CNinsight - industry and company dataConstruction News
16 June 2011
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Contractors sought for £16.5m science centre
The Welcome Trust is seeking a contractor to build a £16.5 million office at the European Bioinformatics Institute in Cambridge. -
Kier Homes launches 95pc mortgage
A new financing scheme has been launched by Kier to give buyers with deposits as low as five per cent the chance to buy a new home. -
Balfour acquires US water firm for $20m
Balfour Beatty has acquired leading US water and wastewater infrastructure contractor Fru-Con Construction LLC for $20 million (£12m). -
Balfour and Bam battle for £12m Kearsley Academy scheme
Balfour Beatty and Bam Construct have been shortlisted for the £11.7 million Kearsley Academy project in Bolton. -
Balfour wins Chilean rail deal
Balfour Beatty has been awarded a three-year maintenance contract for the Metro de Santiago. -
Bam Construct tells supply chain to cut waste and carbon
Bam Construct said it was ramping up the importance of environmental credentials when choosing its supply chain as it released its fourth sustainability report yesterday, setting new environmental challenges for 2015. -
Barratt lands £128m Arsenal housing deal
Barratt Developments is expected to confirm today it has won the contract for a £128 million development next to the home of Arsenal Football Club. -
Berkeley unveils £1.7bn dividend in 10-year plan
The Berkeley Group has outlined a 10-year strategic plan that will see the company pay out around £1.7 billion to shareholders in a series of dividends. -
BIM Academy students to help contractors
The launch of a new building information modelling training academy has been hailed as a ‘historic moment’ for the industry. -
Boris backs major retrofit expansion
London Mayor Boris Johnson has said 50,000 homes in the capital will be offered retrofitting measures by May 2012. -
Call for BIM tests at pre-qualification
The government is being urged to insist public sector clients test contractors for Building Information Modelling competence at pre-qualification stage on contracts. -
Cambridgeshire wind farm plan rejected
RES UK and Ireland has had a planning application for a wind farm in Cambridgeshire rejected. -
Carillion pulls out of Borders railway deal
The Scottish government has reaffirmed its commitment to create a rail link to the Borders after a consortium said it intended to withdraw from bidding for the scheme. -
Construction Parliamentary Update - 24 June 2011
A round-up of all the latest news from Westminster this week, brought to you by the Madano Partnership -
Demo contractor fined after half tonne gas leak
A demolition company working for energy giant EDF has been ordered to pay more than £18,000 after a string of health and safety breaches led to more than half a tonne of gas being leaked. -
Developers launch legal action over Strand fire
The companies behind an apartment development at Marconi House on the Strand, London, have launched legal action against the hotel chain whose contractors they claim were working on the roof when a fire broke out last week. -
Download Contract Leads - 20 June 2011
Download PDFs of the latest contract leads here -
Download Contract Leads - 27 June 2011
Download PDFs of the latest contract leads here -
Drilling machine hospitalises five school children
Five school children were hospitalised on Wednesday after a hose burst, spraying them with hydraulic fluid. -
FSA delays mortgage review
The Financial Services Authority has pushed back its key review of the mortgage market to the autumn, the regulator’s chairman Adair Turner revealed today. -
Galliford and Vinci close on £50m BSF job
A consortium comprising Galliford Try, Hochtief PPP Solutions and Vinci has reached financial close on the £50 million Halton Building Schools of for the Future programme. -
Galliford Try secures £73m of work
Galliford Try has secured two contracts worth a total of £73 million. -
Government to confirm new nuclear sites
The government will today confirm the sites for the next generation of nuclear reactors in the UK. -
Graham Construction awarded £22m Aberdeen aquatics centre
Graham Construction has been appointed as main contractor for a £22 million Aberdeen aquatics centre. -
HCA allocates £180m through FirstBuy
The Homes and Communities Agency has handed out almost £180 million to developers through the FirstBuy shared equity scheme announced in the Budget. -
Health clients look to BSF contracts
Health clients are looking to use Building Schools for the Future contracts to build care facilities as the NHS reforms continue to hold up billions of pounds of work, Construction News has learned. -
High construction costs contribute to £3.5bn scheme delay
A £3.5 billion Mersey Estuary tidal power scheme will be delayed due to high construction costs and the unlikelihood of investment. -
Hill sees profits rise 36pc in 2010
Affordable homes contractor Hill saw group profits increase by more than a third last year, it has revealed. -
House prices down and set to fall further
House prices have dropped by 3.9 per cent over the past year and are set for further falls as sellers become more realistic about the value of their property, according to a new survey. -
House prices grow more in rich areas
The value of homes in the most economically prosperous locations of the UK has surged ahead of properties in the country’s poorest areas, according to a poll. -
Housing minister calls for self-build boost
Housing minister Grant Shapps has called on mortgage providers to kickstart a self-build movement in the UK by lending more money to people who want to build their own homes. -
Housing registrations flat in May
The number of new homes registered by housebuilders in May 2011 was almost identical to the number registered in the same period last year, figures have shown. -
IGT Response: CPA 'disappointed' with carbon measurement detail
The Construction Products Association has said the government’s response to the IGT report has not done enough to address concerns about the way carbon is measured. -
IGT response: Green Construction Board must ‘change attitudes’
The construction industry has welcomed the government’s formation of a Green Construction Board, but warned it must be given enough power to deliver change. -
IGT response: ICE calls for strong leadership on Green Construction Board
The Green Construction Board must be led by a major industry figure, according to the Institution of Civil Engineers president Peter Hansford, who today welcomed the government’s response to the Innovation and Growth Team report. -
IGT response: RICS welcomes call for collaboration
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has welcomed the government’s response to the Innovation and Growth Team report on Low Carbon Construction, praising its “willingness to work with the construction industry”. -
IGT response: UKGBC hails new era of co-operation on low carbon
The government has ushered in a new era of co-operation on low carbon construction with its response to the Innovation and Growth Team report, according to the UK Green Building Council. -
IGT response: VAT cuts must go with mandatory upgrades says FMB
Government plans to launch a consultation on mandatory energy efficiency upgrades must be coupled with a targeted VAT reduction on the price of installation, according to the Federation of Master Builders. -
IGT: Mark Prisk to co-chair Green Construction Board
Construction minister Mark Prisk will co-chair the new Green Construction Board, with an industry co-chair to be chosen within weeks. -
Industry tables infrastructure plan
More than 70 industry leaders have sought to stamp their influence on the government-led overhaul of construction practices by drawing up an action plan for change in the infrastructure sector. -
Insulation needed on almost half of UK's homes
Almost half the UK’s homes are not properly insulated, the government has revealed. -
JCB sales up 48pc in 2010
JCB increased revenue by nearly 50 per cent in 2010 as it made a “strong recovery from the deepest-ever recession in the global construction equipment industry”. -
Kier confident after hitting revenue target
Kier has secured all expected construction revenue to 30 June 2011 and is looking forward to a good performance this financial year, it said in an interim report to the Stock Exchange today. -
Legal challenge to West Ham's Olympic Stadium move dismissed
The High Court has rebuffed attempts by two football clubs to seek a judicial review into the decision to award the Olympic Stadium to West Ham after the 2012 Games. -
Liquidators move in at two Mckean Group firms
Forty-two people lost their jobs on Monday after provisional liquidators were appointed to construction and civil engineering firm Mckean & Company (Glasgow). -
London Underground to require CSCS cards
London Underground has announced plans to require all its contractors to ensure their staff are registered on the Construction Skills Certification Scheme or similar from September this year. -
Mansell to launch solar division
Mansell has announced it will launch a new renewables division focusing on design, funding, installation and maintenance of solar panels. -
Miller and Hoistway fined £110,000 for safety failures
Miller Construction and subcontractor Hoistway have been ordered to pay more than £140,000 in fines and costs after safety failures led to a man suffering permanent brain damage. -
Miller secures first ProCure 21+ deal
Miller has won its first job through the £4.2 billion ProCure 21+ health capital framework. -
Network Rail awards repairs framework places
Network Rail has awarded 11 contractors places on a nationwide civils and buildings framework. -
ONS defends accuracy as criticism continues
Construction economists have taken issue with the Office for National Statistics’ insistence it produces “the largest and most comprehensive” measure of how the industry is faring. -
ONS hits back at construction critics
The Office for National Statistics has defended its construction industry data, saying it offers the “largest and most comprehensive” measure of the industry’s output. -
Persimmon tops FirstBuy handouts
Persimmon has secured almost 20 per cent of the funding for the government’s new shared equity scheme FirstBuy, after allocations were heavily weighted towards the Midlands and the North of England. -
Pickles hits back on planning vacuum
Communities Secretary Eric Pickles has responded to a select committee report which accused the government of creating a planning vacuum via its hasty abolition of the regional spatial strategies. -
Plans submitted for £8bn Earl’s Court overhaul
Planning applications for an £8 billion scheme in Earls Court, West London, were submitted by developer EC Properties today. -
Police identify 67 year old killed in scaffolding fall
Tayside Police have identified a man who died after falling from scaffolding as 67-year-old George Carr from Dundee. -
PPP “essential” for infrastructure
Public-private partnerships must continue to play an essential role in infrastructural investment despite government cutbacks, according to a report by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors. -
RICS launches new guide to speed up construction
The costs and benefits of speeding up the construction process have been set out in new guidance from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. -
Ringway Jacobs wins £147m Cheshire roads job
Ringway Jacobs has scooped Cheshire East Council’s five-year highway maintenance contract, worth up to £147 million. -
Rotherham Utd chair insists any stadium cash 'shortfall' will be met
The chairman of Rotherham United has insisted that the funding is in place for GMI Construction to finish building the club’s new £17.3 million stadium. -
RWC and Phi ordered to pay £6.7m to Carillion
A long running legal battle over work to the Wembley train servicing depot has ended with a High Court judgement ordering geotechnical engineer Phi Group and Robert West Consulting to share the cost of more than £6.7 million of damages owed to Carillion in a 60:40 split. -
Sir Robert McAlpine maintains 100pc project delivery record
Sir Robert McAlpine has revealed it cut carbon emissions by 10 per cent in the year to 31 October 2010, as well as completing all projects on time and under budget. -
Site waste clampdown targets procurement
Failings at the procurement and design stages of projects are proving major obstacles to the industry’s ambition to halve the amount of construction and demolition waste sent to landfill by 2012, according to a key report published yesterday. -
Six in line for £500m housing framework
Countryside, Higgins, Hill Partnerships, United House, Wates and Willmott Dixon are in line to join a £500 million framework with housing association A2Dominion, Construction News understands. -
Sustainable presumption 'could lead to confusion'
The government’s proposed presumption in favour of sustainable development has been hailed by developers - but a leading barrister has warned it could lead to planning confusion. -
Ty Goddard to leave BCSE
The British Council for School Environments has confirmed that director Ty Goddard is to leave the organisation. -
UKCG calls for private finance solutions
The UK Contractors Group has launched a manifesto calling for collective action from the public and private sectors on the use of private finance in infrastructure funding. -
Wates acquires property maintenance firm
Wates is to hone in on the property maintenance business after taking over a leading repairs and refurbishment firm. -
Wates calls for suppliers for East Mids framework
Wates is offering contractors in the East Midlands the chance to join its supply chain. -
Wates secures £37m academies deal
Wates Construction has secured a £37 million contract to build two academis in Brent, London. -
Willmott Dixon and Savills to develop 'build-to-let' housing schemes
Willmott Dixon has announced the establishment of a joint venture with Savills to develop a national portfolio of private rented housing. -
Willmott explores Green Deal service
Willmott Dixon is exploring partnerships with high street retailers and financiers to offer a one-stop Green Deal delivery service. -
Work restarts at P Elliott Athletes' Village site
More than 100 staff are back to work on the Athletes’ Village plot that closed five weeks ago after lead construction firm P Elliott entered receivership. -
WYG targets £30m refinancing deal
WYG is attempting to secure a £30 million refinancing deal it says will enable growth following a turbulent two-and-a-half years.
