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Development Sector Optimistic Yet Constrained By Market Pressures


New research reveals that the UK development industry is entering 2026 with cautious optimism but is still held back by deep-rooted staffing challenges that are slowing delivery and squeezing project viability. The Development Index – produced by real estate and construction hiring specialist, Cobalt Recruitment – captures the current challenges, along with the opportunities and pressures shaping the year ahead.


A sector stabilising, but still under strain

Drawing on interviews with industry leaders across the UK’s leading property developers, housebuilders, REITs, and investment firms, the report reveals unsurprisingly low sentiment in the market in 2025, but a quiet confidence across the development ecosystem going into 2026, with slow signs of improvement emerging.


Softening finance terms, potential further interest rate reductions, and anticipated policy clarity, particularly around the National Planning Policy Framework, are helping to rebuild sentiment. Yet the challenges remain significant. Increased planning delays, staff shortages, constrained project viability, a shortage of viable schemes for lenders, rising cost pressures, and an acute lack of end occupiers and buyers, are all taking their toll on the market.


Skills shortages remain a barrier to delivery

While there is cautious optimism, this is at risk of being destabilised by growing skills shortages. The Development Index highlights a sector still grappling with evolving talent gaps across certain skills and locations in planning, land, development, technical, design, commercial, and delivery roles, coupled with a challenging market environment.


Employers are increasingly seeking professionals who combine technical knowledge with commercial acumen, ESG fluency, and digital literacy, especially in AI-enabled appraisal and design tools.


With the continued shift toward refurbishment and regeneration projects, which now represent more than four fifths of new schemes underway, the demand for professionals with skills tailored to complex refurbishment, sustainability standards and evolving regulatory frameworks, is also set to increase.


Commenting on the report, Maria Sinclair, Managing Director of Cobalt UK, said:

“The Development Index highlights a UK development market that remains ambitious but increasingly constrained in its ability to deliver. Economic pressures, planning complexity and ongoing skills shortages are emerging as significant risks to progress across the sector."

"Moving from ambition to delivery will require a renewed focus on execution, with investment in skills, stronger development teams and access to the right expertise becoming critical to navigating uncertainty and unlocking growth."


"At Cobalt, we see first-hand how the availability of experienced professionals can accelerate projects and support delivery. The Index is designed to support that discussion, setting out the key pressure points and what the industry must address to move forward with confidence.”






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  • Writer: Paul Andrews - CEO Family Business United
    Paul Andrews - CEO Family Business United
  • Jul 10, 2025
  • 3 min read

With the help of their amazing distributor network, Robert Scott’s P-Wave® brand has now placed over one million of its NHS England branded urinal mats in men’s washrooms across the country, from pubs, offices and restaurants, to shopping malls and stadiums.


“According to the Office for National Statistics there are over 25 million men in England and we estimate that at least a quarter use a urinal once a day, so our 30 day urinal screens are taking this essential health message – “Blood in your pee? Contact your GP practice” – to many millions of men every day,” says P-Wave Brand Manager Mark Wintle at Robert Scott, the family business celebrating its centenary this year.


“Our unique partnership with NHS England began 18 months ago – as part of a major earlier cancer diagnosis drive. Diagnosing cancer early means it is easier to treat and can save lives, which is why NHS England chose to collaborate with P-Wave, urging men to be aware of changes in their bodies and to contact their GP practice if they notice symptoms that could be a sign of cancer. We are proud to have played such an important role in encouraging men to consult their GPs if they see blood in their urine, with our specially branded Slant6 urinal and trough screens."


“The campaign has gained huge momentum as many large businesses have come on board to support this important and potentially life-saving initiative. We are thrilled that this ever-growing group of partners includes Sodexo, phs Group, Balfour Beatty. Mitchells & Butlers, and even Manchester United football club. The more men see the message, the more effective the campaign becomes.”


“It is time to put an increasing focus on the washroom as a centre for wellbeing and men’s health, and there have already been many success stories as result of this unique NHS partnership initiative.”

Cancer survivor Berry Mulder (pictured) credits the NHS England message seen on a P-Wave urinal mat in a Marks and Spencer store in Bristol with helping to save his life. After reading the prompt, he sought medical advice and was later diagnosed and successfully treated for testicular cancer. Now more than six months cancer-free, Berry reached out to the P-Wave team to express his gratitude, saying: “Dear P-Wave, I’d like to thank you and the NHS from the bottom of my heart – because you probably saved my life”.


Part of delivering on an ESG strategy

While the health and wellbeing benefits of P-Wave’s NHS partnership are obvious, there is another positive aspect to the company’s biodegradable urinal screens – making them a must for facilities managers who need to tick as many ESG boxes as possible.


“Sustainability is important to us, and our Slant6 and Trough urinal mats are made from recyclable plastic, which is a good start,” says Mark Wintle. “But here’s the inconvenient truth: after a month in a busy public loo, no one wants to recycle a urinal mat. The intention is there, but where is the reality? Unless incinerated, they will likely end up in landfill. It’s not glamorous – but it is the reason we had to think beyond the recycling bin."


“For several years we have been incorporating EcoPure® into our urinal mats during manufacturing. It is a clever organic additive which does not change the way they perform while in use, and doesn’t affect their shelf. But once they’re in landfill? That’s when the magic happens."


“EcoPure attracts microbes and accelerates natural biodegradation. Unlike oxo-degradable plastics (which break into harmful microplastics), EcoPure-treated plastics fully biodegrade – safely and responsibly. No toxins, no microplastic soup – just CO2, methane, and finally, nutrient-rich soil biomass."


“Since 2019, we have been independently testing our mats at Eden Research Laboratory in the United States, under ASTM D5511 – a test designed to simulate landfill conditions. The latest results show that after six years, our urinal mats are 85% biodegraded and are still breaking down. That’s not just clever chemistry, it’s proof that even the dirtiest of products (literally) can be part of a cleaner future."


“We chose to use EcoPure not because it was the easy option, but because it was the right one. Our urinal mats already led the market in design and fragrance performance, so adding sustainability to the mix was the natural next step.”


Award-winning campaign

P-Wave’s body awareness partnership with NHS England won the Marketing Campaign of the Year category at the 24th European Office Product Awards in Amsterdam in March 2025.

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