• Firms wanted for Telford & Wrekin £1.6bn building works DPS

    Firms wanted for Telford & Wrekin £1.6bn building works DPS
    Telford & Wrekin Council is inviting builders to sign up for a £1.6bn dynamic purchasing system covering a mix of planned building and refurbishment work for the next four years.
    The council aims to set up two agreements, one covering major building works, which its estimates could be worth £1.2bn, and another for minor works, worth £475m that includes sub-panels for building services, demolition and asbestos removal.DPS Lotting structureMajor Building Works
    Lot 1: £8
  • Midlands £3bn framework winners named after 36 firm-bid battle

    Midlands £3bn framework winners named after 36 firm-bid battle
    Kier, Vinci and Wates are among 20 contractors that have secured places on the £3bn Constructing West Midlands framework.
    The third-generation framework will run for four years, with an option to extend for another two, covering public sector building projects across the region.
    Acivico, owned by Birmingham City Council, is leading procurement alongside Solihull and Sandwell councils.Six major works contractors have been selected for the £1.3bn top lot, with Galliford Try, Morgan Sin
  • Five firms in final showdown for £1.94bn A9 roads haul

    Five firms in final showdown for £1.94bn A9 roads haul
    Five major contractors have made the final cut in the race for Transport Scotland’s £1.94bn A9 dualling framework.
    Balfour Beatty/Morrison Construction JV, Graham, Hochtief, Kier and Wills Bros have been invited to submit final tenders for places on the framework covering the remaining 58 miles of the Perth to Inverness upgrade.
    All five are bidding across the two value lots, with Transport Scotland aiming to appoint its framework partners before the end of the year.
    Lot 1 covers thr
  • Road building drives strong results at Galliford Try

    Road building drives strong results at Galliford Try
    Infrastructure work was the star performer as Galliford Try posted another strong set of results for the year to June 30 2026.
    Turnover across the business was up to £1,931m from £1,875m as pre-tax profits jumped 25% to £55m.
    A boom in the roads market saw three major highways schemes delivered, which offset a flatter period in water spending due to the AMP7/AMP8 transition.The infrastructure division saw turnover up to £972m from £903m making it now bigger than the
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  • Avison Young loses £8.7m battle over Buckingham overpayments

    Avison Young loses £8.7m battle over Buckingham overpayments
    Consultant Avison Young has lost a High Court battle to overturn an £8.7m compensation award after over-certifying payments to collapsed contractor Buckingham Group on a major Coventry earthworks job.
    The dispute centres on Coventry & Warwickshire Development Partnership’s 215-acre SEGRO Park development, where Buckingham was engaged to excavate, treat and reposition around 5 million cu m of material to form an environmental bund.
    Avison Young was appointed as NEC project manager
  • Stepnell hires former Lendlease construction boss to drive expansion

    Stepnell has hired former Lendlease boss Simon Gorski as managing director of its construction business to spearhead a major expansion drive over the next five years.
    Gorski joins the Rugby-based contractor after 20 years at Lendlease, where he most recently served as European managing director of its construction business, now renamed Bovis.
    He brings more than 30 years of experience spanning defence, justice, healthcare and major government construction programmes.His appointment comes as Step
  • Stepnell hires former Bovis boss to drive expansion

    Stepnell hires former Bovis boss to drive expansion
    Stepnell has hired former Bovis boss Simon Gorski as managing director of its construction business to spearhead a major expansion drive over the next five years.
    Gorski joins the Rugby-based contractor after 20 years at Lendlease, where he most recently served as European managing director of its construction business, Bovis.
    He brings more than 30 years of experience spanning defence, justice, healthcare and major government construction programmes.His appointment comes as Stepnell gears up fo
  • £66m London Barbican Centre trade package race kicks-off

    £66m London Barbican Centre trade package race kicks-off
    The City of London Corporation has started the procurement push for two major trade packages worth £66m on the planned revamp of the Barbican Arts Centre in London.
    A £50m MEP package is now out to tender, while a £16m demolition and structures deal is due to follow on 21 September.
    The contracts are among the first major trade packages to be let under construction manager Blue Sky Building, which beat Bovis, McLaren and Sir Robert McAlpine to steer delivery of the landmark ren
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  • M&E super league emerges as NG Bailey takes top spot

    M&E super league emerges as NG Bailey takes top spot
    NG Bailey has powered to the top of the UK M&E contractor rankings as a clear four-firm super league opens up at the head of the market.
    The independent contractor jumped from third to first after lifting turnover 18% to £707m, knocking last year’s leader TClarke down to third.
    EDF-owned Dalkia held second place with turnover up 8% to £656m, just £1m ahead of TClarke on £655m.
    Wates-owned SES completed the breakaway pack after revenue surged 27% to £590m.
  • Barratt Redrow hit by fresh £97m legacy building defects bill

    Barratt Redrow hit by fresh £97m legacy building defects bill
    Barratt Redrow has revealed another £97m hit from legacy building defects in its latest annual accounts, leaving the house building giant with a £1.1bn remediation provision.
    The group booked £103m of additional building safety costs during the year to June 2026, including £42m of general cost increases and £61m relating to two developments.
    One involves four buildings completed in 2002 in its Southern region, where further fire safety defects have been identified.
  • Graham wins £220m Oxford 5km flood defence job

    Graham wins £220m Oxford 5km flood defence job
    Graham has landed the main works contract for Oxford’s major flood alleviation scheme.
    The contractor will spend five years building the 5km scheme, with construction due to start in 2027.
    The Environment Agency project will carve out a new stream and wetland corridor to the west of Oxford city centre, running from north of Botley Road to Kennington before rejoining the River Thames.Work will include lowering parts of the floodplain and building new flood walls, embankments, culverts, brid
  • Universal names first contractors for £5bn Bedford theme park

    Universal names first contractors for £5bn Bedford theme park
    Universal has named the first major contractors and consultants working on its £5bn theme park and resort in Bedford as construction gears up.
    Bovis, Galliford Try, Morgan Sindall, Careys, Sir Robert McAlpine, Wates and Winvic are among 23 firms appointed to support delivery of the Universal United Kingdom Resort.
    Universal has not yet revealed individual package scopes or contract values.
    The appointments give the clearest picture yet of the delivery team assembling around one of the UK&r
  • Heathrow third runway targets NEET crisis with 5,000 youth places

    Heathrow third runway targets NEET crisis with 5,000 youth places
    Heathrow has pledged to create 5,000 apprenticeships and training opportunities for young people as part of plans to build a third runway.
    The airport has also launched a new Infrastructure Skills Council to examine how major UK projects can help tackle the growing number of young people not in education, employment or training.
    Nearly one million young people are currently classed as NEET.The council will bring together contractors, employers, trade unions, colleges and training providers to id
  • Gleeson falls into red after £14m clean-up hit

    Gleeson falls into red after £14m clean-up hit
    House builder Gleeson has fallen into the red after taking nearly £14m of exceptional charges to overhaul the business and tackle problems on legacy housing sites.
    The group posted a £2.7m pre-tax loss for the year to June 2026 against a £20.5m profit last time despite revenue jumping 12% to £410m.
    The biggest hit was a £7.1m provision to fix roads and other infrastructure on completed developments so they can finally be adopted by local authorities.Gleeson also boo
  • Kier to pull out of property investment

    Kier to pull out of property investment
    Kier is pulling-out of property investment to focus on its core infrastructure and construction operations.
    The move will see no new investment in new property development from next year.
    Kier said the “process will be managed in a controlled way to balance timing and value, with capital to be realised in line with existing development schedules.”The property business generated revenue of £63m in the year to June 30 2026 with construction currently in progress on seven schemes.
  • HS2 closes in on final two civils contract resets

    HS2 closes in on final two civils contract resets
    HS2 is closing in on deals to reset its final two major cost-plus main works civils contracts in a move chief executive Mark Wild said could avoid up to £2bn of future cost risk.
    Wild told watchdog MPs yesterday that talks with Balfour Beatty Vinci and Skanska Costain Strabag JVs should be wrapped up within the next two months, clearing one of the biggest hurdles in the troubled project’s wider reset.
    BBV is delivering 90km of route through the West Midlands, while SCS is building th
  • HMRC issues warning over construction payslip fraud

    HMRC issues warning over construction payslip fraud
    Site workers are being warned about growing levels of payslip fraud as HM Revenue and Customs cranks-up the number of criminals arrested and taxes recovered.
    Manchester and Liverpool are being targeted by HMRC in a bid to prevent the fraud which sees criminal groups run payroll or umbrella companies that sit in the supply chain between the worker and the construction site they work on.
    These groups deduct tax, National Insurance and Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) contributions from workers&r
  • Prisoners help build new modular jail cells

    Prisoners help build new modular jail cells
    Inmates are helping to build new “rapid deployment cells” at Kirklevington Grange Prison in North Yorkshire.
    More than 152 new prison places are currently under construction at the site led by modular construction specialist Reds10.
    Two prisoners are working on the foundations for the project while inmates on temporary release are also working with Reds10 to help manufacture the cells offsite.The accommodation will be created from 181 modules, with more than 85% completed off-site.
    M
  • Bovis raids Mace Consult for consulting chief

    Bovis has poached senior Mace Consult director Lesha Chetty to lead the expansion of its consulting business.
    Chetty joins as managing director, consulting, with a brief to drive growth and strengthen Bovis’ strategic advisory and programme delivery offer.
    She spent seven years at Mace, most recently as major programme director.Chetty was previously regional executive director and before that spent more than six years as business unit director for Communities & Place, leading work acro
  • Battersea Power Station plans in for final 3.2m sq ft build

    Battersea Power Station plans in for final 3.2m sq ft build
    Plans have gone in to reshape the final 16 acres of the Battersea Power Station regeneration with up to 3.2m sq ft of development.
    Studio Egret West has overhauled Rafael Viñoly’s original 15-year-old masterplan for the undeveloped half of the 42-acre riverside site.
    The proposals will deliver a mix of housing, offices, shops, leisure and cultural space and nearly double the amount of development completed so far.Battersea Power Station before the proposed final build-out
    Battersea
  • Helix Construct files administration notice

    Helix Construct files administration notice
    London and South East building contractor Helix Construct has filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators at the High Court.
    The Newbury-based firm employs more than 40 staff and specialises in affordable housing, education, care and commercial projects across London and the south of England.
    Latest accounts reveal the business has been under growing cash and profitability pressure, while auditors also raised concerns over the valuation and profit recognition on several contracts.For t
  • Road builders urge rethink over £428m RIS3 road cuts

    Road builders urge rethink over £428m RIS3 road cuts
    Civil engineering contractors have hit back at plans to strip £428m from the RIS3 roads programme and axe two major schemes.
    The Civil Engineering Contractors Association is urging Government to mothball the A38 Derby Junctions and A46 Newark Bypass jobs rather than kill them off completely.
    Ministers want to cut RIS3 capital spending over the first four years of the 2026-31 investment period, with the two enhancement schemes in the firing line and a further 2% squeeze proposed across othe
  • Glencar set for latest data centre on giant Slough site

    Glencar set for latest data centre on giant Slough site
    Glencar is understood to be lined-up for the latest data centre job at the giant Slough Trading Estate.
    The site is Europe’s largest data centre hub and owner SEGRO is moving towards construction of the latest powered shell building providing 30,000 sq m of space across three floors of data halls and a roof level plant deck.
    Planning permission is already in place via the Slough Trading Estate Simplified Planning Zone.The Enquirer understands Glencar has seen off competition from riva
  • Walker Modular lands 2,000 bathroom pods deal

    Walker Modular lands 2,000 bathroom pods deal
    Walker Modular has landed a deal to supply 2,000 bespoke bathroom pods for the £250m Castle Leazes student accommodation scheme in Newcastle.
    Bowmer + Kirkland is main contractor on the project for a partnership between Unite Students and Newcastle University to create 2,000 new purpose-built student bedrooms across the site
    The bathroom solution uses Walker Modular’s one-piece seamless GRP construction, designed to reduce the number of joints and waterproof interfaces within the bat
  • Renaker strikes S106 deal for next five Manchester towers

    Renaker strikes S106 deal for next five Manchester towers
    Manchester skyscraper developer Renaker has finally agreed a Section 106 deal with Manchester City Council to unlock its next £1bn generation of towers at Great Jackson Street.
    The agreement sets out a staged affordable housing contribution worth up to £114m and comes more than two years after councillors backed the five-tower development.
    Together the towers will deliver nearly 2,400 flats, including a 71-storey landmark that will become Manchester’s tallest building and the t
  • Boardroom fixer Alan Lovell called in to rescue British Steel

    Boardroom fixer Alan Lovell called in to rescue British Steel
    Veteran boardroom fixer Alan Lovell has been parachuted in by Government to chair British Steel and steer its latest rescue.
    Lovell forged his turnaround reputation in construction after helping to save Costain from financial collapse in the 1990s.
    As finance director and later chief executive, he eliminated net debt from a peak of £450m and returned five of Costain’s six divisions to above-budget profitability.He was drafted onto the Carillion board in November 2017 as a non-executi
  • Housing activity dives 5% in July as construction stagnates

    Housing activity dives 5% in July as construction stagnates
    Private house building slumped nearly 5% in July as weakening new work left construction output bumping along the bottom.
    The sharp fall in housing activity in July, dragged total new work down 0.4% with only infrastructure showing signs of growth.
    A 0.8% rise in repair and maintenance, historically an erratic figure in the Government official data, was enough to offset most of the decline, leaving overall construction output just 0.1% higher in July.
    But the wider three-month trend figures show
  • M&J Evans moves into new market as profits jump

    M&J Evans moves into new market as profits jump
    Groundworks specialist M&J Evans is diversifying into the utilities sector alongside its traditional house building work.
    The move helped the contractor post a strong set of results with pre-tax profits for the year to December 31 2025 up to £8m from £3.8m last time on turnover up to £374.3m from £323.3m.
    The company also confirmed plans to open its eighth region in the South East this year.M&J Evans said it “has also taken its first steps into the utilities
  • Berkeley calls for urgent stamp duty reform in Budget

    Berkeley calls for urgent stamp duty reform in Budget
    Berkeley Group has called for urgent stamp duty reform in the Budget to kick-start housing transactions and unlock stalled development.
    The house builder is urging Government to cap stamp duty at 1% for first-time buyers and downsizers and scrap the 5% surcharge on investors.
    Berkeley said the present stamp duty land tax regime had become a “binding constraint” on the housing market since interest rates returned to more normal levels.It argues that reduced transaction levels are now
  • McLaren seals go-ahead for £2bn York Central scheme

    McLaren seals go-ahead for £2bn York Central scheme
    Construction and property firm McLaren has secured planning for the first phase of the £2bn York Central regeneration.
    This clears the way for construction to start next year on more than 1,000 homes and a major new commercial district beside the city’s railway station
    City of York Council yesterday granted detailed consent for the opening phase of the 110-acre scheme being brought forward by McLaren Regeneration and Arlington Real Estate.The approved plans for phase 1C include 1,014

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