Angeline Ong, senior technical analyst at IG, looks at which UK-listed companies could benefit from Andy Burnham’s policy agenda, with housebuilding, northern infrastructure and defence emerging as key themes.
Housebuilding
Burnham has signalled that housing will sit at the centre of his domestic agenda, pledging the largest council housebuilding programme since the post-war era. While the policy lacks detail at this stage, any meaningful expansion of social housing would represent a clear demand driver for the UK’s affordable housing supply chain. Vistry Group appears best placed given its partnership model and exposure to affordable housing delivery, while Mears Group could benefit through ongoing housing management and maintenance contracts. Should delivery rely heavily on public-private partnerships and local authority procurement, contractors such as Kier Group, Morgan Sindall and Balfour Beatty would also be well positioned to capture a greater share of public-sector construction spending.
Northern Infrastructure
Infrastructure investment across the North is another area where Burnham’s leadership could prove supportive. A renewed focus on transport connectivity and regional regeneration would favour the UK’s major infrastructure contractors, with Kier Group, Morgan Sindall and Balfour Beatty standing out as the most direct beneficiaries. Of these, Balfour Beatty arguably offers the strongest leverage, given its established expertise in large-scale rail projects and previous involvement in HS2 Phase One, leaving it well placed should shelved northern rail schemes or wider transport investment return to the government’s agenda.
Defence
Burnham has endorsed Keir Starmer’s proposed £15 billion increase in defence spending, but his rhetoric has centred as much on industrial strategy as national security. His emphasis on rebuilding sovereign manufacturing capability, strengthening domestic supply chains and accelerating investment in next-generation technologies such as AI and quantum computing points to a broader re-industrialisation agenda. Should these ambitions be translated into policy, BAE Systems, Babcock International and QinetiQ appear among the strongest positioned to benefit, given their exposure to UK defence programmes, advanced technologies and long-term government procurement.
