Her comments come on the back of the latest S&P Global UK construction purchasing managers’ index (PMI) which showed a score of 45.5 in August. Anything above 50 means the industry is anticipating growth.

Julie said: “It has been a real stop-start year for us so far. Just when we think the industry is going to take off, things slow down again.

“We’ve diversified into offering new services and we are still investing in apprentices and our ongoing growth. But is has been tough.

“The NI increase in last year’s budget hasn’t helped and has been part of an overall rise in costs. Costs we can’t pass on to our customers.

“There are also delays in projects caused by the Building Safety Act.

“The real ray of light for construction is the Government’s commitment to building 1.5 million new homes and the release of its infrastructure pipeline which amounts to £540 billion worth of investment over the next ten years.

“If this can start to give the whole industry confidence it will have a positive knock-on effect throughout the supply chain.”