The pandemic has caused so much upheaval that it is easy to forget that 2020 started in a mood of relative optimism.

Construction breathed a sigh of relief as the decisive result of the December 2019 general election brought an end to three-and-a-half years of confusion over Brexit. Even if many voiced concerns over the threat to EU construction workers posed by the new points-based immigration system, which Scape Group chief executive Mark Robinson warned could be “disastrous”, the withdrawal agreement signed with the EU in January at least provided investors and clients with some much-needed certainty to cling to.

The future looked bright for public projects too, with Boris Johnson pledging late last year an additional £100bn for infrastructure and the government’s levelling-up agenda signalling a new era of spending in the regions.

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