New Bank of England chief gets a boost from builders A survey showed the construction industry grew at its fastest pace for more than a year last month - fuelling hopes that the UK is finally on the mend The good news for British builders came a day after the index for British manufacturers hit a 25-month high of 52.5 'Green shoots' will be welcomed by Mark Carney, who became 319-year-old central bank's first foreign governor when he succeeded Sir Mervyn King Mr Carney has said he wants to get the economy up to 'escape velocity' during his five year tenure in London Britain's economic recovery gathered pace yesterday in a boost to Mark Carney in his first week as governor of the Bank of England. A closely-watched survey showed the construction industry grew at its fastest pace for more than a year last month - fuelling hopes that the UK is finally on the mend more than five years after the financial crisis struck. The purchasing managers" index of activity in the sector - where scores above 50 represent growth - rose from 50.8 in May to 51 in June having spent months in negative territory. The good news for British builders came a day after the index for British manufacturers hit a 25-month high of 52.5. The emergence of "green shoots" will be welcomed by Canadian Mr Carney, who became the 319-year-old central bank's first foreign governor when he succeeded Sir Mervyn King on Monday. Jeremy Cook, chief economist at currency experts World First, said: "Mark Carney has the gift of good timing it seems." Mr Carney, who was poached from the Bank of Canada by George Osborne and will earn £874,000 a year, took the Tube to the Bank's Threadneedle Street headquarters again yesterday morning having dined with the Chancellor the night before at Number 11. Mr Carney has said he wants to get the economy up to "escape velocity" during his five year tenure in London. It is thought the 48-year-old, a former executive at Goldman Sachs described as "the outstanding central banker of his generation" by Mr Osborne, will deploy aggressive new tactics to bolster growth. Mr Osborne wants the Canadian to provide "monetary activism" to underpin a lasting recovery in time for the 2015 general election. It is thought the 48-year-old, a former executive at Goldman Sachs, will deploy aggressive new tactics to bolster growth But experts said his first meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee, which has already slashed interest rates to a record low of 0.5 per cent and pumped £375billion of emergency funds into the economy through quantitative easing, could pass without incident this week given signs the recovery is picking up pace. Chris Beauchamp, an analyst at trading firm IG, said: "Mark Carney couldn't really have timed his arrival any better. At his first meeting of the MPC this week, he will be able to point to signs of life among the previously moribund landscape of the British economy. Canadian Mr Carney became the 319-year-old central bank's first foreign governor when he succeeded Sir Mervyn King Research group Capital Economics yesterday raised its growth forecasts for the UK. It said it now expects the economy to grow by 0.8 per cent this year - far better than its earlier forecast of 0.2 per cent. But with the eurozone in crisis and the outlook in Britain uncertain many observers believe Mr Carney will still be keen to make his mark to bolster growth. It is thought the Bank could target unemployment as well as inflation and start issuing so-called "forward guidance" to reassure households and businesses that interest rates will stay low for a long time to come. Mr Carney is also under pressure to tackle the lending drought crippling British firms - an issue highlighted by the Daily Mail's Make the Banks Lend campaign. Figures from the Bank on Monday showed lending to UK businesses fell by £1.3billion in May in a major threat to the recovery. Philip Shaw, an economist at banking group Investec, said: "The problem is that we have had false starts before. Moreover any growth that we have had since the end of the recession in 2009 has been lacklustre. Hence there is a clear motivation for the new governor to want to add more stimulus rather than allowing the committee to cross its collective fingers in the hope that nothing goes wrong this time. Rob Wood, an economist at Berenberg Bank, said: "We are optimistic about the UK's potential for growth. The UK can and will recover. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Households are still facing the huge challenge of sharply falling real wages. The recent stronger data do not rule out further Bank of England action. Rather, it is probably an incentive to keep expectations of interest rate as low as possible for the foreseeable future, to ensure the recovery becomes entrenched. Shadow chancellor Ed Balls said that expectations for Mr Carney have been set too high. A closely-watched survey showed the construction industry grew at its fastest pace for more than a year last month - fuelling hopes that the UK is finally on the mend He said: "To quote Monty Python, he's not the Messiah and he can't work miracles. There is too much expectation being heaped on the new governor. David Noble, chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply, which published the construction figures with research group Markit, hailed a "new dawn" for British builders after years of recession. "A new dawn is emerging in the construction industry, with confidence of a sustained recovery beginning to build," he said, adding that housebuilding was the "leading light" thanks to government schemes to bolster mortgage lending such as Funding for Lending and Help to Buy. Official figures later this month are likely to show that growth in the second quarter of the year was stronger than the 0.3 per cent clocked up in the first three months as the recovery gathers pace.