Consultant says rise could stall jobs as Mace keeps tender price forecast unchanged
Turner & Townsend has said tender prices will rise 5% this year which the consultant could add extra costs to key UK scheme and threaten viability.
In its latest quarterly report, the firm said prices would go up 3.5% for building jobs and 5% for infrastructure this year and next.
It added: “While these both represent only a modest 0.5 percentage point lift from the TPI rates experienced last year, sustained cost escalation is putting pressure on the viability of new projects at a time of economic uncertainty.”
T&T said the likely hike was being driven by increased demand in the logistics, manufacturing and office sectors.
Stephanie Marshall, who took over from the retired Martin Sudweeks earlier this month as T&T’s UK managing director of real estate cost management, said: “Clients remain nervous about committing to projects. But we know the demand is there, both from public and private sectors, as the country works to revive economic growth.”
Meanwhile, Mace Consult has left its tender price forecast unchanged with real estate rates in London and nationally staying at 3% and got national infrastructure remaining at 4%.
In its report for Q4 last year, the firm said: “New orders are now at their highest level since Q2 2023 [but] with the ongoing economic backdrop, however, any renewed momentum backed by public sector investment in infrastructure is yet to inspire new work on the ground.”
Its director of cost and commercial management for the UK and Europe, Oliver North, added: “As we head further into 2026, in light of the ongoing economic backdrop, it seems vital that government backed projects continue in order to support the sector.”
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