Rising costs and delays bite as construction awaits £540bn pipeline impact

The managing director of a leading UK specialist contractor has described 2025 as a “stop-start” year for construction and has urged the Government’s to implement its £540 billion infrastructure pipeline to deliver confidence across the sector.

Julie White, managing director of diamond drilling and concrete sawing firm D-Drill & Sawing, which operates nationwide, said the industry has faced a challenging period marked by fluctuating demand, rising costs and delays linked to new regulations.

Her comments follow the latest S&P Global UK Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), which posted a score of 45.5 in August - signalling contraction, with any figure below 50 indicating decline.

“It has been a real stop-start year for us so far,” said Julie. “Just when we think the industry is going to take off, things slow down again. We’ve diversified into new services, continued investing in apprentices and focused on growth, but it has been tough.”

White claiming the increase in National Insurance from last year’s budget as contributing to rising costs, alongside project delays driven by the Building Safety Act, she added: “Costs are going up, but they are not costs we can pass on to our customers.”

Despite the challenges, she sees potential in the Government’s pledge to build 1.5 million new homes and its release of a ten-year, £540 billion infrastructure pipeline announced in July.

“That commitment is the real ray of light for construction,” Julie said. “If the pipeline can start to instil confidence, it will create a positive ripple effect across the entire supply chain.”

D-Drill & Sawing, which has branches across the UK, continues to focus on innovation and workforce development despite market uncertainty, with hopes that the final quarter of the year will mark a more stable period for the industry.