This time last year, the BMBI Experts who contributed to the Leading Lights supplement were primarily focussed on finding ways to make it through the emerging pandemic. But few could have predicted the scale of impact COVID-19 would have, and what the rest of the year would hold. At that time, the Prime Minister’s message was that we could ‘turn the tide’ inside of three months, and yet 12 months on, we find ourselves emerging from the third (and hopefully final) lockdown and facing the fallout of a year or disruption. But is it all doom and gloom?

The pandemic provided the final much needed impetus for the construction sector to embrace digital channels – a move many would agree was well overdue. In January 2020, predictions would have been that Brexit would pose the biggest challenge, but in fact in comparison to COVID, Brexit was a walk in the park.

After the inadvertent closing and reopening of the construction sector, there followed a period of positivity more than many would have expected. With the slogan of ‘stay at home’ and to ‘work from home if you can’, the Government provided a massive boost to all those involved in home improvements as spare rooms and garages were converted into home offices and school rooms, gardens were landscaped as the only available outside space and extensions became a big priority among homeowners.

And things are not stopping. With many businesses realising that workers don’t have to be in the office to be productive, city-dwellers are seeking homes in the country and the need for housebuilding has grown significantly. The latest Leading Lights supplement includes the thoughts and opinions of a number of BMBI experts on the impact of the last 12 months and what it means for the future shape of construction.

Download the Expert comments from Leading Lights here.

For the full Leading Lights supplement, which also includes merchant views from MRA Research, financial data on merchants and insights from other industry bodies, click here.