London.

In the run up to previous General elections there has been uncertainty leading to caution and hesitation to proceed with projects. I do not detect this now - perhaps because so many in business see the result of the election to come as a foregone conclusion and also view the prospect of a Labour Government with less concern than previously.

From my own company's prospective, we are relaxed about the election, believing that a Labour Govenment will either produce the same level of Government-led expenditure or more. There is almost no likelihood that Labour would reduce investment in public services, especially in housing.

Now that the long standing doubt over the Millennium site at Greenwich has been removed, London will begin to feel the effects. I am certain that the site itself is just the tip of the iceberg.

The creation of the Millennium Exhibition with its predicted millions of visitors will result in substantial additional investment in the area, and in London generally, by way of transport and other infrastructure works, hotels, restaurants and various tourist facilities.

A visit to Greenwich highlights the extent to which investment is needed. We are already beginning to find enquiry and opportunity for refurbishments from the area which has suffered many years of degeneration and lack of investment.

These future prospects remain scant comfort to those many contractors still suffering the ill effects of recent years. The number of casualties continues with several long established businesses in and around the capital failing in recent weeks. This will continue for some while yet. Contractors fall victim when growth occurs: unable to finance expansion, unable to fund any additional costs demanded from suppliers and subcontractors.

The progressive move for partnering both with clients and as clients with suppliers and subcontractors continues. A significant proportion of our work is now undertaken on this basis. Last month we secured a œ14 million contract, our biggest to-date where the partnering principles have been adopted from day one.