Awarded construction projects reach £19.8 billion in the first two quarters of 2026

Supply chain management solutions firm Once For All, home to Constructionline, reports regional growth in high-value projects awarded

Combined project awards for the first half of 2026 reached £19.8 billion, up 65% compared to H1 2025.
While Q2 projects awarded fell following an impressive Q1, overall Q2 award values surged by 77% when compared to Q2 2025.
Tender activity continues to climb steadily
Wales and Scotland challenged the dominating high-value regions for projects awarded and published
Total value of published projects rises to £1.3 trillion in Q2 2026, compared to £11 billion for the same period in 2025

Combined data from Once For All’s Marketplace platform reveals a strong start to the first half (H1) of 2026, with total signed contracts awarded reaching £19.8 billion.

A significant portion of the total was driven in the first quarter, which saw £12.75 billion in awarded contracts—a nearly 59% increase from the previous quarter (Q4 2025). Although Q2 had a lower total value of £7 billion, a year-on-year comparison showed a positive trend. Specifically, Q2 2026 experienced a 77% increase in total value compared to Q2 2025 (£4 billion), along with a steady rise in volume (4.3%) compared to the same period in the previous year.

The trillion-pound pipeline

Looking more broadly at projects added to the future pipeline, the report shows a record-breaking boom in the total value of UK construction opportunities published across H1 2026, peaking at a potential £1.3 trillion listed in Q2.

This figure is largely driven by several newly published national infrastructure frameworks in the North West dedicated to naval defence infrastructure.

Housing remained the top sector for volume of projects added to the pipeline in H1 2026. Yet in Q2, outside of the major defence infrastructure framework, high-value published pipelines emerged in Harbours and Waterways (£7.3 billion) and Air Transport (£2.1 billion) compared to £1.3 billion for housing.

Several major new projects were published in Q2, the top three being:

Several projects for a new build in Merseyside, worth £140 billion
Refurbishment and repair at Gatwick Airport, worth £2 billion
A new build project in Hampshire, worth £1.3 billion

Regional growth continues

A defining trend of the first half of 2026 is the regional diversification of awarded construction projects outside of the capital. The data highlights that construction buoyancy is spreading outside of the South of England, with Wales and Scotland showing exceptional strength in both project pipelines and contracts awarded.

Wales claimed the highest-value projects awarded for Q2 2026, totalling £983 million across 22 projects. This includes an extension to Margam Substation in Port Talbot and a new-build arena and hotel in Cardiff.

Scotland maintained its strong growth trajectory from 2025 into the first half of this year. Securing £568 million across 29 projects in Q2, Scotland cemented its position as a top-three regional leader for project awards nationwide in both quarters, consistently tracking alongside London, Wales, and the North West.

Commenting on the H1 2026 data, Andrew Preston, Director of Marketplace, Once For All, said: “The data from the first six months of 2026 reveals high-value contracts continuing to dominate the UK construction market. A trend we started to see unfold last year.

“The impressive £1.3 trillion pipeline highlights a promising future for the North West. However, it also underscores the increasing need for contractors and their supply chains to possess the necessary financial and compliance credentials to capitalise on available opportunities.

“Although housing continues to dominate high-volume activity, other regulated industries are emerging as higher value, including air transport, education, harbour and waterways, so a focus on supplier pre-qualification and compliance remains paramount.”

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