Kulakov, Alexandr; Kelsey, John; (2026) Distribution of output in the UK construction industry

This paper presents a granular analysis of the UK construction industry’s structure by utilising firm-level financial accounts from the FAME database. It examines the distribution of key economic indicators across different enterprise size bands. The paper investigates the distribution of enterprises, employees, turnover, Gross Value Added (GVA), and total assets to challenge prevailing narratives of industry fragmentation often derived from aggregate survey data. The core methodology involves categorising GVA-reporting enterprises by their number of employees and aggregating their respective economic contributions, resulting in a clear overview of subnational statistics. The principal finding reveals a significant concentration of economic output and resources within the 50-999 employee band. This segment, while numerically relatively small in terms of enterprises, accounts for the majority of the industry’s workforce, turnover, GVA, and assets, presenting a clear contrast to the numerical dominance of micro enterprises. These findings suggest that the industry may not be as fragmented as commonly perceived but rather has structured itself with a robust core of capital-intensive, medium-to-large enterprises.