Construction news

• Bovis starts £220m tower job near British Museum

  26-10-2026 18:02 via Construction Enquirer
  Bovis has started main construction on the £220m St Giles Quarter scheme beside the British Museum in central London.
  The contractor is taking the Bloomsbury project into full delivery after working up the construction strategy for client Simten under a pre-construction deal running since August 2025.
  At its heart is One Museum Street, a 19-storey stepped office tower with landscaped terraces, surrounded by new homes, restored heritage buildings and shops.Designed by DSDHA, the tower will deliv
  
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• Construction faces deeper 2026 fall and weaker recovery

  26-10-2026 15:00 via Construction Enquirer
  
  Economists are warning construction is heading for a deeper fall this year than previously expected with next year’s hoped-for recovery also now cut to a crawl.
  The Construction Products Association now expects output to fall 4% in 2026, against the 3.3% drop forecast in the summer.
  It has also slashed its 2027 growth forecast by two-thirds to a feeble 0.4% recovery, with house building and home improvement work both suffering another year of decline.Renewed Middle East conflict and rising oil
  
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• Three towers evacuated over “serious structural problems”

  26-10-2026 12:06 via Construction Enquirer
  
  More than 200 flats have been evacuated after “serious structural problems” were discovered across three tower blocks in Canning Town, east London.
  The emergency evacuation of 211 flats happened on Friday night after a warning from the London Fire Brigade.
  Letters sent to residents highlight issues with the transfer slab which “could result in a collapse.”A thorough structural investigation is now underway into the buildings which were completed in 2017 for a joint venture between Cathed
  
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• Thames Water picks nine teams for £4bn major works

  26-10-2026 08:57 via Construction Enquirer
  
  Thames Water has picked nine contractor teams for its £4bn Major Projects Framework to upgrade water and wastewater infrastructure across London and the South East.
  Among the winning line-up Taylor Woodrow has teamed up with US engineering giant, while Binnies partners Ferrovial Construction alongside its Spanish sister water treatment specialist Cadagua.Major Projects Framework AMP8/9 winners
  BAM Nuttall
  Barhale
  Costain
  Binnies / Cadagua / Ferrovial Construction
  Murphy
  Amentum / Taylor Woodrow
  
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• Crown Estate opens race for £322m London West End scheme

  26-10-2026 08:57 via Construction Enquirer
  The Crown Estate has put a £322m West End building prize up for grabs as it pushes ahead with the second phase of St James’s Market development in London.
  Contractors will battle for a £222m main works package, with a further £100m on the table for an optional overhaul of neighbouring 130 Jermyn Street.
  The London scheme will wrap 312,500 sq ft of new offices around and above the Grade II-listed Carlton Cinema on Haymarket.Balfour Beatty built the first phase of St James’s Market, complet
  
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• Scottish builder Cruden profits from new direction

  26-10-2026 08:19 via Construction Enquirer
  Scottish construction and housing group Cruden has more than doubled profit after retreating from price-led tendered building work.
  The Edinburgh-based business is stepping up private development and partnership-based affordable housing partnerships, with a pipeline of more than 3,500 homes lined up to drive its next growth push.
  Profit before tax and exceptional items jumped to £6.1m from £2.8m in the year to March 2026 driven by turnover, including its share of joint ventures, rising to £13
  
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• Private equity pumps £44m into groundworks firm

  26-10-2026 08:19 via Construction Enquirer
  
  Data centre groundworks and infrastructure specialist VKE Group has secured a more than £44m investment from private equity funds advised by investment firm Leon Capital LLP.
  The group is predicting a turnover of £300m in its next financial accounts.
  Founder Val Shira and the existing leadership team will retain operational control of the business and the funding will enable it to take on larger and more complex  packages and to expand into new markets.Val Shira, Chief Executive Officer, and
  
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• Private equity pumps £42m into groundworks firm

  26-10-2026 08:19 via Construction Enquirer
  
  Data centre groundworks and infrastructure specialist VKE Group has secured a £42m investment from private equity funds advised by investment firm Leon Capital LLP.
  VKE had a turnover of £30m in the year to August 31 2025 generating a pre-tax profit of £3.7m.
  Founder Val Shira and the existing leadership team will retain operational control of the business and the funding will enable it to take on larger and more complex  packages and to expand into new markets.Val Shira, Chief Executive Off
  
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• Statom lands super prime Bayswater job

  26-10-2026 08:17 via Construction Enquirer
  Statom’s turnkey delivery arm Fancourt Property Group has been appointed by Sunley Project Solutions to deliver 17 super prime residences in Bayswater in the City of Westminster.
  Works will involve the demolition and façade retention of the first two floors, and full rebuild of the new four-storey building at Esca House over the Circle and District line which run directly beneath the project.All divisions of the vertically integrated construction businesses will be involved in the work:Demoli
  
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• British Land puts brakes on £3.6bn London scheme

  26-10-2026 08:12 via Construction Enquirer
  
  Developer British Land has reportedly shelved the next construction phase of its flagship Canada Water regeneration in south-east London until market conditions improve.
  The move threatens to delay a substantial programme of housing, commercial buildings and infrastructure across the 53-acre development.
  The developer has completed the first phase, but sales of apartments at its 35-storey Founding tower have been slow with only around 30% of the first 186 apartments sold.Rising construction cost
  
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