UK construction hit by worst run since global financial crisis

Output shrank for 12th month in a row in December, while housebuilding in deepest slump since 2020

• Business live - latest updates

Britain's construction sector has recorded its worst run since the financial crisis almost two decades ago, with housebuilding mired in the deepest slump since the start of the Covid pandemic in 2020.

UK construction output shrank for the 12th month in a row in December, the longest unbroken run of declines since the global financial crash of 2007-09, although there were signs of optimism among companies, according to a monthly industry survey.