Bricklaying Tenders & Advice for SMEs

Published6th November 2020 AuthorJohn Hudson

How to Win Bricklaying Tenders as the Construction Industry ‘Bounces Back’ 

Bricklaying tenders are a gateway for growing your brickwork business. But is now a good time to grow as an SME, as we head into another National Lockdown?

At first glance, you may not think so. Coronavirus and lockdown restrictions had a significant impact on businesses in the construction industry earlier this year. In March, major construction projects ground to a halt across the country.

The fallout from these mass shutdowns continues to have an impact on the construction industry. As we enter a second National Lockdown, you’re probably wondering, will history repeat itself?

It’s understandable to be concerned about what the future of bricklaying looks like in 2020. What do the latest government restrictions mean for your sector? And how can you secure bricklaying tenders that are right for your business during a second National Lockdown?

Well, we’ve checked the stats with your bricklaying business in mind. Now is as good a time as any to win bricklaying tenders and grow your business. Here’s why – and how to do it.

What is the construction ‘bounce-back’?

Many industries are still in sharp decline due to coronavirus. It can feel like there’s nothing but bad news for businesses at the moment. But this simply isn’t true – the construction industry is back in growth-mode.

It’s been coined the construction ‘bounce-back’ as the industry, quite literally, rebuilds itself.

This summer, the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) reported that almost 50% of SME builders were enjoying an uptick in demand. This state-of-trade survey also specified that 40% expected their workload to increase further in Autumn.

Did this increase happen? In short – yes! Let’s look at this in more detail.

To measure the construction bounce-back, we can look at the PMI (Purchasing Managers’ Index) of the construction industry. This index summarises economic trends in the manufacturing and service sectors and shows whether market conditions are expanding or contracting. Ultimately, the PMI provides information about current and future business conditions to companies, analysts, and investors.

The Construction PMI in the UK shows the industry has bounced back and is operating at above-average levels:

  • As reported by the IHS Markit/CIPS UK, the UK Construction PMI hit 53.1 in October 2020. This comes after a 12-year average of 51.11 between 2008 and 2020, and an all-time low of 8.20 in April of 2020.
  • Construction companies report feeling optimistic towards their prospects for the next 12 months. In fact, business optimism has hit a 3-year high in the construction industry. As Markit Economics reported, there are high-hopes for economic recovery and an overall reduction in COVID-19 disruption going into 2021.
  • As the construction industry avoids shutdown during the second National Lockdown, business optimism is set to remain high for the sector. Build UK announced that the latest government restrictions will have no direct impact on their business or trading. Operations across all Build UK sites remain fully open to support the construction industry.
  • New orders in the construction sector are also seeing their highest increase since December 2015. This is largely due to delayed projects that were halted earlier in the year amid the initial COVID-19 crisis.

What does this all mean for bricklaying tenders?

All of this is good news for bricklayers. But it gets better:

Housebuilding was the best-performing area of all construction activity in October 2020, scoring a PMI of 62.4. You don’t need to be a consultant to see that’s a great figure. The speed of recovery for housebuilding has eased only slightly since September 2020. This means the bounce-back is showing very little signs of slowing as of November 2020.

This revival is due to pent up demand from stalled or cancelled projects. The boost also stems in part from the fact that housing market conditions have improved in recent months.

As these projects spring into action, they bring a surge of opportunities. Now is the time to source bricklaying tenders and grow your business.

How do I find bricklaying tenders during the bounce-back?

New opportunities in the sector are set to steadily increase as we enter 2021. So, how should you set about finding construction contracts effectively?

Make sure you’re using a portal that is specific to your industry. This will save you countless time trawling through irrelevant results when you could be growing your business.

Signing up to our Construction Tenders portal provides you with a service that is tailored to your needs from day one. Our opportunity trackers (humans, not robots!) manually search the latest bricklaying tender opportunities every day so you don’t have to. This means every result you see is specific to your sector and relevant to the services you offer. You’ll receive updates straight to your inbox.

Opportunities for bricklaying tenders may include:

  • Masonry and bricklaying work
  • Programme and Project Management
  • Renovation Works
  • Grout packers
  • Building and Maintenance Services
  • Training
  • Bricklaying health and safety consultancy

If you have any questions, your dedicated account manager will always be on hand to answer them.

How do I secure the perfect bricklaying tender?

Have you already found a bricklaying tender perfect for your organisation? Do you want to increase your chances of securing the tenders that are right for your business once you’ve found them?

There is a lot to consider when writing a bricklaying tender, especially now.

A key aspect of construction bids in today’s climate is the effective management of coronavirus. Many buyers will expect this to be considered within tender responses, especially now national restrictions are in place again. You must plan how you will analyse risks and communicate risk management strategies to your workforce.

National restrictions impact how construction sites operate. Always refer to the latest government guidance when planning your bricklaying tender response. You may need to consider:

  • Planning your approach in advance
  • Strategically reducing delivery frequencies
  • Minimising contact between people
  • Managing staff schedules differently.

Our Hudson Succeed division provides writing support and professional consultation to help you maximise your chances of success. Our dedicated team of bid writers have extensive experience delivering excellent tenders with an 87% success rate.

Whether you are tendering for the first time or have tendered before, we have a service suitable for you. We tailor each service to your needs through the following tender packages:

Get in touch with Construction Tenders

Book a free live demo of Construction Tenders today. Clients receive a daily bulletin with construction leads straight to their inbox when new tenders are uploaded. The bulletin contains all the relevant construction opportunities that we have sourced that day.

Below are previous bricklaying tenders sourced on our portal:

Early Market Engagement Questionnaire – Environmental Improvement Works

Believe housing- North East- Budget: Undisclosed

31-07-2020

Environmental Facilities Work To 187 Properties Oakridge Sketty, Swansea

City and County of Swansea- Wales- Budget: Undisclosed

17-07-2020

Construction of a replacement retaining wall – Belmont, Dreemskerry Road, Maughold

Isle of Man Government- International- Budget: Undisclosed

25-06-2020

Boundary Wall – Clare Court (v2)

Stroud District Council- South West- Budget: Undisclosed

08-07-2020

Take Down and Rebuild Defective Retaining Wall at Parwich Primary School, The Square, Parwich, Ashbourne

Derbyshire County Council- East Midlands- Budget: Undisclosed

11-06-2020

We actively source tenders for the following sub-sectors:

Contact us today and allow us to help you grow your business with Construction Tenders.

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