British construction companies are the least efficient in Europe, using significantly more labour and materials than European counterparts – so says a recent study sanctioned by the European Commission, which found companies in the UK and Ireland to be some 30 to 40 per cent more wasteful than others.

The more ‘industrialised’ approach adopted in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and the Nordics results in a construction process that is less inefficient than the ‘traditional craft structures and processes’ to which countries like the UK, Ireland, Spain, France and Italy cling.

Whether UK captains of industry can alter their methods is clearly a moot point, but investors in the construction industry should at least be asking questions of those firms whose profit margins are not up to scratch.