Construction News
29 September 2011
View all stories from this issue.
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Administrations up by 11pc, says Deloitte
Construction and property firm administrations spiked by 11 per cent to 117 in the last quarter with worse to come for medium-sized companies in the next few months, according to Deloitte. -
Andy Hazelhurst leaves Kier
Head of construction procurement departs company after 14 years -
Bam Nuttall blow as £295m Borders Rail procurement is changed
Transport Scotland has cancelled its original procurement process for the £295m Borders Rail scheme after the withdrawal of two consortiums left Bam Nuttall as the sole bidder. -
Bids invited for £30m Manchester Guided Busway
Transport for Greater Manchester has issued an OJEU notice for the Leigh to Ellenbrook Guided Busway, a job it estimates is worth £30 million. -
Cameron plans 200k housing boost with right to buy revamp
Prime Minister David Cameron has set out a package of measures on housing he claims could deliver 200,000 houses and create 400,000 jobs. -
Carillion prepares for 2012 support service boom
Carillion expects to see the fruits of public sector outsourcing and public private partnerships from next year, the firm said today. -
Carillion signs up to lead on Green Deal financing
Carillion has joined companies including British Gas, Kingfisher and EDF Energy to form The Green Deal Finance Company. -
Chancellor announces ‘credit easing’ to help SMEs
George Osborne has promised the government will set up a ‘credit easing’ scheme to “inject money directly” into small businesses. -
Chelsea FC buyback plan could signal Stamford Bridge move
Chelsea FC has made an approach to buy back the freehold land on which its pitch currently sits, a move which could pave the way for the club to build a new stadium. -
Chief executive Richard Cuthbert resigns from Mouchel
Mouchel Group chief executive Richard Cuthbert has tendered his resignation with immediate effect, as the firm said profits would be lower than expected. -
Construction is stagnating, buyers say
Building activity was static in September, weakened by falls in housing and civil engineering, a survey of industry purchasing managers shows. -
Construction Parliamentary Update - 30 September 2011
A round-up of all the construction news from Westminster this week, brought to you by the Madano Partnership -
Construction spend is “game changer” for growth, says CBI chief
CBI director-general John Cridland has used a major speech to call on government to boost construction spending in a bid to stimulate the economy. -
Contractors slam CAA contract terms
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has fallen foul of government fair payment pledges after demanding a 5 per cent retention fee and a 10 per cent performance bond before awarding a contract. -
Download Contract Leads - 3 October 2011
Download the latest contract leads here -
Exclusive: FMB State of Trade survey shows workload fears
The government has been urged to prioritise investment in the housebuilding industry as a survey of SME construction companies shows workloads are continuing to slide. -
Fears grow for year ahead after Q3 product sales plummet
Construction product manufacturers are bracing themselves for a tough 12 months after almost half of them reported a dive in sales in the third quarter of 2011. -
First Brit joins Council for Tall Buildings
Davis Langdon’s Steve Watts has become the first Britain to be named on the board of the Council for Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. -
Future pipelines to boost rail work
The rail industry’s plans for 2014-2019 should help avoid the work stoppages that occurred in the past two years, say contractors. -
Government board promises green construction growth
The construction industry is hoping the formation of a new government board will break down departmental silos and end confusion over green policy. -
Graham in line to secure Fife leisure centre
Graham Construction looks set to win a £14 million contract to build a second leisure complex for Fife Council, CN understands. -
HCA signs another £100m of affordable rent contracts
Nearly £100 million worth of Affordable Rent contracts were signed by the Homes and Communities Agency and housing providers last week as the total amount dished out so far nears £150m. -
Highways and water boost May Gurney's H1
May Gurney has reported a strong performance in the six months to September 2011 on the back of highways maintenance work and water contracts. -
ISG wins £12m Scottish Widows refurb
ISG has been awarded a £12m contract to carry out a refurbishment scheme for Scottish Widows Investment Partnership in Reading. -
Jones Bros targets £40m in renewables work over two years
Jones Bros is bucking the downturn in highways work by moving more resources into its renewables division with a target of achieving 50 per cent of its revenue from the sector within two years. -
Keller faces £1.5m high court claim
Ground engineering specialist Keller is facing a high court claim of over £1.5 million for allegedly defective piling works carried out at a Hampshire mansion. -
Laing O’Rourke books £95m Manchester library
Laing O’Rourke and Manchester City Council have signed a £95 million contract to transform the city’s Grade II* listed central library and extend the town hall. -
Land Secs wins planning resolution for 1 New Street Square in the City
Land Securities has secured resolution to grant planning consent for its 1 New Street Square development from the City of London. -
Land Securities submits new Bishop Centre plans
A planning application for the redevelopment of the Bishop Centre in Taplow has been submitted by Land Securities. -
Lend Lease sells £30m of hospital and school PPP assets
Lend Lease has sold the equity in three UK healthcare and education public private partnership assets to the Lend Lease UK Infrastructure Fund for £30 million. -
London Gateway 'to create 700 construction jobs' in coming months
Around 700 construction jobs will be created in the coming months to enable the London Gateway shipping port to open in two years’ time, it has been announced. -
Mace and EC Harris reveal nuclear wins
Mace has been awarded two decomissioning contracts as it steps up its bid to grow its presence in the nuclear sector. -
Mersey Gateway project funding finally confirmed
The government has confirmed it will provide £470 million towards the £590m construction of the Mersey Gateway bridge after there had been delays in funding. -
Mouchel shares crash by 37pc
Mouchel’s share price has crashed by 37 per per cent since yesterday, taking the market cap of the company that Interserve and Costain once offered to buy for £175 million down to £21.9m. -
Neil Cooper named new building regs chairman
Communities minister Andrew Stunell has announced that chartered surveyor Neil Cooper has been appointed as chairman of the Building Regulations Advisory Committee. -
Network Rail and Galliford Try launch investigation over Merseyrail short-circuit
Network Rail and Galliford Try have launched an investigation and are facing compensation payouts after workers who “disturbed” a cable cut power to the network causing travel chaos last Friday. -
Network Rail fined after train derailed
Network Rail Infrastructure has been fined £80,000 and ordered to pay costs of £32,000 after a train hit a collapsed public footbridge and derailed, injuring seven people. -
NI contractor Henry Bros fined £75,000 after worker's death
Northern Irish contractor Henry Bros has been fined after pleading guilty to breaches of health and safety regulation leading to an incident when an employee died. -
Olympic safety lessons to be rolled out to the regions
Lessons learned from the impeccable health and safety record achieved on the London 2012 Olympic site are to be rolled out across the regions. -
Q2 figures show growth, ONS says
Construction output rose by 1.1 per cent in the second quarter of 2011, compared with previous quarter, the latest figures from the UK’s National Audit Office show. -
Salford Uni in 2,000 bed extension
The University of Salford has begun the hunt for a contractor to build 2,000 new beds at its Peel Park campus. -
Scotland 'free from the shackles of PFI' says infrastructure secretary
The Scottish cabinet secretary for infrastructure has said Scotland has been freed from the schackles of PFI deals and insists the government remains committed to a new financial procurement model. -
Sisk profits up after doubling overseas revenue
Irish contractor the Sisk Group saw profits rise by 11 per cent in a “landmark” 2010, as revenue outside of Ireland doubled and the UK became its largest employment market. -
SME action must follow fine words
The government’s SME access ambitions are laudable. The economy is built on the work of small firms and if we are to climb out of the economic quagmire they will play a vital part. -
Speedy Chief: Deferred contracts holding back industry
Speedy Hire’s chief executive has said deferred contracts are increasing pressure on the construction industry with the government’s commitment to starting infrastructure work not reflected on the ground. -
Stuart Milne boosts profit despite dip in turnover
Housebuilder Stuart Milne has increased its pre-tax profit for the year to June 2011, despite a slight drop in turnover. -
Three contractors eye £750m ex-NoHo scheme
Three contractors have so far come forward to bid for the chance to build a £750 million mixed-use scheme at the former Middlesex Hospital site in Fitzrovia, central London, Construction News has learned. -
Travis Perkins sells Buck & Hickman for £27.6m
Travis Perkins has sold its tool and general maintenance retail business Buck & Hickman to Brammer for £27.6 million. -
UKGBC green task group aims to simplify sustainable agenda
The UKGBC has established a green building guidance task group including representatives from Bam Construct, Morgan Sindall and Halcrow and will publish a report in January aimed at simplifying green building information and tools. -
Utilities buoy Hyder in face of cuts
The utilities sector is providing one of the few bright spots in the UK amid major government cuts, according to Hyder Consulting. -
VolkerStevin Marine to protect Dundee pier in £15m contract
VolkerStevin Marine has been awarded a £15 million contract to carry out collision protection works at Dundee’s Tay Road Bridge pier. -
Waitrose unveils £1bn store plan
Waitrose has unveiled a £1 billion plan to open 100 new stores. -
We need to give young people a chance to generate growth
Construction is a crucial engine of Britain’s future economic growth as one of the major job creators in this country, employing over 3 million people. But I know that recent economic conditions have had a profound impact on growth and skills across the sector. -
Where are Cameron’s figures coming from?
You can tell David Cameron used to be in PR. On the eve of the Conservative Party conference, the Prime Minister gave the papers a story that re-announced an existing policy (build now, pay later), added a new policy (revive the right to buy), and came up with some nice big numbers: there will be 200,000 new homes and 400,000 new construction jobs. -
Wolseley returns to profit
Builders’ merchant Wolseley has returned to profit after an “extremely difficult” three years.
