Construction news

• Ashbrook fleet up for sale after £18m new JCB kit order

  17-08-2026 09:38 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Cheshire-based plant hirer Ashbrook has selected Euro Auctions as its disposal partner as it undertakes a major fleet refresh following a record £18m order for new equipment from JCB.
  The first 35 machines will go under the hammer at the Euro Auctions Leeds sale from 19–22 August, offering buyers a selection of low-hour, manufacturer-maintained and serviced equipment.
  Highlights include site dumpers from 3 to 9 tonnes, 15 CAT rollers, manlifts from Manitou, Skyjack and Genie, a late,
  
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• Willmott Dixon cleared to rebuild RAAC-hit Stockport school

  17-08-2026 09:13 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Willmott Dixon has secured planning for a near £50m rebuild of Bramhall High School in Stockport.
  Work is expected to start in January 2027 on the new three-storey school, which will replace the existing sprawling campus hit by reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete problems.
  Sheppard Robson has designed the replacement school for 1,350 pupils on the existing 36-acre site off Seal Road.The new building will be constructed alongside the current school before most of the existing estate is d
  
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• Health centre win for Morgan Sindall

  17-08-2026 08:41 via constructionenquirer.com
  Morgan Sindall Construction has been appointed to deliver the new £16.9m Thornbury Health Centre on the former Thornbury hospital site in Gloucestershire.
  Construction is due to start by the end of this month with the development due to complete by the end of summer 2027.
  Appointed by South Gloucestershire Council through the Southern Construction Framework, the health centre will provide a new home for Severn View Family Practice and Streamside Surgery.The development will provide a total
  
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• Building compliance firm Ventro buys electrical engineer

  17-08-2026 08:28 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Building compliance specialist Ventro Group has acquired Walsall based electrical engineer and contractor  R.D. Jukes & Co Ltd.
  Family run R.D. Jukes & Co was founded in 1968 and currently employs 29 people with a turnover of £6m.
  The firm has extensive technical expertise across mains infrastructure, power  distribution and complex electrical systems, including standby power, UPS and IPS  solutions designed to support critical environments.The business also delivers
  
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• Lovell to start first phase of 450-home Horsham scheme

  17-08-2026 08:04 via constructionenquirer.com
  Lovell Partnerships is expected to start work in October on a 206-home redevelopment of the former Novartis Pharmaceuticals site in Horsham.
  The 2.72ha scheme will deliver houses and apartments around the site’s landmark 1930s Art Deco clock tower, with 35% of the homes affordable.
  Architect Ayre Chamberlain Gaunt has designed the development to keep the locally listed tower as the centrepiece of the new neighbourhood.
  Multi-storey wings either side will be demolished because of significan
  
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• Bouygues UK losses top £200m in four years

  17-08-2026 08:03 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Bouygues UK has racked up more than £200m of pretax losses over the last four years after taking another £76m hit in 2025.
  The building contractor saw revenue edge up 5% to £395m last year from £376m as activity increased across live projects.
  But pretax losses more than doubled from £32m to £76m, with the latest setback blamed on subcontractor performance, labour shortages and continuing building safety liabilities.Parent group support continued during the ye
  
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• Taylor Woodrow breaks into Devon roads framework

  17-08-2026 07:45 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Taylor Woodrow has broken into Devon County Council’s highways framework in a refresh of contractors for the next four years.
  The Vinci-owned contractor is the only completely new entrant on the renewed framework, joining four incumbents on the main £48m resurfacing and reconstruction lot.
  Taylor Woodrow Infrastructure will work alongside Cormac Contracting, E & JW Glendinning, Kennford Tarmacadam and Tarmac Trading when the framework starts in September.Devon highways partners r
  
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• Laing O’Rourke and HMJV lead £1bn Grid upgrade for AI boom

  14-08-2026 08:59 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Laing O’Rourke and the Hochtief Murphy joint venture have landed the headline construction packages on National Grid’s major North West London Upgrade.
  The programme will strengthen the electricity transmission network between Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and North West London while creating enough capacity to connect five new data centres with a combined demand of 1GW.
  Laing O’Rourke will deliver new and upgraded substations at Letchmore Heath, Elstree and St John’s Wood.
  
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• R G Carter eyes rebound after turnover falls to £215m

  14-08-2026 08:58 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Regional contractor R G Carter is forecasting a return to growth this year after delayed project starts knocked turnover and profit in 2025.
  The Norwich-based firm said its order book for 2026 was “significantly stronger” and predicted turnover would climb again as delayed projects move onto site.
  The privately-owned contractor saw group turnover fall 14% to £215m in the year to December 2025 while pre-tax profit slipped to £10.5m from £12.2m.The group nevertheless
  
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• Supply chain hunt starts for hospital construction boom

  14-08-2026 08:31 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Subcontractors are being invited sign-up for a major supply chain event for the government’s hospital building programme.
  The focus will be on five schemes across the East of England to be built under the New Hospital Programme.The projects and main contractors are:North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust (Hinchingbrooke Hospital) – Kier Construction
  James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust – Skanska
  Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust – Morg
  
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• Manchester developer lands £185m funding boost

  14-08-2026 08:24 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Greater Manchester developer Forshaw is lining up a £185m residential development fund after signing a letter of intent with Canadian private equity platform AND Capital Ventures.
  The proposed investment vehicle will target residential-led and mixed-use schemes across the North of England, giving Forshaw access to institutional funding to accelerate its development pipeline.
  The partners plan to establish a closed-ended fund worth up to £185m, with Forshaw taking responsibility for s
  
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• Willmott Dixon joins £150m Great Yarmouth waterfront bid

  14-08-2026 08:13 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Willmott Dixon Developments has submitted plans with Rioja Estates for a £150m regeneration of Great Yarmouth’s North Quay.
  The Quayside scheme would transform the waterfront site with outlet retail, leisure, a hotel, homes and new public spaces.
  Willmott Dixon is working with Great Yarmouth Borough Council and Rioja Estates on the long-running regeneration plan.The council has assembled the land and secured £20m from the Government’s Levelling Up Fund.At the heart of the
  
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• New OBEX cavity tray makes installation easier for contractors

  14-08-2026 00:23 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  OBEX has launched the new RapidTray cavity tray and DPC system to help contractors and specifiers address increasing pressure around compliance, installation speed and build consistency.
  With tightening building safety requirements and growing programme demands, the system is designed to remove uncertainty from cavity tray installation while maintaining high standards of fire and moisture performance.
  The new product is a next generation addition to the wide range of construction products offere
  
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• Kane Group lands Edgbaston MEP deal with Sisk

  13-08-2026 11:06 via constructionenquirer.com
  Kane Group has secured a major new multi-million-pound MEP contract as part of the Sisk redevelopment of Edgbaston Stadium in Birmingham.
  The appointment builds on Kane’s long-standing relationship with Sisk and reflects growing demand for the company’s integrated approach to delivering complex quality led construction projects through digital engineering, offsite manufacturing and end-to-end project delivery.
  Under the contract, Kane will deliver the full mechanical and electrical i
  
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• Morgan Sindall lures North East director from Willmott Dixon

  13-08-2026 10:53 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Morgan Sindall Construction has appointed Nick Corrigan as the new Area Director of its North East and Cumbria business.
  Corrigan joins from Willmott Dixon where he worked for nearly 13 years and ran the North east region.
  He said: “This is a part of the world I know well and care deeply about. There’s huge potential for growth in both the North East and in Cumbria, not least because of the renewed focus from the top levels of government on rebalancing the UK economy and supporting t
  
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• Avant Homes seals Government fire safety payment deal

  13-08-2026 09:08 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Private equity-backed Avant Homes has secured a Government-backed payment plan for its legacy building safety liabilities, easing pressure on cashflow as the house builder battles planning delays and a subdued housing market.
  The house builder, chaired by former Persimmon chief executive Jeff Fairburn, said the agreement with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) provided important liquidity support by spreading repayments for historic fire safety works over a number
  
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• Scaffolding firm Blencowe files administration notice

  13-08-2026 09:01 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Wiltshire based specialist Blencowe Scaffolding Ltd has filed a notice of appointment to appoint an administrator.
  The firm has been in business for more than 60 years and is a familiar face on sites across the south of England.
  The family-run business was established in 1964 by Pat Blencowe is run from a head office in Salisbury and two depots in Basingstoke and Eastleigh.Latest accounts for Blencowe for the year to June 30 2025 show the company employed 55 staff and had plant and equipmen
  
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• Costain predicts “step change” in financial performance

  13-08-2026 08:36 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Costain is predicting a “step change” in its financial performance from next year as it posted another strong set of results.
  Alex Vaughan, Chief Executive Officer, said: “Costain is now at a key inflection point where the strength of our growing, resilient end markets, strategic positioning with our customers and high-quality forward work position is set to deliver growth in H2 26 and a step change in our financial performance in FY 27 and beyond.”
  Latest results for six
  
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• Housing groundworks crisis deepens as JAO ceases trading

  13-08-2026 08:27 via constructionenquirer.com
  Taunton-based JAO Groundworks has become the latest residential groundworks specialist to collapse as the prolonged downturn in house building continues to claim trade contractor casualties.
  The Somerset firm, which employed more than 100 staff and delivered more than £43m of work since launching in 2019, has ceased trading with immediate effect.
  Founder Jake Oaten announced the closure in a statement to staff, suppliers and clients, blaming the depressed housing market, rising costs, late
  
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• Plans in for striking HSBC Canary Wharf tower revamp

  13-08-2026 08:14 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Plans have been lodged to transform HSBC’s landmark Canary Wharf headquarters in what is being billed as the world’s largest office building transformation.
  Canary Wharf Group and building owner Qatar Investment Authority have submitted proposals to Tower Hamlets Council to overhaul the 45-storey tower at 8 Canada Square.
  The cost of the ambitious project has not been revealed but could be somewhere £800m and £1bn.
  Designed by architect Kohn Pedersen Fox, the retrofit-led
  
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• Formwork panel hits Hinkley worker after falling 29 metres

  12-08-2026 22:39 via constructionenquirer.com
  Two improvement notices served on contractors Bouygues Travaux Publics SAS and Laing O’Rourke Delivery Limited operating as the BYLOR joint venture- have been extended following an incident at the Hinkley Point C construction site.
  The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) served the notices in June after a formwork panel fell approximately 29 metres which left a worker with serious injuries at the site in Somerset.
  ONR established that BYLOR JV, in its role as contractor, failed to ensure t
  
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• Structure Tone revenue almost triples to record £449m

  12-08-2026 09:07 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Fit-out specialist Structure Tone nearly tripled revenue last year on the back of the London fit-out boom.
  The firm, owned by US-based STO Building Group, saw turnover jump to a record £449m in 2025 from £157m a year earlier, while profitability was restored as pre-tax profit climbed to £12.6m from £1.7m.
  Joint managing director Matt Blowers said growth was driven by strong demand across London’s legal, technology, financial services, media and professional services
  
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• Focus on growing markets pays off for Balfour Beatty

  12-08-2026 08:44 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Balfour Beatty’s focus on growing markets is paying off as the contracting giant published a strong set of half year results with momentum expected to continue for the rest of 2026.
  Balfour said it is focused on four strategic growth markets – UK energy transition and security, UK defence, UK transport and US buildings.
  That strategy saw group turnover during the first half of 2026 hit £5,563m from £5,150m last time as pre-tax profits stayed steady at £129m from &po
  
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• Hill hires former Telford Homes boss

  12-08-2026 08:24 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  House builder Hill Group has appointed former Telford Homes group managing director John Fitzgerald to lead its Eastern Residential and Western regional businesses.
  The senior hire comes as Hill presses ahead with a five-year growth plan to double annual turnover to £2.3bn by 2030.
  Fitzgerald brings more than 35 years’ experience in construction and house building.He started his career with Willmott Dixon before joining Furlong Homes and later spending more than 20 years at Telford H
  
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• Ardmore directors fight to save property firms with CVA plan

  12-08-2026 08:20 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Ardmore directors are attempting to save the group’s remaining property businesses after seven companies launched company voluntary arrangement (CVA) proposals to repay creditors while continuing to trade.
  The proposals, overseen by business recovery specialist BTG, cover Ardmore Group Holdings, Ardmore Group, Byrne Properties, Celebration Homes, Paddington Construction, Systemhaven and Byrne Estates (Kensal Green).
  If approved by creditors, the CVAs will allow the companies to repay debts
  
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• Willmott Dixon kicks off Oldham town centre regen

  12-08-2026 07:25 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Willmott Dixon has started work on the £28m first phase of the Prince’s Gate regeneration scheme in Oldham town centre.
  The private builder will deliver 75 affordable homes in a six-storey apartment block for regeneration specialist Muse and Oldham Council on the former car park beside the Mumps Metrolink stop.
  The first phase forms part of the wider Prince’s Gate regeneration, creating a new residential gateway into the town centre.Designed to meet the Future Homes Standard, t
  
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• Kier inks second Derwent London office scheme for £99m

  12-08-2026 07:20 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Kier has signed off a £99m deal to deliver its second major office scheme for Derwent London in the West End.
  The contractor will carry out the retained façade redevelopment of Holden House on the corner of Oxford Street and Rathbone Place, creating 135,000 sq ft of commercial space opposite Tottenham Court Road Elizabeth line station.
  The eight-storey scheme will provide 115,000 sq ft of Grade A offices alongside 20,000 sq ft of retail space fronting Oxford Street.The appointment f
  
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• Investment giant acquires Phoenix ME

  11-08-2026 12:32 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Investment firm H.I.G. Capital has acquired London M&E specialist Phoenix ME.
  The deal will see Phoenix’s CEO Lee Compton reinvest alongside H.I.G. and the company’s existing management team will remain in place.
  Jim Arnold will join as Chairman, partnering with management and H.I.G. to support Phoenix’s next phase of growth.Arnold is a former CEO at M Group Services and director at Morrison Utility Services.
  In its latest results Phoenix set its sights on a £400m tur
  
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• VINCI UK profit jumps 51% after group overhaul

  11-08-2026 09:00 via constructionenquirer.com
  Strong performances from highways and civil engineering businesses helped VINCI’s combined UK construction operations deliver a 51% hike in pre-tax profit to nearly £100m last year following a major corporate restructuring.
  Revenue, including joint ventures, jumped nearly 20% to £2.9bn in 2025 after the French-owned group brought together Eurovia, Ringway, Taylor Woodrow, VINCI Building, VINCI Facilities and newly-acquired FM Conway under the VINCI Construction Holding UK struc
  
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• Bellway beats build target despite weaker buyer demand

  11-08-2026 08:44 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Bellway exceeded its annual completions target after a late surge in bulk sales helped lift housing output by 11% and drove a sharp improvement in cash generation despite a weaker sales market.
  The house builder completed 9,695 homes in the year to 31 July, ahead of its previous guidance of 9,300 to 9,500 homes.Despite being one of the few volume builders to surpass completions targets chief executive Jason Honeyman urged ministers to stimulate demand as the market continues to weaken.He called
  
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