Mixed results from UK construction and property companies this morning have demonstrated the continued uncertainty within the sector.

Marshalls, the landscaping and paving company, saw its sales fall by 19 per cent in the first half of 2009. At the same time, Balfour Beatty, the construction and engineering giant, said that its order book is similar to the £12.8 billion worth of orders it had at the end of 2008, with a “steady” performance from UK building.

Balfour Beatty’s success is based on a large number of public building and engineering projects such as roadbuilding in the UK and in the US. Around 85 per cent of its contracts come from the public sector. Its rail business is the weakest performer at the moment, although it has just secured a £130 million extension to its contract to renew tracks for London Underground lines.

Grafton Group, the builder’s merchant and DIY chain, dismissed talk of green shoots in the housing market as it reported a 31 per cent fall in turnover for the first half of 2009.

The €450 million (£384 million) fall from €1.4 billion in the same period last year, or by 24 per cent on a constant currency basis, comes as the housing market in the UK and Ireland plummets.

The Dublin based company said it is facing “the most challenging trading conditions in decades”.

Chelsea Flower Show sponsor Marshalls, which raised £34 million from a rights issue earlier this year, said that demand remains uncertain, with no clear pattern emerging. It has reduced costs by cutting shifts and closing down works.

There was a slight increase in the contraction in Britain’s construction sector in June and nearly a third of construction firms reported job cuts, according to data published on Thursday. The Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply/Market construction PMI index fell to 44.5 from 45.9 in May, after reaching a 12-month high of 45.9 in May.

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