Covid-19 Presents Huge Opportunities for SMEs in the Construction Sector

Covid-19 has presented an unprecedented challenge for the construction industry but as we move towards a “new normal”, there will also be huge opportunities for SMEs in the sector, says William M Snape, director of StormMeister Flood Protection. Those of us of a certain age will have been through a number of ups and downs in the construction industry but nothing like this, Covid-19 is a game-changer like nothing that has gone before.

Lockdown came to the UK on 23 March, some companies in the construction industry tried to battle on but suppliers on the continent had closed down as far back as February. Most UK suppliers closed down in March and many in the construction industry who had tried to keep going were forced to shut down.

More than four months on and we are where we are, the arguments about whether the country should have locked down earlier are now largely irrelevant. Some suppliers are back up and running but by no means all and some of the companies that supply the suppliers are still in lockdown. There are shortages everywhere, even of basic materials such as sand, cement, bricks, plaster and paving slabs.