Construction News
Nick Edwards
Nick is the editor of Construction News and group editor of RAC and HVN
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Say hello to the new Construction News
16-Jun-2011
It’s just as tightly focused on what’s useful to readers and with even more depth and good ideas than before. -
Reform will be essential to back training levy
21-Apr-2011
The training levy administered by CITBConstructionSkills gets a lot of people hot under the collar. -
Housebuilders should welcome green moves
31-Mar-2011
You wait for ages for a green deal and then two come along at once. As Construction News’ Jack Sidders reports this week, the government plans to introduce new incentives for housebuilders to build more zero-carbon homes. -
Issues remain as carbon competition intensifies
25-Mar-2011
Last week’s announcement on renewable energy subsidies disappointed as many people as it pleased, as you would expect when different technologies are vying to prove their viability. -
How did the OFT get it so wrong over fines?
17-Mar-2011
Here are some good questions for the OFT to answer in the aftermath of the Competition Appeal Tribunal’s dramatic reduction in fines for companies involved inthe ‘cover pricing’ inquiry. -
Bonds mark worrying step in industry battle
10-Mar-2011
Another front has been opened in an increasingly bloody battle between a certain type of client and the contractors they want to work with: on-demand bonds. -
The best employers will soon reap the benefits
3-Mar-2011
What makes a good company a good employer? Some of the best contractors are putting a lot of effort into improving what they offer the people who work for them -pay, benefits, training and development opportunities. -
SMEs: as inspirational as they are important
24-Feb-2011
Next week’s Ecobuild exhibition is, in one sense, a festival of innovation - contractors, clients and architects will be crawling over it to find the new ideas that will help turn low carbon into a business opportunity. -
Housebuilding boost for Galliford Try
23-Feb-2011
Galliford Try increased its profits by 29 per cent to £17 million in the second half of 2010 on broadly flat turnover of £576m. -
Barhale chief vow to double turnover
17-Feb-2011
Engineering contractor Barhale will show a return to profit when it reports its 2010 results in April, its chief executive has predicted. -
Dave and I to be better friend to smaller firms
17-Feb-2011
Does government rhetoric about encouraging public sector clients to have more of a local focus mean opportunities for smaller companies? It’s an issue that divides the industry. -
Public sector clients: it’s all about best value
10-Feb-2011
Is the age of ‘politically correct’ procurement dead - and if so what effect will it have on the construction industry? -
Capita Symonds chief executive on the public property opportunity
2-Feb-2011
Information about what built assets the government owns, and what revenue it does and could get from them, generally suffers from inaccuracies. -
Mouchel signs new banking deal as Costain circles
27-Jan-2011
Mouchel has announced it has successfully refinanced its main banking facilities, in the midst of take-over approaches by Costain. -
Costain makes fresh Mouchel bid at £175m
21-Jan-2011
Costain has tabled a “significantly enhanced” new proposal to the board of Mouchel for an offer valuing its shares at 153.2 pence. -
Technology could be an education for schools
9-Dec-2010
Chief construction adviser Paul Morrell has spent his first year trying to position the main contractor as the engine of integration in a more efficient (and bettervalued) industry. -
CN forum: coalition is delivering
18-Nov-2010
The government’s clarity of policy and decision-making has been much better than expected, according to the latest Construction Leaders Forum, organised by Construction News in association with Hays. -
All eyes turn to pace of private sector recovery
28-Oct-2010
After the devil, the detail. A week after the Chancellor announced what amounts to a £20bn capital spending cut between now and 2014/15, government departments and various types of local authorities are working out what it means in practice. -
Bid price war set to ease next year
22-Jul-2010
The squeeze on tender prices will begin to ease in the second quarter of next year, according to research by consultancy EC Harris. -
Property tsar predicts public sector refurb glut
19-Jul-2010
Public spending cuts will create opportunities for contractors to refit and renovate state-owned buildings, according to the Government’s property tsar. -
Douglas takes on port ‘mega-project’
1-Jul-2010
Former Laing O’Rourke chief operating officer Tony Douglas has spoken of the “mega-project” he will inherit in his new role at the Abu Dhabi Ports Company. -
Tony Douglas named Abu Dhabi Ports CEO
28-Jun-2010
Former Laing O’Rourke COO Tony Douglas has been named the new chief executive officer of the Abu Dhabi Ports Company, the organisation which runs all of the country’s ports and port industrial zones. -
Lucas calls for single carbon wishlist
8-Apr-2010
Construction minister Ian Lucas has urged the industry to form a “cohesive response” to Paul Morrell’s report on low carbon. -
Green bank will focus on risky deals
1-Apr-2010
The £2 billion cash injection for sustainable infrastructure projects announced in last week’s Budget will be focused on “high risk investments”. -
Industry chiefs predict slim Tory win
25-Mar-2010
A slim Conservative majority is the most likely result of the general election, according to a new survey of construction industry leaders commissioned by Construction News. -
Consultants fear election ‘nightmare’
18-Mar-2010
A hung parliament is becoming increasingly certain and would be a “nightmare” for the construction industry, according to some of the most senior managers from the professional services sector. -
Morrell: Firms missing retrofit opportunity
18-Feb-2010
Contractors should take a key management role in the retrofitting of 26 million homes to meet carbon reduction targets, chief construction adviser Paul Morrell has said. -
Cnplus.co.uk is exclusive to CN subscribers
7-Jan-2010
cnplus.co.uk has introduced a subscription barrier, giving exclusive access to subscribers. -
Leaders forecast tough times in 2010
26-Nov-2009
Optimism among some of the construction industry’s biggest companies has fallen sharply since the spring, according to the latest Construction Leaders Forum report. -
Laing O'Rourke consortium sues Department of Health
4-Nov-2009
A Laing O’Rourke-led consortium has launched a £20 million law suit against the Department of Health and the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust over a cancelled £921 million hospital project. -
Big contractors eye up house building
11-Jun-2009
Several large contractors are considering a move into the house building sector, according to Homes and Communities Agency chief executive Sir Bob Kerslake. -
HCA chief warns housebuilders not to go into 'hibernation'
11-Jun-2009
The major private housebuilders are at risk of going into “hibernation” and accepting very low levels of housing completions, according to Sir Bob Kerslake. -
HCA calls on local authorities to step up to housing challenge
11-Jun-2009
Local authorities need to take on a more active role to revive the moribund mixed use regeneration sector, through new forms of funding and better integration with other public sector investment, according to the Homes and Communities Agency. -
Nottingham regen is rare bright spark
20-May-2009
Glenigan expects the poor level of project starts experienced during the first quarter to persist over the next three months in the East Midlands -
Big projects buoy capital works
20-May-2009
The infrastructure sector’s year has had a strong start with a great showing in the North-west -
Public sector stalls for Northern Ireland
13-May-2009
Starts on site will fall until the middle of next year, though housing offers some optimism -
Construction Leaders Forum: Order books and confidence shrink
13-May-2009
Construction Leaders Forum on extent of downturn and anger at government -
Civil engineering holds the key
6-May-2009
Civil and utilities projects have beaten private housing and industrial construction -
The housing slump is set to get worse
15-Apr-2009
Falls in underlying project starts and planning approvals suggest 12-18 month wait for recovery -
BSF is key for education starts
8-Apr-2009
The education sector will be dependent on the Building Schools for the Future programme -
North-east hopes for Q3 upsurge
3-Apr-2009
Construction in the North East of England is in the throes of a painful contraction in the flow of new projects, according to Glenigan analysis. -
Laing O’Rourke to grow 25pc this year
26-Mar-2009
Laing O’Rourke is set to defy the downturn, growing by a quarter in 2008-9 and posting revenues in excess of £5 billion, chairman Ray O’Rourke has revealed in his first interview in decades. -
Social housing is key to Brown action
25-Mar-2009
Although 2008 was a poor year for social housing policy insiders confirm that the government’s number one public spending priority is housing - it is seen as the most direct way to get the economy going. -
Bright start after North-west squeeze
17-Mar-2009
After a tough 2008, starts on start should get close to £1bn in the second quarter -
Clogged arteries on health construction
17-Mar-2009
Slow first half predicted for health contracts although south of England starting 2009 strongly -
Construction firms blacklisted for credit, says MP
27-Feb-2009
Construction companies are being blacklisted for credit by banks’ centralised lending policies purely on the basis of the sector they work in, according to John Speller MP. -
OGC will name late payers to push good practice
26-Feb-2009
Public sector clients will be able to compare the payment practices of construction companies for the first time under plans taking effect later this year.
