Tender Listing Firm Reports £19.8B in H1 Construction Project Awards

A strong start to the first half (H1) of 2026, with total signed contracts awarded reaching £19.8 billion, is being hailed by a tender market firm. 

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), according to data from Once For All’s Marketplace platform.

Although Q2 had a lower total value of £7 billion, a year-on-year comparison shows a 77% increase in total value compared to Q2 2025 (£4 billion). It also reveals a steady rise in volume (4.3%) compared to the same period in the previous year.

Trillion Pound Pipeline

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.

Outside of the major defence infrastructure framework, in Q2, high-value published pipelines emerged in Harbours and Waterways (£7.3 billion) and Air Transport (£2.1 billion) compared for housing.

Housing

With £1.3 billion in the pipeline for housing, the sector remained top for volume of projects added in H1 2026.

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

Regional Growth

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, 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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