Construction Market Report Q2 2026

Welcome to the Q2 construction market report for 2026, which boasts record numbers! 

We reflect on what’s happened in the construction market based on data and projects published and awarded on our Marketplace, part of the Once For All platform over the last quarter (1st April – 30th June 2026), including information from our Tender Management where exclusive live opportunities are published by main contractors. 

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What happened in 2026 Q2 in the construction market? 

In this Q2 construction market report, we dive into what’s happening in the market based on our platform data: 

• Published Projects 
• Awarded Projects 
• Tender Management insights 
• What these insights tell us about the construction market 

 

Watch the video on our Q2 Construction Market Report:

 

Q2 Published Projects 

Q2 saw a record number of projects published, mostly down to frameworks. Let’s break down the numbers: 

By sector 

Highest number of projects added across: 

• Education – 194 projects, £695 million 
• Housing – 225 projects, £1.3 billion 
• Miscellaneous – 114 projects, £866 million 

Despite these sectors topping the highest number of projects, the overall value (£) was higher in other sectors, even when fewer projects were published: 

• Air Transport – 6 projects, £2.1 billion 
• Health and welfare – 47 projects, £1.3 trillion 
• Harbours and waterways – 3 projects, £7.3 billion 

By location 

Where were projects published across the UK and Ireland?  

• North West – 126 projects, £1.3 trillion 
• London – 180 projects, £7.7 billion 
• Hampshire – 44 projects, £3.2 billion 

This shows promising signs for growth in the North over the coming years. It’s also worth highlighting opportunities published in Yorkshire (56 projects, £1 billion) and Wales (30 projects, £1 billion), indicating more work on the horizon beyond the South as we frequently reported in our 2025 findings. 

 

What happened in Q2 for published projects? 

It’s a new record for the value of projects published on Market Intelligence!  

Comprised of 9 projects at £144 million each and most of the value published in Q2, the top opportunities represent lots and frameworks being published on our platform, covering construction works across mixed use development, such as infrastructure works in Naval Defence, and general New Builds, predominantly in the North West region, covering multiple CPVs and trades.  

 

 

Our ‘Misceallaneous’ category on our platform is predominantly made up of frameworks. As mentioned before, this is made up of frameworks, but also covers mixed use development frameworks in Hampshire (project numbers 333733, 333731, 333732, 333737), and a £260 million opportunity in Cardiff for a new arena and hotel (project number 333042. Contract also awarded in Q2), followed by a £250 million framework in London for new build developments (333030). 

After frameworks, another large project to be published was for £2 billion of refurbishment at Gatwick Airport over a 10-year contract. This includes upgrades across the airport, covering EV charging installation, self check-in enhancements and terminal facility upgrades. 

Construction across Hampshire is expected, with a £1.3 billion framework published for mixed development new builds. 

 

 

2026 Q1 vs Q2 Published Projects 

The number of projects published to Marketplace were slightly higher in Q1 at 944, dropping to 817 projects in Q2. However, the difference in project value is staggering. Project value jumps to £1.316 trillion in Q2 with an average project value of £1.6 billion, up from £14.87 billion and £15.72 million average in Q1. 

The number of projects being published decreased slightly, but project value is very far ahead. 

 

2026 Q2 vs 2025 Q2 Published Projects 

When reflecting back on 2025 Q2 for the number of projects published, numbers were slightly higher at 849 projects, whilst 2026 Q2 saw 817 projects. However, as we’ve seen, the difference in project value is exponentially different. This year, £1.316 trillion of projects were published: way ahead of last year’s £11 billion for the same quarter. 

Even though the number of projects has dropped, similar to the trend between 2026 Q1 and Q2, the value has increased, along with average project value: £12.9 million in 2025 Q1, up to £1.6 billion in 2026 Q2. 

 

 

Q2 Awarded projects 

Q2 numbers for awarded projects is down. Even though billions in opportunities and frameworks have been published over the last year, these can take a while to move through the pipeline as contractors find suppliers to work with and are subsequently awarded tenders. 

By sector 

• Housing – 131 projects, £2 billion 
• Miscellaneous – 25 projects, £1.26 billion 
• Education – 75 projects, £1 billion 

Miscellaneous is made up of new build developments, refurbishment and repairs, and extension with opportunities covering both the public and private sector. These awards mirror findings from our 2026 Construction Market Index Report, where Housing remains the bedrock for the construction industry. 

By location 

• London – 125 projects, £1.7 billion 
• Wales – 22 projects, £983 million 
• Scotland – 29 projects, £568 million 

London tops Q2 project awards for the most being published, along with value. It’s encouraging to then see awards beyond England, with a high value of awards across Wales and Scotland too. The South West closely follows behind at £443 million across 25 projects. 

What happened in Q2 for awarded projects? 

As seems to be the trend each quarter, the Housing sector topped project awards, including Miscellaneous and Education. 

Across Q2, two of the highest value projects awarded were in Wales. This includes an extension to Margram Substation in Port Talbot (project number 333293), and a new build arena and hotel in Cardiff (project number 333042). 

The next highest award is in the Republic of Ireland for 779 new build homes in Dublin (project number 332944), also covering retail outlets. 

 

2026 Q1 vs Q2 Awarded Projects 

Compared to January-March this year, Q2 shows a drop in projects awarded, from 721 to 433: nearly 40% less. Project value follows a similar suit, with over £7 billion awarded in Q2; a 44.5% drop from £12.75 billion in Q1. 

It could be that many client and contracting authorities are still waiting to award, or do so via their own frameworks. 

 

2026 Q2 vs 2025 Q2 Awarded Projects 

When comparing Q2 project awards between 2025 and 2026, figures are a bit more promising and show a slight increase on the whole. The number of project awards is up by 4.34% (415 in Q2 2025, to 433 in Q2 2026), and similarly with project value by +77%, at £4 billion in Q2 2025, up to £7.08 billion by Q2 2026. 

 

Top main contractor awards Q2 2026 

Which main contractors were awarded the most, or highest value, in projects? 

Morgan Sindall topped the leader board for the most number of projects awarded in Q2, at 40 projects, valued at over £450 million. However, despite being awarded 8 projects, John Graham Construction Limited edged just in front with a value of £474 million of project awards in Q2. 

Main Contractor	Projects awarded in Q2	Value
John Graham Construction Limited	8	£474,100,000
Morgan Sindall	40	£450,108,000
Wates	9	£332,000,000
Bowmer & Kirkland Ltd	5	£241,800,000
Neilcott Construction Ltd	6	£81,800,000
Red Construction Major Projects Ltd	3	£50,900,000
McTaggart Construction Ltd	3	£41,100,000
Ambit Moat Ltd	3	£37,400,000
Hollandale Projects Ltd	4	£32,500,000
Marfleet And Bradshaw Limited	5	£30,500,000
Cruden Building (SCOTLAND) Limited	3	£26,000,000
Kier	5	£24,500,000
OD Interiors Ltd	3	£24,400,000
Equans Regeneration Limited	4	£9,500,500
Borras Construction Ltd	7	£8,697,000

 

Live opportunities and work packages on Tender Management 

If you’re looking for live work packages and ITTs to tender for and submit pricing on, explore our Opportunities Board. When a main contractor advertises a tender on our platform via Tender Management, it’s posted on Opportunities Board for relevant subcontractors to discover (tagged as an ITT). Subcontractors with optimised profiles are then notified when an opportunity matches their work categories, such as scaffolding, flooring, groundworks, civils, and more. 

Which work categories were most popular in Q2 2026? 

Work package type	Number of packages published
FLOOR	301
ELECTRICAL	273
DOOR	271
ROOF	226
SCAFFOLD	144
FIRE	143
MECHANICAL	138
STEEL	136
GROUND	131
DEMOLITION	106
PAINT	102
PACKAGE	100
PARTITION	97
JOINERY	95
METAL	88
WINDOW	88
PROTECTION	86
INSULATION	85
DECORATION	81
SURVEY	81

 

Tender Management figures: Q1 vs Q2 2026 

Tender activity increased slightly in Q2 2026 compared with Q1. A total of 9,284 work packages were published to the Opportunities Board in Q2, up from 9,079 in Q1. Overall activity also rose, with 50,000 invites sent during Q2 vs 48,410 in Q1. On a monthly basis, that equates to an average of 16,667 invites per month in Q2, compared with 16,137 in Q1. 

There was also a modest increase in the number of main contractors publishing work packages, rising to 194 in Q2 from 187 in Q1. 

This shows a slight increase in construction activity as main contractor prepare to start work on projects with subcontractors who can fulfil their requirements. 

 

Q2 2026: Top 10 work package locations 

 

 

Key takeaways: what does this mean for the construction industry?

Even though the number of projects being published and awarded is less than previous quarters, and compared to Q2 last year, overall value is on the up. With £1.3 trillion in opportunities being published on our platform (predominantly as frameworks), this indicates promising signs ahead for the construction industry, where projects will soon be added to the pipeline for contractors to tender for. 

Published projects 

Numbers for project published mirrors a similar positive feeling to 2025 Q4, as the publishing of frameworks indicates work is coming down the pipeline! Q2 showed a record for opportunities published at £1.316 trillion, where £1.296 trillion was made up of frameworks alone across the North West for Naval Defence infrastructure. 

After the frameworks, notable opportunities extend to refurbishment at Gatwick Airport, followed by construction works across Hampshire for more mixed development new builds. 

Awarded projects 

Housing leads the way again for the highest value of projects awarded at £2 billion. £1.7 billion of opportunities awarded were in London, but then extended beyond England to Wales, followed by Scotland.  

Tender Management 

Construction activity is on the up! Q2 shows a slight increase in work packages being published on our platform, up from Q1. 

 

Next steps: how to find relevant opportunities on Marketplace 

Now you’re equipped with the latest insights about the construction market, you can start to see the trends in where projects are being published – plus see the ones which have the highest price tags that you can target. 

Want to dive deeper into the data? Login to Market Intelligence and start planning and building out your business pipeline with confidence. Use our platform data to reach out to main contractors and see what projects they’ve got coming up. 

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