CNinsight - industry and company dataConstruction News
15 December 2011
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Handling of FiTs cuts slammed by MPs in report
The government’s handling of “shock” cuts to feed-in tariff payments to solar schemes was “clumsy” and is undermining confidence in energy policy, according to a report by two MPs on influential select committees. -
90pc of contractors say FiT changes will destroy consumer demand
Nearly 90 per cent of contractors believe the government proposal to halve the Feed-in Tariff rate will lead to a major fall in customer demand for solar panel works, according to the Electrical Contractors’ Association. -
Administrators save 80 jobs as T Jolly maintenance division is sold off
The maintenance division of failed contractor T Jolly Services has been bought by Atlas Clean Air, saving 79 jobs in the process. -
Apollo Keepmoat merger gets green light from OFT
Apollo and Keepmoat are set to merge by the end of this month after the Office of Fair Trading gave the deal the green light. -
Average UK house price down 2.1 per cent
The average UK house price was 2.1 lower in December 2011 than the same month in 2010, according to housing research firm Hometrack. -
Average wins for top contractors slipped by 15pc in 2011
The size of the average contract win for the UK’s top contractors slipped by 15 per cent last year as larger contractors chased smaller projects to maintain workloads, Construction News can reveal. -
Balfour Beatty alliance wins £535m Australia rail works
Balfour Beatty has won a £535 million contract as part of a joint venture with Thiess and Sinclair Knight Merz for rail works in Melbourne, Australia. -
Balfour Beatty confirmed for £800m Essex waste PPP
A joint venture between Balfour Beatty and Urbaser has been confirmed as preferred bidder for the £800m Essex waste partnership residual waste treatment contract. -
Battersea Power Station to go on sale early next year
Batterseas Power Station is set to go on the market early in the new year, according to Wandsworth Borough Council. -
Brandon Hire buys surveying and equipment supplier Phoenix
Equipment hire firm Brandon Hire has bought Phoenix Surveying Equipment, a UK supplier of surveying and construction equipment. -
Camden launches attack on Middlesex Hospital plans
Authority objects to £750m revamp of site in neighbouring Westminster -
Canary Wharf to start 23 storey tower with £190m loan
Canary Wharf Group has secured a £190 million loan facility which will allow it to start a major office scheme at 25 Churchill Place. -
Carillion to build M6 managed motorway in £105m deal
Carillion has been chosen to transform a stretch of the M6 in Birmingham, between Junctions 5 and 8, into a £104.9m managed motorway. -
Carillion wins £100m Canadian highways contract
Carillion has seen further success in Canada after being appointed preferred bidder for a 12-year highway maintenance contract worth more than £100 million. -
Climate minister Greg Barker takes to Twitter to defend FiTs cuts
Friends of the Earth has hit out at government plans to appeal a successful legal challenge to Feed-in Tariff cuts as ‘an expensive waste of taxpayers money’. -
Constructing Excellence secures BIM funding to support contractors
Constructing Excellence is set to provide tier one contractors and SMEs in their supply chains with support to implement BIM after it was awarded European funding. -
Construction output to fall sharply in 2012 as CPA downgrades forecasts
Construction output is set to fall by more than 5 per cent during 2012 according to the latest forecasts from the Construction Products Association. -
Construction Parliamentary Update - 22 December 2011
A round-up of all the construction news from Westminster this week, brought yoto you by the Madano Partnership -
Contractors criticised for passing levy fee costs to suppliers
Supply chain members are being advised to seek legal advice if they are having levy payments deducted from their pay by main contractors. -
Contractors join campaign for HS2 construction to begin
Leading contractors including VolkerWessels, Galliford Try, Henry Boot and Miller are among the signatories to a letter demanding urgent high speed rail investment. -
Costain enters 2012 with £100m in bank and £2.5bn order book
Costain is heading into 2012 with more than £100 million in the bank and a £2.5 billion order book, it said today. -
December construction boost will lift UK economy, says CIPS
A surprise rise in construction output in December is set to help the UK economy avoid a fourth quarter contraction, according to the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply. -
DIO begins the hunt for private sector partner to manage contractors
The Defence Infrastructure Organisation has taken the first step on the road to appointing a private sector partner to manage the MoD estate and the procurement and management of construction contracts. -
Download Contract Leads - 3 January 2012
Download the latest contract leads here -
Energy opportunities: 2012 could bring avalanche of work
New year, new opportunities. It is easy to get caught up in all the doom and gloom, mainly spread by people like me, but there are great opportunities for contractors out there. -
Feed-in tariff cuts 'unlawful', judge rules
Friends of the Earth wins legal challenge against government over FITs -
Frameworks and care homes boost GB Group
GB Group saw a 4 per cent rise in turnover and pre tax profit in 2011 as it focused on frameworks and specialist sectors such as care homes. -
Free BIM adoption guide
Want to know how to implement BIM within your business? Construction News, in association with Autodesk, has produced an essential free supplement on adoption strategies. -
Galliford Try beats Lanes in multimillion pound appeal court case
Decision leaves door open for “adjudicator shopping” warn lawyers -
Hammersmith flyover concerns grow ahead of Olympics
Engineers are continuing to carry out investigations on potential solutions to the damaged Hammersmith flyover after fears grew that the structure could be closed for longer than first expected leading up to the Olympics. -
Hammersmith Flyover stays closed due to “serious structural defect”
Transport for London is to keep the A4 Hammersmith Flyover shut as it conducts further investigations into the “serious structural defect” which forced its immediate closure shortly before Christmas. -
Highways Agency moves to reassure contractors
The Highways Agency has moved to reassure construction chiefs over its long-term plans after the value of roads work dipped below rail for the first time on record. -
Hilson Moran directors stage £5m management buyout
Private equity backers help Walkie Talkie, Pinnacle and Olympics consultant become independent -
Hold on – we’re almost at the tipping point
Steel yourself: 2012 is going to be another tough year for the construction industry. -
House prices fall by 1.9 per cent
The average house price for England and Wales was almost 2 per cent lower in November 2011 than in 2010, according to the latest figures from the Land Registry. -
Housing crisis warning as planning permissions fall 10pc
Planning permissions dropped 10 per cent in the last quarter, potentially intensifying the country’s housing crisis, according to the Home Builders Federation. -
Industry says we are 'better prepared' for potential recession in 2012
The construction industry is steeling itself for a tough 2012 but feels better prepared to deal with the tough times than earlier in the downturn, Construction News’ annual survey has revealed. -
Interserve scoops £100m West Yorkshire Police HQ job
An Interserve led consortium has beaten Balfour Beatty to win the contract to build two new police headquarters, custody suites and a training facility in West Yorkshire. -
ISG awarded two MoD contracts worth £9.7m
ISG has been awarded two MoD accommodation refurbishment projects worth a total value of £9.7m -
Jobs go at Black Horse Contractors as administrators called in
A Wiltshire-based groundworks and civil engineering contractor has called in administrators after making around 180 staff redundant. -
Kent contractor in administration
Kent contractor M&E Civil Engineering & Groundworks Ltd has been placed into administration. -
Kier confirms £17.8m West Midlands school win
Kier Moss has signed a contract to build the £17.8 million Phoenix School in Dawley for Telford & Wrekin Council, the final contract under the first phase of the authority’s Building Schools for the Future programme. -
Lending to construction businesses shows upturn
Lending to construction businesses by high street banks rose for the first time in three months in November 2011, according to statistics from the British Bankers Association. -
London Bridge revamp plans get green light
Southwark Council has given design proposals for the revamp of London Bridge the go ahead allowing early contractor involvement to progress with Costain leading construction. -
Mace bags £15m Centurion House
A contract to redevelop 80,000 sq ft of grade A office space in the City of London has been awarded to Mace, Construction News understands. -
Mark Bew leaves URS Scott Wilson to focus on BIM
The chairman of the government’s BIM group has left his position as director of business information systems at URS Scott Wilson to focus on chairing the government’s shift towards mandating BIM in contracts. -
Mayor to be questioned as Olympic Park legacy plans to be revisited
The Mayor of London’s chief of staff has told a London Assembly committee that the Olympic Park legacy plans will have to be revisited. -
McLaren named preferred bidder for £20m Hoddesdon Morrisons
Centros UK has named McLaren Construction as preferred bidder for the £20 million redevelopment of Hoddesdon town centre, Construction News can reveal. -
Midas wins £8m student accommodation contract
Midas Construction has won a contract to build student accommondation for University College Falmouth and the University of Exeter. -
Miller confirmed for £44m Leicester BSF contracts
Miller Construction has been confirmed for work on six schools worth £43.9 million under the next two phases of Leicester City Council’s Building Schools for the Future Programme. -
Morgan Sindall pushes for Sellafield infrastructure work
The winning contractor for the £1.1bn Sellafield Infrastructure Strategic Alliance will be asked to demonstrate 25 per cent savings on costs. -
Mouchel boost as Bournemouth hands over finance dept
Bournemouth Borough Council has extended its outsourcing deal with Mouchel after carrying out a risk assessment of the consultancy. -
MPs attack new PFI policy
The committee of MPs that slammed the private finance initiative as poor value for money has warned the government against creating new forms of private financing “by the back door” which carry the same “defects”. -
National Grid awards Balfour Beatty a £750m contract extension
Balfour Beatty has announced it has won a five-year, £750 million extension to its contract with National Grid to maintain and upgrade the electricity transmission network in the UK. -
Nearly 40pc of Balfour sparks signed up to new pay terms
Almost 40 per cent of the 1,250 Balfour Beatty Electrical Services employees subject to the Building Engineering Services National Agreement have now signed up to their new terms and conditions. -
Network Rail awards £55m Edinburgh-Glasgow contracts
Morgan Sindall, Bam Nuttall and Carillion have been awarded a total of £55 million in contracts under -
New housing procurement alliance aims to create building jobs
Fusion21, the Northern Housing Consortium and Procurement for Housing are forming a new alliance aimed at creating industry jobs and saving money for more than 1,000 social landlords. -
NG Bailey lands MoD atomic weapons contract
NG Bailey has been awarded a contract with the Ministry of Defence, to provide mechanical and electrical services to the Atomic Weapons Establishment at Burghfield, in Berkshire. -
ODA chief John Armitt awarded knighthood
Olympics leaders among several construction figures honoured -
Olympic dreams shattered for Boris' £60m floating river park
Mayor of London’s pet project due to be built by Mace goes back to the drawing board in the face of strong opposition -
Persimmon profits soar 50pc in 2011
Persimmon is expecting a 50 per cent increase in pre-tax profit for 2011, the house builder announced this morning. -
Private investment in student digs nears £840m
Almost £840 million was invested in the development of student accommodation in 2011, research by CBRE has revealed. -
Resolution to Eurozone crisis top priority for construction SMEs
A fifth of the heads of SME construction firms wants the UK to leave the EU in 2012, according to a new survey. -
SFT holds talks with Infrastructure UK on PFI alternative
The director of finance at the Scottish Futures Trust, responsible for procurement of £2.5bn in Scottish infrastructure where contractor profits are capped, said he is ‘hopeful’ that Treasury officials will consider the model as they search for a replacement for PFI. -
Shepherd appoints Willmott Dixon’s Mark Tant as southern MD
Shepherd Construction has appointed Mark Tant as managing director for the company’s southern division. -
SMEs 'more aggressive' on business management in face of economic woes
Smaller construction firms are being more aggressive in the way they manage their business as turnover continues to rise and fall in the face of economic uncertainty and government cuts, new research has found. -
Taylor Wimpey plans record London volumes
Housebuilder unveils biggest ever project pipeline in the capital this year -
TfL insist the Hammersmith flyover will be open for the Olympics
Engineers have inserted 100 cameras into the Hammersmith flyover to further assess cable damage as TfL staff insisted the structure will reopen in time for the Olympics. -
Thomas Vale completes Wolverhampton Passivhaus schools
Thomas Vale Construction has recently completed two new Passivhaus primary school buildings, the first in the UK, for Wolverhampton City Council. -
Thomas Vale formalises Passivhaus joint venture to win education work
Thomas Vale has announced it has entered into a joint venture with Architype architects to bid for design and build Passivhaus contracts. -
TIF proposals boost project hopes
A £4.5 billion regeneration project in Brent, an £80 million roads job in Luton and the Northern Line extension have been given a boost by government plans to give councils more control of their business rates. -
Top contractors dig in ahead of tough 2012
While the scale of Crossrail continues to catch the industry’s imagination, the reality is it is one of a dwindling pool of major high-profile schemes. -
Torbay council seeks partner for £150m sports hub
Torbay Council is seeking a development partner for its Clennon Valley and Goodrington Sports and Tourism hub, valued at up to £150 million. -
Travis Perkins takes total control of Toolstation in £24m deal
Builders’ merchant and DIY retailer Travis Perkins has bought up the remaining 70 per cent of Toolstation in a £24 million deal. -
Treasury and pension funds meet twice a month to answer £20bn infra question
Treasury representatives are meeting with leading pension fund members at least twice a month, with a view to making a public announcement by the 2012 Budget on how they intend to open the gates to UK infrastructure investment. -
Two-thirds of Brits back Olympic construction effort
Almost two-thirds of Britons are impressed by the UK construction industry’s delivery of London 2012, a Populus poll for The Times has shown. -
Vinci wins £23m Cardiff accommodation and fire station deal
Vinci Construction UK has been named as the winner of a £23m contract from developers Cambrian Holst for a student accommodation block and fire station in central Cardiff. -
We’re all agreed: the way out is reform, not suicide bidding
Paul Morrell takes stock of the Construction News Survey 2012. -
Which stories made the headlines in 2011?
From contracts to companies, Boris Johnson to Noel Edmonds, relive Construction News’ top construction events of 2011. -
Will the High Court’s ruling on Feed-in Tariffs save solar?
Just before Christmas came the dramatic High Court ruling that the government acted unlawfully in the way it dealt with adjustment of Feed-in Tariff rates for solar PV. -
Willmott Dixon lands £33m Keynsham regen project
Willmott Dixon has been awarded a £33m deal to design and build the Keynsham Regeneration Project by Bath and North East Somerset Council. -
WSP reports £15m restructuring hit as it gets set for 2012
WSP is set to incur nearly £15 million in restructuring and refinancing costs after repositioning itself for 2012, it revealed today.
