Issue 508 | 1 December 2025 - Turner & Townsend alinea

UK construction and property

Data centre power | The London Assembly wants stricter rules for the development of data centres, particularly regarding their power demands, stating that they need to balance priorities with new housing developments that require access to the same power network.
Growth fund | Six combined authorities in the North and Midlands will share a new £500m Mayoral Revolving Growth Fund (MRGF) designed to boost commercial development and unlock stalled regeneration projects. The fund will offer longer and more favourable payment terms than commercial lenders typically offer.
Construction modernisation |The Welsh Government has published two key construction strategies to improve the sector’s outcome. The Built Environment Mission Statement sets out a vision for a resilient, innovative, and socially responsible construction sector, while the Digital Action Plan for Construction focuses on improving productivity, project delivery, and future-ready skills.

Japanese investment | Businesses in Japan are spending slightly less, as sentiment has been affected by higher U.S. tariffs. Capital spending fell for the first time in six quarters. GDP data is due next week.
Chinese data | China’s housing bureau has moved to withhold data on home sales by the 100 largest developers, deciding that the data should not be publicly available. The decision means that it is more difficult to understand the state of the market.
US rates | JPMorgan economists expect the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates this month. The forecast marks a move from their previous view that any cuts would take place in 2026, with the change driven by the publication of the delayed jobs report.

Retail footfall | Early analysis of footfall on Black Friday by MRI showed a weekly increase of 13%; however, footfall was 1.5% lower than in 2024.
Confidence | The economic confidence index from the Institute of Directors remained at a near-record low of -73 in November, and expectations for headcount and investment have fallen close to levels seen throughout the pandemic.
Migration | Data from the United Nations revealed that Poland and Romania have seen the highest increase in British people emigrating, driven by Eastern Europeans returning home after gaining British citizenship or returning home together with a British partner. ONS data shows that 257,000 UK citizens left last year, leading to a net migration figure of 114,000.
Four-day week | A campaign group called the 4 Day Week Foundation has written to the Education Secretary, calling for schools to be able to pilot shorter weeks to allow teachers a day for planning and marking.

Critical mineral strategy | Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced a critical mineral strategy to build resilience against China’s dominance in the industry. The initiative comes with a £50 million fund to boost production at tungsten and lithium mines in Cornwall. The UK strategy seeks to ensure that no more than 60% of any one critical mineral comes from a single partner country by 2035.
Steel tariffs |US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said that Washington can reduce duties on EU steel and aluminium, but only if Europeans agree to ease the implementation of digital rules following a meeting in Brussels last Monday.
Oil prices are predicted to hit a 20-year low (excluding the pandemic period), according to JP Morgan analysts. Alongside an increase in supply, demand for oil is weakening, especially as Chinese consumers switch to electric vehicles.

Inflation | The OBR has forecasted that UK inflation will average 2.5% in 2026. This represents a downgrade compared to March when Reeves announced a half-yearly budget update, the OBR said it expected inflation of 2.1% in 2026.
Wages | The national minimum wage for over-21s will increase by 50p per hour from April, to £12.71, a 4.1% rise. Workers aged 18 to 20 will get an 8.5% increase, to £10.85 an hour. While higher wages give workers more money, it’s another cost increase from businesses.
UK Growth |UK GDP is expected to grow at a slower rate than previously expected from next year according to the OBR with lower productivity behind the weaker growth forecast. The OBR predicts growth will be 1.4% in 2026 and 1.5% in the following four years – all of which are downgrades from its forecast made in March.
Output | A further £891 million was allocated to the Lower Thames Crossing, the final part of public funding for the project, meaning that work can start in 2026. After this, the private sector will take the development over on a regulated asset base funding model.
Productivity | The OBR’s report delivers some firm warnings about the future of UK growth if productivity does not improve, adding that AI is only part of the answer. Productivity growth has slowed since 2008 due to growth in unproductive economic sectors, lower contributions from productive industries, an ageing population, and stagnant trade intensity post-Brexit.