The built environment sector in Great Britain is an economic powerhouse hiding in plain sight.

Working in partnership with GLA Economics and LSE, new data uncovered by NLA and Polygon Place Strategy in this report reveals that the core professions and services in this sector collectively contribute 24% of Great Britain’s total GVA (£568 billion) and employ 12% of the workforce, approximately 3.8 million people.

That is over twice the size of the financial services sector and four times the size of the creative industries.

Our capital city boasts a thriving ecosystem of those involved in architecture, engineering, construction, planning, real estate, technology and related consultancies, making it a global centre of excellence for the built environment. This already attracts global businesses and talent, exporting services back to major economies across the world.

Yet the sector is also geographically dispersed across the country and has the ability to grow exponentially. This offers significant support to the government’s core missions: building the homes and infrastructure we need for the economy to thrive; creating healthier communities to relieve pressure on the NHS; supporting social mobility through jobs and apprenticeships; mitigating against geopolitical and climate risk, whilst driving inward investment into the sector and exporting these skills to world.

In the 1980s the ‘British Invisibles’ of banking, finance, insurance, law and accountancy professions came together to define the financial services industry as a single sector, and the government and Bank of England seized the opportunity to get behind this concept and put this burgeoning and world-leading sector at the heart of its economic strategy for growth.

We believe that the opportunity exists for the current government to do the same with the built environment sector. Redefining it as a high-growth sector in the industrial strategy — rather than as merely a facilitator of growth in other key sectors — would allow built environment industries to reach their potential. Policy, taxation, education & skills reform are needed to change the public’s understanding of its true scale and potential to support national prosperity and individual lives.

The NLA is already working with the Mayor of London on prioritising construction and built environment skills in the capital, but were the GLA and London Councils to add the built environment to its list of priority sectors in the London Growth Plan, we could also work with London & Partners to align skills funding with business support and international promotion, to scale the sector in the capital and attract global talent and investment.

To drive this vision, the built environment professions and their representative bodies must unite behind the core data and narrative in this report. We are one sector — diverse in skills, unified in purpose — shaping the places where communities live, work, and thrive. We are uniquely placed to support the government in its mission to drive growth and prosperity for the whole country.

This is our moment to act. Let’s build a future where the built environment sector is no longer hiding in plain sight — but recognised as central to the UK’s prosperity, resilience, and global leadership.

Nick McKeogh
Chief Executive, NLA