'Not all doom and gloom' for construction after Brexit vote

27 Jul 2016

[caption id="attachment_70845" align="f-align-medium-right f-align-center" width="176"] Not all bad: Napthens' Earle Brady says the post Brexit future for construction may not be as bad as some fear[/caption]

Despite fears from some in the construction sector, Earle Brady, head of Construction & Engineering at North West law firm Napthens, believes there are still plenty of positives signs for developers.

Here he sets out why Brexit won't be all doom and gloom for the industry.

Thanks to ‘Brexit’, some forecasters have revised their expectations for the industry, and many large players in the sector have indeed seen share prices drop.

However, it is of course too early to talk about experience following the vote, and it could be years until the now-infamous Article 50 is triggered. But sentiment and expectation seems, in my experience in Lancashire and Cumbria, to be positive.

In this area we have a lot of education establishments and domestic tourism in the local market, and I fully expect to see that insulated from many of the Brexit issues.

Indeed, education projects in the HE sector are partly funded by receipts from overseas students, and these students are unlikely to be impacted by the decision for Britain to leave the EU.

As long as we continue to allow foreign students into the country to study – and there are no signs this won’t be the case – this part of the sector could be largely unaffected.

One benefit from being in an area with strong leisure and hospitality businesses – we are lucky to have coastal resorts, rolling hills and the Lake District on our doorsteps – the lower pound could encourage both domestic and international tourism. I know Napthens’ clients in this sector are split about the effect of Brexit.

I also expect to see education construction projects continue to move forward. After all, a growing population will mean that there is a constant need for new facilities, whether or not we are outside the EU.As we begin to further understand the post-referendum impact on the economy it will be interesting to see how we adapt to these uncertain times, but I believe there are plenty of reasons to think positively about the future of the construction industry in this region.