Construction news

• Willmott Dixon to lead cast on £29m Berwick theatre revamp

  07-10-2026 14:35 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Willmott Dixon is poised to land the £29m transformation of Berwick’s Maltings Theatre after Northumberland councillors backed its appointment.
  Cabinet approved the construction deal this week, subject to full council signing off extra funding and the decision clearing call-in.
  The wider project bill has jumped £7.7m to £36m, with a November start targeted if the revised funding package gets the green light.The Eastern Lane revamp will bring the main theatre, café
  
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• Kier scoops £65m Thames Water sewage works haul

  07-10-2026 14:09 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Kier has bagged four Thames Water contracts worth nearly £65m to upgrade sewage treatment works in Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Surrey.
  The haul is dominated by a £54m overhaul of Harpenden sewage treatment works, where Kier will boost treatment capacity by more than 50% to support growth through to 2036.
  The scheme forms part of Thames Water’s Go to Green programme and will modernise key treatment facilities to meet tighter environmental standards and improve the health
  
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• Wates buys £29m Surrey FM firm

  07-10-2026 14:03 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Wates-owned WPS has bought Surrey-based Calibre Building Services to beef up its in-house M&E maintenance capability and expand its facilities management arm.
  The Redhill firm brings almost 200 staff and a portfolio of building management clients across London, the South East and the Midlands.
  Calibre turned over £29m in the year to April 2026, up from £26.9m previously. But pre-tax profit more than halved to £433,000 from £994,000.Founded in 2011 and co-owned by dire
  
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• Willmott Dixon’s London fire service HQ retrofit clears planning

  07-10-2026 09:13 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Plans have been approved to overhaul London Fire Brigade’s historic headquarters at 8 Albert Embankment, clearing the way for construction to start shortly.
  The Grade II-listed London landmark will be brought back into full use as the Brigade’s headquarters, with completion targeted for 2029.
  Willmott Dixon Interiors secured the preconstruction role earlier this year to take the scheme through Stage 3 and 4 design, ahead of the planned return of around 840 staff.The Brigade said all
  
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• Painter sentenced after stepson electrocuted on job

  07-10-2026 09:09 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  A sole trader has been sentenced after his stepson was fatally electrocuted while working on a domestic property in Chester.
  Daniel Watton, 50, trading as Inside Out Painters and Decorators Property Maintenance, was given a suspended jail sentence following the death of trainee painter Connor Lambert.
  The 24-year-old, from Market Drayton, died after coming into contact with electricity, when a ladder was being moved near overhead power lines. He had been working at the house in Farndon on 29 Jul
  
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• Winners named for £1.6bn University of Oxford framework

  07-10-2026 08:37 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  The University of Oxford has confirmed winners for its latest £1.6bn construction framework.
  Mace, McLaughlin & Harvey and Galliford Try break into the line-up alongside returning partners BAM, Willmott Dixon and Morgan Sindall.
  The six secure places on the top tier of the new Oxford Inspire construction framework, covering large-scale new build and refurbishment schemes worth more than £15m.
  Wates, previously a main partner for projects above £20m, moves to reserve status
  
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• RSK turnover nears £2.5bn as buying spree rolls on

  07-10-2026 08:16 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Buy-and-build environmental and engineering group RSK lifted operating profit last year as water work and another wave of acquisitions pushed revenue towards £2.5bn.
  But the expansion drove net debt close to £1bn, with hefty financing costs keeping the group firmly in the red.
  Operating profit more than quadrupled to £18m as revenue rose 10% in the year to April 2026.
  RSK spent £172m on 10 acquisitions during the period, swelling net debt to £965m from £734m.
  
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• Big builders pile into Pagabo’s developer framework

  07-10-2026 08:16 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Pagabo has picked 52 firms for its next-generation developer-led framework, lining up contractors, developers and advisers to bring forward major regeneration schemes.
  The four-year deal for public buying body YPO will cover housing, commercial development and mixed-use projects, alongside education, healthcare and infrastructure.
  Willmott Dixon/Be Living and Hochtief PPP Solutions secured the broadest spread of places, each landing six of the seven lots.Hill, Higgins, Hochtief, Stepnell and Wat
  
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• Kier lands £115m Manchester Airport station upgrade

  07-10-2026 01:01 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Kier will start work this winter on a £115m upgrade to Manchester Airport station, extending platforms and overhauling tracks and signalling to boost rail capacity.
  Network Rail and Kier will deliver the programme through to 2028 as part of the wider Manchester Rail Upgrade.
  The job will extend platforms 1, 2 and 3 to accommodate longer trains, remodel the station approach tracks and modernise signalling to support more frequent and reliable services.Engineers will tackle the first major m
  
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