Specialist subcontractors see trading prospects improve

Specialist contractors have seen a slight upturn in orders bringing a glimmer of hope that growth is slowly returning.

The National Specialist Contractors Council latest trade survey for the third quarter of 2009 shows order levels up 13% over the course of the last year.

Specialist contractors also reported an improvement in their operational capacity with six out of 10 now working at over 75% capacity this quarter compared to just half in the second quarter of 2009.

Firms are also more hopeful about the future with nearly 40% expecting orders to rise in the next quarter, and a third planning to expand their businesses over the next year. This is a marked improvement on the 14% anticipating expansion at the start of the year.

But specilaist contractors are still being hammered by slow payment. The vast majority (96%) of specialist contractors wait longer than 30 days for payment and a third of retentions held are overdue for release. At present an average of £47,564 is overdue for release at each specialist firm.