The risk of corporate insolvency could be particularly high among medium-sized construction firms across the UK, an expert has warned.
According to Tom Fitzpatrick, deputy news editor at Construction News, large businesses generally have the financial resources and turnover to cope with a substantial drop in their workload.
Smaller companies, meanwhile, can diversify and move into relatively well-performing sections of the market, he stated.
Mr Fitzpatrick said this means it is medium-sized firms that are most likely to collapse as a result of ongoing problems in the UK's construction industry.
However, he acknowledged "things are tight for everyone at the moment", with many feeling conditions are likely to get worse before they start getting better.
As a result, construction firms of all sizes could benefit from taking steps to avoid unnecessary expenditure, such as carrying out plenty of pre-emptive maintenance before a project and closely monitoring their outgoings.
According to statistics from PricewaterhouseCoopers, there was 15.5 per cent drop in the number of insolvencies in the British construction sector between April and June 2012.
Nevertheless, Mr Fitzpatrick said this does not mean people in the industry feel it is moving in the right direction.
"People aren't really expecting a comeback until 2013 or early 2014," he commented.
"While quarterly figures are affected by the winter and that kind of thing, I am not sure there is generally a feeling that things are getting better at the moment."
However, he noted that a boom related to the current Olympic Games in London is helping to keep people "calm for now".
Despite the drop in the number of construction insolvencies across the UK during the second quarter of the year, the PwC figures did throw up a number of regional variations.
For instance, statistics showed that between April and June, 120 construction businesses in London collapsed. This means that since the third quarter of 2010, more than 960 companies in the capital's construction trade have become insolvent.
