Construction News
19 January 2012
View all stories from this issue.
-
Capital Shopping Centres land buy boosts Braehead extension plans
Retail developer Capital Shopping Centres has agreed a deal with Peel Group to buy land which will help boost plans to extend the Braehead shopping centre in Glasgow. -
Mace moves global HQ to Moorgate
All 700 staff from five London offices will move to new headquarters -
"Cyril" finally dropped from Sweett Group name
The construction consultancy formerly called Cyril Sweett, has completed the rebranding exercise which lopped the founder’s first name off the company’s title. -
450 jobs go as ex-Connaught firm enters administration
Former Connaught subsidiary and FM specialist Fountains has been bought out of administration by OCS Group for an undisclosed sum. -
621 construction firms go under in Q4 2012
The number of construction firms going out of business will peak in the next six months, following 621 insolvencies in the final quarter of 2012, according to PwC. -
AECOM named Glasgow 2014 transport adviser
Consultant AECOM’s UK transportation practice has been hired by Glasgow City Council to advise on the transport strategy for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. -
Ambulance called after ex Ucatt chief Ritchie falls ill at disciplinary hearing
An ambulance was called to the disciplinary hearing of Alan Ritchie this week after the former Ucatt general secretary fell ill. -
Apollo poaches Balfour Beatty head of supply chain
Balfour Beatty Construction head of supply chain Vince Hanning has joined Apollo, Construction News understands. -
Asda plans £500m expansion
Supermarket giant Asda is gearing up to open 25 new stores in 2012 with a £500 million investment. -
Bam Construct to lead £20m Hampshire school redevelopment
Bam Construction has been chosen to lead a £20m redevelopment of Park Community School in Hampshire. -
Barratt’s Basildon masterplan approved for consultation
Draft plans for a massive regeneration project in Basildon town centre have been approved for a six week public consultation. -
Bidders sought for Bath Uni £15m refurb job
Bath University today issued a contract notice seeking a main contractor for the refurbishment and extension of its main campus 1 West building. -
Bids sought for £22 million NHS unit
Bids are being invited for a £22 million intensive care unit at Kings College Hospital in South London. -
Cambridge University tenders £48m biotech building
Cambridge University is seeking contractors to bid for a £48 million design & build project to create a new home for its Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology. -
Carillion in line for £100m of academies contracts
Carillion has been appointed preferred bidder for £100 million worth of academy schools contracts. -
CH2M Hill named as HS2 delivery partner
HS2 Ltd has announced the proposed appointment of CH2M Hill as its development partner for the next phase of engineering, design and environmental work on the first phase of the £32bn scheme. -
CITB: 45,000 jobs to go in 2012
Trades to be hit hardest as skills body forecasts five years in the doldrums -
Closer checks urged for supply chain
Major contractors must take a more hands-on approach to mitigating risk in their supply chain as the number of insolvencies increases, audit firm PwC has warned. -
Construction output falls by 0.5pc in 2011 Q4, says ONS
Construction output fell by 0.5 per cent in the last quarter of 2011, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics. -
Contractor fined over injuries to coma man
Nottinghamshire engineering contractor, Van Elle has been fined £12,750 after one of its staff was left with “life changing injuries” following an accident on an excavator. -
Contractors fear FiT clear-out
A High Court defeat for the Government over its cutting of feed-in tariff (FiT) prices paid for solar power could create a mad dash that wipes out all remaining cash available under the scheme, electrical contractors have warned. -
Crossrail chief: HS2 green light is a 'fantastic' decision
Crossrail’s chief executive Andrew Wolstenholme has hailed the government’s green light for HS2 as a “fantastic” decision. -
Crossrail offers supply chain BIM training
Crossrail is to offer all its contractors and their subcontractors training in building information modelling in return for full access to the data they use in the models. -
Crossrail's Pudding Mill Lane site to close during Olympics
Work at Crossrail’s Pudding Mill Lane site will come to a halt between May and September due to the Olympic and Paralympic Games. -
David Langdon names new European MD
Steve Waltho has been appointed as managing director for Europe at construction consultancy David Langdon. -
Download Contract Leads - 23 January 2012
Download the latest contract leads here -
Download free and exclusive CNinsight/Glenigan report and webinar
CNinsight and Glenigan are offering readers the chance to download exclusive research on contract trends over the past five years - free to registered users. -
Environment Agency launches £40m waterways framework
The Environment Agency is seeking contractors to join a framework covering small civil works and maintenance of waterways with a potential £40 million of work up for grabs. -
Eurozone uncertainty pops London’s commercial bubble
Uncertainty in the eurozone caused by the ongoing debt crisis is undermining London’s commercial office market with two major projects already suffering setbacks just three weeks into 2012. -
Exclusive: Pinnacle work stops as Brookfield orders shutdown
Further blow to commercial offices sector as workers on £800 million Pinnacle skyscraper told to down tools amid concerns over finance and costs, Construction News reveals. -
FMB could make £3m with office move
The Federation of Master Builders could make around £3 million by moving headquarters. -
Former Battersea power station owners REO suspended from Stock Exchange
Former Battersea Power Station owners Real Estate Opportunities have been temporarily suspended from the London Stock Exchange. -
Forrest sales up 30 per cent as frameworks bear fruit
Social housing contractor Forrest has reported a 30 per cent increase in revenue with profits up by 16 per cent as it reaps the benefits of frameworks in the north of England. -
Galliford Try lands £40m of infra works
Galliford Try has won £40 million of infrastructure projects, it said this morning. -
Government considers scrapping BREEAM requirements for schools
The Department for Education is proposing scrapping BREEAM requirements for new schools under its £2bn priority schools programme, Construction News has learned. -
Government needs a lesson in BREEAM
You might think deciding whether schools should be energy efficient and sustainable would be as easy as ABC - or in this case as BREEAM - but it seems the government has other ideas. -
Health secretary formally announces NHS property company
Health secretary Andrew Lansley has formally announced details of the government-owned firm that will take over ownership and management of much of the NHS estate. -
Henry Boot on course for 2011 profits boost
Contractor and developer predicts strong profits despite a 13.7 per cent fall in revenue. -
Hewlett management buy out saves 300 jobs
Management says bank decision to call in administrators was a “hostile move”. -
Highways Agency invites bids for £11m A14 viaduct
The Highways Agency is inviting contractors to bid for the £11 million replacement of structural steelwork on the A14 railway viaduct in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire. -
Highways maintenance contractors sought for £90m framework
Hertfordshire County Council has begun its search for highways maintenance contractors for work worth up to £90 million under three lots. -
Industry fights for BREEAM-rated schools
The construction industry is fighting to keep BREEAM-accredited schools after Construction News revealed new schools may no longer have to achieve a ‘Very Good’ standard. -
JN Bentley hit with £200,000 pay out for 23 year old worker's death
Skipton based JN Bentley has been ordered to pay fines and costs totalling almost £200,000 following the death of a 23 year old Keighley man. -
Kier distances itself from TEG acquisition talk
Kier has stressed that it has no intention of buying organic waste management firm TEG Group after the latter revealed the contractor as a “potential interested party” yesterday. -
Laing O'Rourke hires Carillion Canada man to head up Middle East division
Laing O’Rourke hires former Carillion Canada senior manager Nick Down to head up its Middle Eastern team, and makes ‘young gun’ Callum Tuckett its head of UK construction. -
Land Secs to 'fire on all cylinders' under new chief
Land Securities’ new chief executive Robert Noel is determined to see the property firm “fire on all cylinders” when he takes over from Francis Salway, he told Construction News. -
Land Securities chief exec Francis Salway steps down
The chief executive of the UK’s largest property company Land Securities is to step down at the end of the financial year on 31 March 2012. -
London residential construction rockets by 40pc in 2011
Construction in the capital rocketed by 40 per cent in the last year on the back of the Olympics - but the market is already slowing, according to latest research from Drivers Jonas Deloitte. -
Mace wins £70m 240 Blackfriars tower
The Great Ropemaker Partnership has signed up Mace for the first phase of the £70 million development at 240 Blackfriars Road, Construction News understands. -
Mace wins next phase of £1bn Regent Street rebuild
Crown Estates and Exemplar award company £50m contract for work on luxury shopping street -
Mitie hails private sector pipeline as 'bouyant'
Mitie has pointed to contract wins of more than £90 million in the private and public sectors as proof of a ‘bouyant’ pipeline and revenue being in line with expectations. -
Morgan Sindall consortium lands £200m Scottish deal
A Morgan Sindall consortium has been appointed to more than £200m of public infrastructure, including health and education, projects through the Scottish Futures Trust. -
Morgan Sindall lands £14m Nottingham cable deal
Morgan Sindall has been awarded a contract worth around £14 million to design, supply, install and commission 13 kilometres of 132kV double circuit cable through Nottingham. -
Morgan Sindall scraps internal PQQs
Morgan Sindall has become the latest main contractor to sign up for the “Builders Profile” scheme joining the likes of Kier and Osborne in accepting centralised PQQs from subbies. -
Morgan Sindall wins £16m Exeter student block
The University of Exeter has awarded Morgan Sindall a £16 million contract to build a new student accommodation block. -
Paul Morrell: BIM is 'unstoppable'
The government’s chief construction adviser Paul Morrell has described the rise of building information modelling as ‘unstoppable’. -
Pic Exclusive: Crossrail TBMs being assembled
Crossrail has begun to assemble its first tunnel boring machines at Westbourne Park. -
Plans submitted for new Wandsworth tower
A planning application has been submitted to Wandsworth Council for the redevelopment of the Market Towers office building in Nine Elms. -
Recognise – and reduce – your exposure if subcontractors go bust
Jonathan Hook, head of construction and engineering at PwC, suggests what contractors should bear in mind regarding their supply chain exposure. -
Regulator signs off £288m Alder Hey hospital
Balfour Beatty and Laing O’Rourke consortiums expect final decision in “weeks” -
Rescue plea for 150 workers as Avocet Hardware falls into administration
Hardware and fixing supplier Avocet Hardware was placed into administration today. -
Roalco wins £72m social housing contract
Essex social housing specialist, Roalco, has won a £72 million contract from Home Group, to cover maintenance across its South East housing estate. -
Sales and marketing?
Just before Christmas the CIM took the very bold step to publish a paper that has sparked a huge amount of debate within the marketing press. -
Shepherd returns to site of troubled Berners Hotel scheme in £33m deal
Shepherd has announced it has won a £33 million contract to renovate the grade II listed former Berners Hotel in Fitzrovia - two years after quitting the project. -
Sign up to BESNA, Unite tells sparks
Trade union Unite is advising its members to sign up to the controversial Building Engineering Services National Agreement despite supporting months of protests, Construction News has learned. -
Staffordshire beefs up roads budget
Staffordshire County council will hand an additional £20 million to contractors for road maintenance projects staring in April. -
The cost of BREEAM in schools
Faithful+Gould director of sustainability Sean Lockie talks about government moves to scrap BREEAM regulations for schools. -
Three companies fined after promising athlete falls from roof
Three contractors have been fined a total of £336,000 after a worker fell through a roof in Dundee, sustaining injuries which threaten his career as a gymnast. -
Top contractors sign up to Network Rail fair payment charter
Network Rail has signed a fair payment charter with the biggest names in UK construction who will be asked to phase out the practice of retentions in contracts. -
UCATT pledge to fight for Norwich Fountains workers
UCATT has rallied around workers who have lost their jobs in Norwich following administration of Fountains this week. -
UKCG tells contractors to lobby local government
UK contractors are being encouraged to use evidence to lobby harder for funding for local projects. -
UK's first marine energy park to help boost £15bn industry
The government has announced the launch of the UK’s first marine energy park to be located in the South-west. -
Updating advice: Shepherd's defeat should be a reminder to contractors
Joanne Kelly is a partner in the construction team at Taylor Wessing -
Vinci wins £12m Bristol student accommodation deal
Vinci Construction has been appointed by Student Castle to carry out development of the former Bristol Pro Cathedral site into student accommodation. -
VolkerFitzpatrick seal Felixstowe rail deal
VolkerFitzpatrick has clinched a £20 million contract to build a freight rail terminal at Felixstowe port. -
Warwickshire first to use Willmott Dixon standardised school
Willmott Dixon says it has a potential £100m pipeline for standardised schools after Warwickshire County Council became the first authority to use its Sunesis school design. -
Wates wins £50m Hammersmith office scheme
Development Securities has appointed Wates on £50m prime office scheme in Hammersmith Grove. -
Worrying trend for skyscrapers
The commercial office sector should be booming. A lot of sizeable tenants are due to move home in the next few years as the past three decades of leases expire all at once.




