Construction news

• Darwin scales back complex NHS modular work after £3m loss

  25-09-2026 09:07 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Modular healthcare specialist Darwin Group is scaling back its appetite for large complex projects after cost overruns sent the contractor into the red.
  Turnover at the Portakabin-owned business almost halved to £72m in 2025 from £140m the previous year.Darwin plunged to a £5m operating loss from an £8.6m profit, while pre-tax performance swung from a £9.2m profit to a £3.2m loss.
  Directors blamed the reversal on several large permanent modular healthcare proj
  
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• Robertson picked for St Helens heritage job

  25-09-2026 08:49 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Robertson Construction North West has been picked to transform the Grade II-listed Gamble Building in St Helens town centre.
  The contractor will restore and extend the Victoria Square landmark to create a creative and learning hub, bringing St Helens Central Library back into the building alongside an archive, youth hub, offices, café and communal space.
  The £15m job will be delivered under a two-stage design and build deal.Robertson will now review the proposals with St Helens Boro
  
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• Gateway 2 push fuels 20% jump in housing starts

  25-09-2026 08:36 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  House building starts jumped 20% in the second quarter as thousands of higher-rise homes flowing through the Building Safety Regulator helped swell the figures.
  New-build starts in England reached 35,910 between April and June, up 6% on the previous quarter and 20% on the same period last year.
  But government number crunchers cautioned that the rebound is being boosted by a dramatic rise in projects reported through the Building Safety Regulator.The BSR reported 5,758 housing starts during the l
  
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• Construction labour rates hit record high

  25-09-2026 08:29 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Average earnings for self-employed tradespeople rose to an all-time high of £1,110 per week during August.
  Latest research from the industry’s largest payroll firm Hudson Contract said this represents a 3.1% increase on July rates and 4.5% on the same month last year.
  Plumbing led the increases, with rates up 10.4% month-on-month to £1,348. Joinery rose 8.9% to £1,247, while steel and timber frame contracting climbed 7.6% to £1,102.Hudson managing director Ian
  
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• HG Construction lands resi contract at Ilford store site

  25-09-2026 08:15 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  HG Construction has been awarded the contract to build 326 new homes in residential towers across the site of the former Harrison Gibson department store on Ilford High Road in east London.
  Main construction work on the site which has stood vacant for nearly a decade can now begin after MP Living, the social housing provider established by Meadow Partners received the first tranche of grant funding from the Greater London Authority (GLA).
  MP Living is working in partnership with the GLA and the
  
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• Firms fined £1.3m after falling window kills passer-by

  25-09-2026 00:53 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Two companies have been fined a combined £1.3m after a window unit fell from the 26th floor of a luxury development in London killing a coach driver on his break as he walked below.
  The incident happened at around 10.30am on 2 October 2018 when Mick Ferris, 53, had been on a break and was just returning to his coach, which was parked up nearby.
  The 130kg window fell 300ft from the Corniche development on the capital’s Albert Embankment killing Ferris instantly.St James Limited, part
  
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