Supermarket sweep

25 September 2020

Early on in the pandemic, the government stated its intention to place construction at the heart of the recovery. Its encapsulating slogan ‘build, build, build’ is quoted by many of the hire professionals that I speak to as giving them confidence for the future.

The need to build more homes has been a concern for decades and new ideas and approaches have been emerging recently.

Press reports this week suggested that one reason why private equity firms might be considering buying Asda from its US parent, Walmart, is their interest in the chain’s ‘air rights’ – the space above its supermarkets in which new homes could be created.

Other supermarkets in Britain have already explored this idea, as well as redeveloping some of their sites to incorporate new properties adjacent to the stores.

Such initiatives could create further business for contractors and, in turn, hirers.

• An earlier post discussed the potential for modular construction techniques to be adopted more widely for new buildings, and the possible hire opportunities. The government is currently considering a report proposing that 75,000 modular homes a year could be built by 2030, creating up to 50,000 jobs.