After a period of intensive trialling the Birmingham City University (A) Enginuity 2025 Competition is underway, with a competitive field of teams all battling for supremacy against their peers. And so to the action, and all the teams made good starts, with the early pacesetters after 44% growth being "Aspire Build" with 1,439 pts, and they have opened up a 70+ point lead to the chasing pack led by the "Boost Construction Team" in second, with "Elite Construction" not too far further back in 3rd. However, it is early days, and there are sure to be plenty of twists ahead as the journey through the Early Years unfolds.

The early signs are that the competition will be very competitive, with all the teams improving their overall position in period 5. However, this was not unexpected. After being formed at the beginning of period 1, overhead costs were incurred whilst the companies were being established, without any profits being generated. The companies were now in a position to generate profits against a more stable overhead base, and this was reflected in improved operating profits. Of course, growth will be impossible without an effective strategy, and all the management teams have had time to think about this carefully, and come up with a set of objectives to deliver business success for their stakeholders.

2024 proved to be another turbulent year for the UK. Politically there was a change of government in July with the first Labour government since 2010, and Prime Minister Kier Starmer promising a 5-year plan of growth. In the economy growth figures were better than expected with GDP growth of around 1%, helped by the Cost Of Living crisis easing as inflation fell, and the Bank of England were able to cut the base rate from 5.25% to 4.75% between August and November, and the green shoots of recovery are expected to continue in 2025 with projected GDP growth of 1.6%, but continuing conflicts around the world add some uncertainty to these projections.

Further afield global real GDP grew by around 3.2 percent in 2025, and is expected to continue at this rate during 2025. India remains the strongest performer among major emerging economies, with robust growth driven by domestic reforms and foreign investment. However geopolitical factors, including changes in tariffs and industrial policies in the United States when President Trump takes office in January 2025 could alter global forecasts with the potential for trade wars, and continued conflict in the Middle East and Russia's war in Ukraine could trigger broader inflationary pressures.

League table at the end of period 5

After the impressive growth figures posted in period 5, not unexpectedly period 6 proved to be a much tougher quarter. This was largely driven by the companies being unable to win as much work as they had previously, with the corresponding reduction in forward workload and margin KPIs.

However, encouragingly every team were able to post positive growth figures, and none more so than "I.P Construction", whose outstanding 18% improvement enabled them to climb 5 places up the table and into 3rd place, and closing in on the "Boost Construction Team", who remained second, with "Aspire Build" continuing to lead with 1,574 pts, as they have extended their lead to 100 points from the chasing pack.

With KPI points hard earned it will become increasingly important that the management teams look very carefully at every aspect of their business for potential improvements, and those that are most successful in doing so should prosper the most. Two areas that the teams need particular attention are Marketing strategy and Procurement (rival bidders), which are discussed in more detail below.

Marketing is possibly the area of the business that requires the most thought, as there are numerous strategies that could be adopted. The market trend can only be gauged for one year ahead, and not always accurately, and as marketing departments are expanded, the choices of where to direct the marketing effort are wide ranging, by sector, country and job size. The task is not an easy one, but has a major impact upon procurement options, and the future work undertaken, and ultimately on the long term prosperity of the company.

Another important consideration is that rival bidders do not necessarily stick with the same bidding strategy, and as time goes by they can change their strategy according to market conditions. This makes it imperative that teams keep a close eye on the margins rival bidders are applying, and how they may be changing. Evaluating these strategies could make the key difference between success in securing work, or not. To complicate matters even further there may be UNKNOWN rival bidders, and the only clues to these may be in the ENGINUITY NEWS NETWORK (ENN) for the period.

League table at the end of period 6
Improvements, or otherwise, during period 6

Despite a 4% deterioration, and slipping back to 1,509 pts, "Aspire Build" held onto a commanding lead over their nearest rivals of over 100 points, and they are going to be difficult to unseat from pole position in the remaining 2 rounds.

In a period of mixed results, it is the battle behind the leaders that is making the headlines, with the teams in positions 2 to 6 separated by just 31 points. "I.P Construction" moved up one place to 2nd despite a 2% deline, but they are only 2 points clear of "Elite Construction" who also climbed one place, with "Platinum Construction" up one place to 3rd. Further down the table "Fusion Bridge" posted the best results in the round, an impressive 8% improvement that moved them into mid table.

IEWP = SUCCESS

A leading industry think tank have come up with a simple formula for running a successful construction business.

1. IDENTIFY new work
2. EXPAND the infrastructure (capital base) of the company to take on more work
3. WIN new work through competitive bidding
4. PROFITABLY PROGRESS of the jobs won

Another essential part of running a successful business is being able to form an effective Risk Management Strategy to keep the business as profitable as possible. This can take a number of forms, firstly by building sensible risk contingencies into the original bids based upon the likelihood and cost of the risks occurring. Secondly, and just as importantly is mitigating the affects of any risks that strike through targeted investment into risk management companies, using a BIM model if available, and employing the most suitable project managers to jobs in progress. However, even when these mitigating actions are taken, risk can still be costly to job and company profits, and during period 7 problems with structural defects affected the construction of a new health spa for the client, Orlando Adventure World, in the United States, with an estimated risk cost of around 280k before mitigation.

League table at the end of period 7
Improvements, or otherwise, during period 7

In the penultimate round of the Competition "Aspire Build" returned to growth, and a 4% improvement enabled them to maintain their healthy lead at the top of the table with 1,570 pts, and it is certainly theirs to lose in the final round.

In another period of mixed results, it was "Green C" who posted the best results in the round with 7% growth that enabled them to climb 4 places and up to 4th, their highest position to date. "I.P Construction" stayed in second after 6% growth, with "Boost Construction" not too far behind in 3rd after a 2 place gain.

With just one round to go each team will be looking to finish strongly, and every decision will count in the final reckoning.

League table at the end of period 8
Improvements, or otherwise, during period 8

"I Came, I Saw, I Conquered". Way back in history, Julius Caesar's sent those famous words in a message back to the Roman Senate in recognition of an overwhelming victory. And so it was for "Aspire Build", who deservedly became the Birmingham City University Enginuity 2025 Competition (a) Champions with a highly impressive finishing score of 1,805 pts, and a decisive margin of victory of 260 points. Ultimately their success owed much to them demonstrating one of the guiding principles in running a successful business, consistency, having led the competition for all of the 5 rounds.

Behind the Champions there was a titanic struggle with only 100 points separating positions 2 to 8. "Elite Construction" climbed 3 places to become this year's Runners Up, but not too far behind were "Space-trace Constructions" in 3rd, and "Fusion Bridge" posted the best results in the final round with 18% growth that enabled them to climb 4 places to 4th.

In the final analysis all but one of the teams finished with stronger, more sustainable companies than when they took over in period 5, a testament to the skill and application shown by the management teams in what was a roller coaster of a journey through 5 simulated quarters of management.

League table at the end of period 9
Improvements, or otherwise, during period 9