Construction news

• “Skills gulf” could see construction wages double

  22-02-2017 01:01 via constructionenquirer.com
  Construction workers could see their wages double as the industry faces a “skills gulf”.
  Research from consultant Arcadis shows the industry needs to recruit over 400,000 people each and every year between now and 2021 – equivalent to one worker every 77 seconds – to cope with predicted workloads.
  The Arcadis Talent Scale predicts the rise of the “Minted” workforce – the Most in Need Trades Earning Double.The greatest need is for carpenters and joiners,
  
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• Delancey submits £400m King’s Cross lab plans

  17-04-2024 17:20 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Developer Delancey has submitted plans to build 200,000 sq ft of research and laboratory space overflying railway tunnels close to the surface on a brownfield site near London’s King’s Cross station.
  Situated in the growing Knowledge Quarter and Innovation District, the constrained site is located next to the disused York Road underground station,
  The innovative design for 176-178 York Way was drawn up by architect Kohn Pedersen Fox with structural engineer Arup to avoid loads on thr
  
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• Gove puts another major building scheme on hold

  17-04-2024 14:25 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Michael Gove has waded-in to another planning debate and put proposals for a major mixed-use scheme in the City of London on hold.
  The Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities issued an Article 31 notice this week on the plans for the redevelopment of the 140 and 150 London Wall sites, known as Bastion House and the former Museum of London.
  The move meant the City of London Corporation Planning Applications-Sub Committee was not allowed to grant full permission for the scheme
  
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• Sellar plans £500m City tower next to Walkie-Talkie

  17-04-2024 08:52 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Sellar and Japanese developer Obayashi Properties UK are planning a landmark office tower that would link the City cluster to the Walkie-talkie on the capital’s skyline.
  The proposed tower at 60 Gracechurch Street within the Square Mile is being designed by Danish architectural practice 3XN, whose projects include 2 Finsbury Avenue at Broadgate.
  The intention is to commence the redevelopment of the building once vacant possession is secured in 2026, subject to securing planning consent.
  OP
  
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• Severfield ends year on high with record order book

  17-04-2024 08:22 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Britain’ s biggest steelwork contractor ended its financial year on a high with a record order book up 6% to £511m.
  In a trading update this morning the firm said it expected to announce pre-tax profits slightly ahead of market expectations and would be launching a £10m share buyback to return excess capital to investors.
  Alan Dunsmore, Chief Executive Officer said: “The Group is performing well, the outlook is positive and our businesses are well-positioned in markets wi
  
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• Second senior director exits National Highways

  17-04-2024 08:02 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  National Highways commercial and procurement director Malcolm Dare is leaving after five years at the roads delivery body.
  Dare worked at National Highways through the Roads Investment Strategy 2 period, steering it through the challenges of Covid 19, building greater collaboration and setting out the organisation’s intent towards net zero.
  He presided over the major and ongoing procurement shift towards new integrated delivery mega frameworks, which will set the contractor procurement str
  
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• New scheme fuels London lab building boom

  17-04-2024 07:59 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  The surge in planned laboratory-led building projects in London shows no sign of slowing with another major scheme submitted for planning in Whitechapel.
  Specialist life sciences developer Lateral has teamed up with HIG Realty to submit plans for a 160,000 sq ft laboratory scheme located in the shadow of the Royal London Hospital site.
  Designed by AHMM, the 100-136 Cavell Street laboratory building will rise from 5 to 9 storeys and form part of the growing Whitechapel Life Science Cluster, which
  
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• £55m Sheffield build-to-rent scheme approved

  16-04-2024 17:00 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Manchester developer Beech Holdings has secured planning permission for a £55m build-to-rent scheme on Meadow Street in Sheffield.
  The Sheffield Gardens development, designed by architect Leach Rhodes Walker, will deliver 158 flats and a large, private gym, external landscaped courtyard, and roof-top gardens.
  Works will begin in the last months of 2024 with the demolition of the current dilapidated and unused commercial buildings on site.Chief executive Stephen Beech said.“This is a
  
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• Contract race starts for next £155m section of A9 dualling

  16-04-2024 16:12 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Transport Scotland has started the contract race for the next section of the A9 Dualling programme.
  A Prior Information Notice (PIN) for the Tay Crossing to Ballinluig project has now been published alerting contractors and their supply chains to the next opportunity on the project.
  The £155m contract will be procured as a design and build deal and involves upgrading approximately 8.2km of existing single carriageway, commencing just north of the Jubilee Bridge over the river Tay and endin
  
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• London back as most expensive place to build in world

  16-04-2024 11:08 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  London has regained the dubious distinction of once again being the most expensive city in the world in which to build.
  According to the latest Arcadis  International Construction Costs report, London has leapfrogged Geneva to achieve the top spot among 100 global cities.
  Prices were pushed upwards because of enhanced specifications associated with safety and sustainability, as well as higher client expectations.
  Another Swiss city Zurich ranked third with Munich taking fourth after rising
  
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• Steel contractor Billington launches into bridge market

  16-04-2024 09:16 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Steelwork specialist Billington is launching into the bridge market after delivering a record financial performance last year.
  This morning Billington chief executive Mark Smith revealed the firm had saved the jobs of at least 14 staff from failed bridge and architectural specialist SH Structures.Among those moving over from SH Structures is managing director David Perry.Smith said Billington would use the acquisition of the North Yorkshire firm’s specialist skills to take its existing spe
  
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• McGee employees benefit from rise in profits

  16-04-2024 08:54 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Staff at McGee are set for a bonus payout after profits doubled at the specialist engineering contractor.
  Latest results for the year to 30 November 2023 show pre-tax profits up to £12.4m from £6.1m last time on turnover up to £121.8m from £83.3m.
  Cash at the bank also increased to £14.6 million from £10.3m as the business remains debt-free, other than equipment funding.
  McGee became employee owned through an Employee Ownership Trust back in 2020.The latest re
  
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• Gas supplier Regent to buy TClarke for £90m

  16-04-2024 08:33 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Business gas supplier and connections specialist Regent is buying building services contractor TClarke for £90m.
  The listed contractor confirmed the acquisition plan in a Stock Exchange announcement this morning and its directors will be recommending the deal to shareholders.
  The 160p-per-share offer represents a 28% premium to TClarke’s closing share price of 125p yesterday.TClarke directors believe their business has been undervalued by the market and the Regent offer “presen
  
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• Costain signs site labour supply deal with four firms

  16-04-2024 08:12 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Costain has signed a site labour supply deal with a quartet of firms.
  Danny Sullivan Group, VGC, Hercules and Carmichael have been selected to form Costain’s new Integrated Labour Team (ILT.)
  The ILT will become the Costain’s first point of contact for any temporary labour supply requirement for any project, across all sectors in which it operates.Costain’s head of supply chain, Sarah Thomas, said: “Our partnership with the ILT brings added value and benefits to Costain a
  
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• Trio win new Scape utilities consultancy framework

  16-04-2024 08:05 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  SCAPE has appointed three firms to two new utilities consultancy frameworks that could deliver up to £1.25bn of investment across the country.
  Consultants Perfect Circle, AtkinsRéalis and Arcadis have secured places on the framework designed to help clients in the broader utilities sector shape their investment programmes and projects, while supporting the delivery of low-carbon infrastructure and sustainability targets.Utilities consultancy frameworks
  England, Wales, and Northern I
  
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• New MD at Quest to drive company growth

  15-04-2024 17:03 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Clive Leadbetter has joined the Quest management team as Managing Director bringing over 25 years of operational and strategic expertise across the transport and environmental sectors.
  Quest is targeting significant growth over the next five years, with the aim of furthering its cross-sector operational capacity throughout the whole of the UK.
  Leadbetter said: “My aim is to establish Quest as a reliable partner for delivering innovative solutions using our industry-leading fleet and techno
  
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• BAM go-ahead for Leeds 200,000 sq ft office

  15-04-2024 16:55 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  BAM Properties has got the nod from Leeds planners to build its 12-storey Latitude Yellow office scheme in the city centre.
  The 200,000 sq ft project will be located on the last remaining plot of the former Doncaster Monk Bridge Works off Whitehall Road in the established Leeds West End Business District.Work is understood to be timetable to start in September of the project worth around £60m.
  Designed by architect Cooper Cromar, the project team includes Gardiner & Theobald as cost co
  
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• Lendlease veteran is latest new McAlpine director

  15-04-2024 16:02 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Sir Robert McAlpine has appointed Paul Sims as its new Operations Director.
  Sims joins from Lendlease where he has worked for more than 40 years.
  He will now work closely with Commercial Director Glen Harding to boost McAlpine’s growing pipeline of work.Sims was most recently the Operations Director at Lendlease Europe, where he worked on a number of high-profile projects, including TV studios for both the BBC and Sky along with multiple offices, 5-star hotels and rail schemes across the c
  
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• VolkerFitzpatrick wins £30m logistics job

  15-04-2024 15:14 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  VolkerFitzpatrick has been chosen by logistics developer Prologis UK to design and build five new distribution units at Prologis Park Hemel Hempstead, within Maylands Business Park.
  Enabling works are now underway on the £30m scheme which is scheduled for completion in August 2025.
  It is the second project VolkerFitzpatrick has worked on at Prologis Park Hemel Hempstead and once complete will see the Park grow by over 280,000 sq ft, with units ranging between 19,000 and 75,000 sq ft.All of
  
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• Wates-owned SES restructure delivers record profit and revenue

  15-04-2024 09:09 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Wates is finally seeing the benefits of its acquisition of SES Engineering Services eight years after it bought the then loss-making M&E contractor from Shepherd Group
  Latest published results for SES (Engineering Services) show the firm delivered record results last year after a significant restructure of the business under new managing director Rob Clifford.
  Despite challenging market conditions, revenue soared 73% to £299m, generating a near doubling in pre-tax profit to £5.8m
  
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• Energy efficiency firms angry at lack of CITB support

  15-04-2024 08:23 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  A leading trade body for the energy efficiency sector has attacked the lack of support from the CITB for its specialist installer members.
  The Installation Assurance Authority Federation has been lobbying for CITB grants for months to help with training courses and a new National Energy Efficiency Centre Park in Leighton Buzzard.
  CEO Nigel Donohue was stunned to read the Enquirer report last month highlighting how the CITB was sitting on a £100m cash pile claiming contractors were  &l
  
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• 25 groundworks firms win £100m Places for People deal

  15-04-2024 08:15 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Housing group Places for People has picked its line-up of groundworks contractors to deliver new-build homes projects homes across England and Scotland.
  Around 25 firms have secured places on the groundworks panel of firms across four main regions for the affordable homes provider.
  M&J Evans Construction, Carmac (Building & Civil Engineering), Churngold Construction and John Reilly Civil Engineering featured with the greatest number of places across the framework.The 230,000-home associa
  
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• Precast firm FP McCann cleared after immigration raid

  15-04-2024 08:11 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Immigration officials have decided to take no action against precast concrete contractor FP McCann after a dawn raid on one of its sites last month.
  The Home Office briefed the media on the raid on on the Shotton Mill site in Deeside, north Wales warning that McCann could face fines of up to £225,000 after 13 people were arrested.
  But McCann has now been issued a “No Action Notice” from the Immigration Enforcement division of the Home Office after it was established that all it
  
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• £400m South Cambridge science park approved

  15-04-2024 08:11 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Joint developers Bridgemere Land and Foundation Capital Ventures have secured outline planning for a £400m landmark science and innovation park in South Cambridge.The Cambridge Discovery Campus, designed by BCR Infinity Architects, will provide over 340,000 sq ft of science and innovation space over six detached, laboratory-enabled buildings.It will be built on the site of a former sewage works in Huxton and involves a total investment of around £170m.
  The outline approval allows dem
  
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• McLaren gets green light for 45-storey Leeds tower

  12-04-2024 09:04 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  McLaren’s property arm has got the planning green light to build a 45-storey build to rent tower and two lower-rise office blocks to the west of Leeds city centre.
  Designed by Glenn Howells Architects, the Wellington Square scheme will be located on the city skyline by the landmark hexagonal-shaped residential block which will rise to 141m and provide just over 460 flats.
  Two adjacent office blocks of 14 and 15 storeys will provide around 435,000 sq ft of space next to the main block of fl
  
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• Major project veteran named civils director for Sizewell C

  12-04-2024 08:37 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Veteran major project delivery boss David Speight has been appointed Main Civils Programme Director for the Sizewell C nuclear power station project.
  He joins as enabling works are underway ahead of a final investment decision later this year.
  Preparatory works for the £20bn-plus project include improvements to roads and rail lines around the Suffolk site, ensuring the necessary local infrastructure is in place before full construction begins.Speight brings over 30 years’ major progr
  
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• Major project veteran appointed civils director for Sizewell C

  12-04-2024 08:37 via constructionenquirer.com
  Veteran major project delivery boss David Speight has been appointed Main Civils Programme Director at the Sizewell C nuclear power station project.
  He joins as enabling works are underway ahead of a final investment decision later this year.
  Preparatory works for the £20bn-plus project include improvements to roads and rail lines around the Suffolk site, ensuring the necessary local infrastructure is in place before full construction begins.Speight brings over 30 years’ major progra
  
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• Heavy rain causes 1.9% construction output fall

  12-04-2024 08:31 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Construction output fell 1.9% in February as heavy rainfall dampened construction activity.
  New work was hit hardest dropping by 2.3% with repair and maintenance decreasing by 1.4% during the month.
  Despite the uptick in output in January, construction new work output in the last three months to February sharnk by a total of 3%.
  Scott Motley, head of programme, project and cost management at consultant AECOM, said: “The construction industry will be dismayed that output has slipped back in
  
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• £220m London wharf homes scheme approved

  12-04-2024 08:05 via constructionenquirer.com
  Planners have given the thumbs up to a scheme to build 285 flats in blocks next to protected wharves near Wandsworth Bridge in London.
  As a former industrial shipping site, Albert and Swedish Wharves, will be improved and retained with new logistics warehouses below high-rise house blocks overlooking the Thames.
  Developer Henley Investment Management can now demolish warehouse buildings on the site to make way for the mixed-used scheme of seven buildings rising from 6-20 storeys.
  As part of the
  
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• Taziker restruture to return to profitability after £1.2m loss

  12-04-2024 08:03 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Multi-disciplinary engineering specialist Taziker Industrial suffered a £1.2m pre-tax loss last year that prompted the previous founders to buy back a controlling stake in business from its private equity owners.
  The ownership change back to Thomas Taziker, Nigel Taziker and Graham Moor agreed in October 2023 also deleveraged the business and prompted a strategy rethink away from a path of diversification and rapid growth.
  While the previous growth drive doubled the size of the business in
  
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