UK construction new orders: private commercial
UK construction new orders: private commercial stood at £1,988m in Q2 2026, according to Office for National Statistics (ONS). It is one of the indicators in the Construction orders and materials table (Value · Quarterly), with a complete series running from Q1 1964 to Q2 2026. The complete series with an interactive chart, free to download.
This indicator in the Construction orders and materials table
| Indicator | Q2-2026 | Q1-2026 | Q4-2025 | Q3-2025 | Q2-2025 | Q1-2025 | Q4-2024 | Q3-2024 | Q2-2024 | Q1-2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All new work | 9,163 | 10,395 | 11,782 | 12,183 | 11,192 | 11,805 | 9,157 | 9,355 | 12,517 | 10,643 | |
| All other work | 6,503 | 7,637 | 8,959 | 9,727 | 8,721 | 9,425 | 6,653 | 7,261 | 9,232 | 7,901 | |
| Private commercial | 1,988 | 2,516 | 3,183 | 4,199 | 2,782 | 3,271 | 2,973 | 2,782 | 3,874 | 3,291 |
Understanding UK construction new orders: private commercial
Capturing private corporate expenditure on services and retail real estate across the United Kingdom, this series tracks the monetary value (£m) of new building orders for private commercial premises. It includes high-rise and regional corporate offices, shopping centres, retail parks, entertainment venues, hotels, and private leisure complexes. It differs from the private industrial series by excluding manufacturing and warehousing, and from public rows by excluding state-funded administrative buildings and civic centres.
Private commercial construction is highly sensitive to the economic climate, business confidence, and capital availability. Large office towers or expansive retail developments in major urban centres can distort quarterly totals, producing lumpy time-series behaviour upon contract finalisation. Direct quarter-on-quarter comparisons often reflect these large lumpy transactions rather than a genuine shift in medium-term demand. Evaluating performance through year-on-year comparisons across rolling four-quarter periods helps normalise for these major individual transactions. Figures are reported in current prices and do not adjust for changes in tender price inflation.
Frequently asked questions
- Which types of commercial real estate are included here?
- It encompasses office blocks, retail stores, banks, hotels, restaurants, and entertainment facilities commissioned by private clients.
- Are government-occupied administrative offices counted in this series?
- No, buildings procured directly by public sector authorities are classified under public non-residential work rather than private commercial.
- How should analysts handle the lumpy nature of commercial office contract awards?
- Users should rely on annualised moving averages or year-on-year comparisons to smooth out the effect of isolated multi-million pound tower contracts.