A new survey has suggested there is growing confidence among bosses within the Scottish construction industry.

According to the Scottish Building Federation's latest Construction Monitor, confidence was found in positive territory for the third consecutive quarter.

It is now at its highest rating since the monitor commenced in 2008.

The Scottish Construction Monitor records industry confidence on a quarterly basis, and asks its members how confident they feel about the prospects for their business over the next 12 months compared to the previous year.


While there was continued signs of improvement, the SBF said that recovery among the various industry sectors remains mixed. For example, while a strong growth was recorded in infrastructure and private commercial activity, housebuilding remained flat.

Vaughan Hart, Managing Director at Scottish Building Federation, explained: "This is the first time that the percentage of companies more confident about the future outlook for their business compared to the last year has risen above the 50% mark.

"At the same time, it is important to keep these results in perspective. Recovery across the different sectors of the industry remains mixed.

"The challenge now must be to ensure the recovery is sustainable in the longer term. Industry confidence needs to reach a point where companies have the confidence to invest long-term in rebuilding skills and capacity. I am not convinced we have reached that point yet."

(JP)