Cost consultant adds government needs to outline ‘workable policy’ as part of chancellor’s tax and spending plans later this month
London cost consultant Exigere is the latest firm to flag concerns about the hiatus created by the upcoming Budget.
The chancellor is due to outline her spending plans two weeks tomorrow (26 November) but several companies have already bemoaned the impact the timing of her speech, deep into November, has had on firms’ spending plans.
In its latest quarterly update, Exigere said: “Opportunities exist to drive spades into the ground and kickstart the economy, but government must address ongoing industry concerns – not least the growing pains of the Building Safety Act – and deliver workable policy in the delayed autumn Budget, if UK plc is to remain a compelling investment destination.”
It said the Budget has produced “months of speculation around mooted changes” and added that Reeves’ speech should “hopefully bring much-needed clarity to industry and investors around government spending and taxation for 2026”.
Exigere’s report also said issues around gateway 2 continue to “represent one of the biggest threats to progress in Labour’s housebuilding ambitions”.
And it added: “Once projects eventually pass gateway 2 and achieve completion, there is another challenge to be surmounted: meeting the as-yet largely untested demands of gateway 3 [when completed housing must be assessed by the BSR before it can be occupied].”
But it said: “Developers this summer described sign-offs on completed projects as ‘glacial’. The ensuing financial pressure is threatening to push developers into insolvency, compounding the issue.”
And it warned: “Once BSA [Building Safety Act] problems are solved – and we believe the government is keen to do so – we may discover another problem: a scramble for resources.”
In its report for Q4, the firm added that contactor sentiment was mixed. “Tier 1 contractors are still feeling relatively robust; there is capacity in the earlier trades, but the majority are still busy, with order books filled in the near to medium term. In contrast, many Tier 2/3 contractors are hungry for work.
“History suggests markets tend to bounce back sharply after downturns and periods of flatlining. Late 2025 and into 2026 may prove to be an opportune moment to buy and invest – in projects, people and resources.”
The firm said its tender price inflation forecast for the remainder of the years was 2.75%, hitting 3% next year.
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