• London’s Camden Council advances £470m King’s Cross scheme

    London’s Camden Council advances £470m King’s Cross scheme
    London’s Camden Council is advancing plans for a £470m mixed-use scheme near Kings Cross to provide 350 homes and 200,000 sqft of commercial space.
    The development plan is focused on regenerating two nearby former light industrial sites at Camley Street and Cedar Way covering around 3.56 acres.
    The development plans which include Camden building 135 council homes will be anchored on receipts from the development of private flats and office space for companies in life sciences and tec
  • London back as most expensive place to build in world

    London back as most expensive place to build in world
    London has regained the dubious distinction of once again being the most expensive city in the world in which to build.
    According to the latest Arcadis  International Construction Costs report, London has leapfrogged Geneva to achieve the top spot among 100 global cities.
    Prices were pushed upwards because of enhanced specifications associated with safety and sustainability, as well as higher client expectations.
    Another Swiss city Zurich ranked third with Munich taking fourth after rising
  • Steel contractor Billington launches into bridge market

    Steel contractor Billington launches into bridge market
    Steelwork specialist Billington is launching into the bridge market after delivering a record financial performance last year.
    This morning Billington chief executive Mark Smith revealed the firm had saved the jobs of at least 14 staff from failed bridge and architectural specialist SH Structures.Among those moving over from SH Structures is managing director David Perry.Smith said Billington would use the acquisition of the North Yorkshire firm’s specialist skills to take its existing spe
  • McGee employees benefit from rise in profits

    McGee employees benefit from rise in profits
    Staff at McGee are set for a bonus payout after profits doubled at the specialist engineering contractor.
    Latest results for the year to 30 November 2023 show pre-tax profits up to £12.4m from £6.1m last time on turnover up to £121.8m from £83.3m.
    Cash at the bank also increased to £14.6 million from £10.3m as the business remains debt-free, other than equipment funding.
    McGee became employee owned through an Employee Ownership Trust back in 2020.The latest re
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  • Gas supplier Regent to buy TClarke for £90m

    Gas supplier Regent to buy TClarke for £90m
    Business gas supplier and connections specialist Regent is buying building services contractor TClarke for £90m.
    The listed contractor confirmed the acquisition plan in a Stock Exchange announcement this morning and its directors will be recommending the deal to shareholders.
    The 160p-per-share offer represents a 28% premium to TClarke’s closing share price of 125p yesterday.TClarke directors believe their business has been undervalued by the market and the Regent offer “presen
  • Costain signs site labour supply deal with four firms

    Costain signs site labour supply deal with four firms
    Costain has signed a site labour supply deal with a quartet of firms.
    Danny Sullivan Group, VGC, Hercules and Carmichael have been selected to form Costain’s new Integrated Labour Team (ILT.)
    The ILT will become the Costain’s first point of contact for any temporary labour supply requirement for any project, across all sectors in which it operates.Costain’s head of supply chain, Sarah Thomas, said: “Our partnership with the ILT brings added value and benefits to Costain a
  • Trio win new Scape utilities consultancy framework

    Trio win new Scape utilities consultancy framework
    SCAPE has appointed three firms to two new utilities consultancy frameworks that could deliver up to £1.25bn of investment across the country.
    Consultants Perfect Circle, AtkinsRéalis and Arcadis have secured places on the framework designed to help clients in the broader utilities sector shape their investment programmes and projects, while supporting the delivery of low-carbon infrastructure and sustainability targets.Utilities consultancy frameworks
    England, Wales, and Northern I
  • New MD at Quest to drive company growth

    New MD at Quest to drive company growth
    Clive Leadbetter has joined the Quest management team as Managing Director bringing over 25 years of operational and strategic expertise across the transport and environmental sectors.
    Quest is targeting significant growth over the next five years, with the aim of furthering its cross-sector operational capacity throughout the whole of the UK.
    Leadbetter said: “My aim is to establish Quest as a reliable partner for delivering innovative solutions using our industry-leading fleet and techno
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  • BAM go-ahead for Leeds 200,000 sq ft office

    BAM go-ahead for Leeds 200,000 sq ft office
    BAM Properties has got the nod from Leeds planners to build its 12-storey Latitude Yellow office scheme in the city centre.
    The 200,000 sq ft project will be located on the last remaining plot of the former Doncaster Monk Bridge Works off Whitehall Road in the established Leeds West End Business District.Work is understood to be timetable to start in September of the project worth around £60m.
    Designed by architect Cooper Cromar, the project team includes Gardiner & Theobald as cost co
  • Lendlease veteran is latest new McAlpine director

    Lendlease veteran is latest new McAlpine director
    Sir Robert McAlpine has appointed Paul Sims as its new Operations Director.
    Sims joins from Lendlease where he has worked for more than 40 years.
    He will now work closely with Commercial Director Glen Harding to boost McAlpine’s growing pipeline of work.Sims was most recently the Operations Director at Lendlease Europe, where he worked on a number of high-profile projects, including TV studios for both the BBC and Sky along with multiple offices, 5-star hotels and rail schemes across the c
  • VolkerFitzpatrick wins £30m logistics job

    VolkerFitzpatrick wins £30m logistics job
    VolkerFitzpatrick has been chosen by logistics developer Prologis UK to design and build five new distribution units at Prologis Park Hemel Hempstead, within Maylands Business Park.
    Enabling works are now underway on the £30m scheme which is scheduled for completion in August 2025.
    It is the second project VolkerFitzpatrick has worked on at Prologis Park Hemel Hempstead and once complete will see the Park grow by over 280,000 sq ft, with units ranging between 19,000 and 75,000 sq ft.All of
  • Wates-owned SES restructure delivers record profit and revenue

    Wates-owned SES restructure delivers record profit and revenue
    Wates is finally seeing the benefits of its acquisition of SES Engineering Services eight years after it bought the then loss-making M&E contractor from Shepherd Group
    Latest published results for SES (Engineering Services) show the firm delivered record results last year after a significant restructure of the business under new managing director Rob Clifford.
    Despite challenging market conditions, revenue soared 73% to £299m, generating a near doubling in pre-tax profit to £5.8m
  • Energy efficiency firms angry at lack of CITB support

    Energy efficiency firms angry at lack of CITB support
    A leading trade body for the energy efficiency sector has attacked the lack of support from the CITB for its specialist installer members.
    The Installation Assurance Authority Federation has been lobbying for CITB grants for months to help with training courses and a new National Energy Efficiency Centre Park in Leighton Buzzard.
    CEO Nigel Donohue was stunned to read the Enquirer report last month highlighting how the CITB was sitting on a £100m cash pile claiming contractors were  &l
  • 25 groundworks firms win £100m Places for People deal

    25 groundworks firms win £100m Places for People deal
    Housing group Places for People has picked its line-up of groundworks contractors to deliver new-build homes projects homes across England and Scotland.
    Around 25 firms have secured places on the groundworks panel of firms across four main regions for the affordable homes provider.
    M&J Evans Construction, Carmac (Building & Civil Engineering), Churngold Construction and John Reilly Civil Engineering featured with the greatest number of places across the framework.The 230,000-home associa
  • Precast firm FP McCann cleared after immigration raid

    Precast firm FP McCann cleared after immigration raid
    Immigration officials have decided to take no action against precast concrete contractor FP McCann after a dawn raid on one of its sites last month.
    The Home Office briefed the media on the raid on on the Shotton Mill site in Deeside, north Wales warning that McCann could face fines of up to £225,000 after 13 people were arrested.
    But McCann has now been issued a “No Action Notice” from the Immigration Enforcement division of the Home Office after it was established that all it
  • £400m South Cambridge science park approved

    £400m South Cambridge science park approved
    Joint developers Bridgemere Land and Foundation Capital Ventures have secured outline planning for a £400m landmark science and innovation park in South Cambridge.The Cambridge Discovery Campus, designed by BCR Infinity Architects, will provide over 340,000 sq ft of science and innovation space over six detached, laboratory-enabled buildings.It will be built on the site of a former sewage works in Huxton and involves a total investment of around £170m.
    The outline approval allows dem
  • McLaren gets green light for 45-storey Leeds tower

    McLaren gets green light for 45-storey Leeds tower
    McLaren’s property arm has got the planning green light to build a 45-storey build to rent tower and two lower-rise office blocks to the west of Leeds city centre.
    Designed by Glenn Howells Architects, the Wellington Square scheme will be located on the city skyline by the landmark hexagonal-shaped residential block which will rise to 141m and provide just over 460 flats.
    Two adjacent office blocks of 14 and 15 storeys will provide around 435,000 sq ft of space next to the main block of fl
  • Major project veteran named civils director for Sizewell C

    Major project veteran named civils director for Sizewell C
    Veteran major project delivery boss David Speight has been appointed Main Civils Programme Director for the Sizewell C nuclear power station project.
    He joins as enabling works are underway ahead of a final investment decision later this year.
    Preparatory works for the £20bn-plus project include improvements to roads and rail lines around the Suffolk site, ensuring the necessary local infrastructure is in place before full construction begins.Speight brings over 30 years’ major progr
  • Major project veteran appointed civils director for Sizewell C

    Veteran major project delivery boss David Speight has been appointed Main Civils Programme Director at the Sizewell C nuclear power station project.
    He joins as enabling works are underway ahead of a final investment decision later this year.
    Preparatory works for the £20bn-plus project include improvements to roads and rail lines around the Suffolk site, ensuring the necessary local infrastructure is in place before full construction begins.Speight brings over 30 years’ major progra
  • Heavy rain causes 1.9% construction output fall

    Heavy rain causes 1.9% construction output fall
    Construction output fell 1.9% in February as heavy rainfall dampened construction activity.
    New work was hit hardest dropping by 2.3% with repair and maintenance decreasing by 1.4% during the month.
    Despite the uptick in output in January, construction new work output in the last three months to February sharnk by a total of 3%.
    Scott Motley, head of programme, project and cost management at consultant AECOM, said: “The construction industry will be dismayed that output has slipped back in
  • £220m London wharf homes scheme approved

    Planners have given the thumbs up to a scheme to build 285 flats in blocks next to protected wharves near Wandsworth Bridge in London.
    As a former industrial shipping site, Albert and Swedish Wharves, will be improved and retained with new logistics warehouses below high-rise house blocks overlooking the Thames.
    Developer Henley Investment Management can now demolish warehouse buildings on the site to make way for the mixed-used scheme of seven buildings rising from 6-20 storeys.
    As part of the
  • Taziker restruture to return to profitability after £1.2m loss

    Taziker restruture to return to profitability after £1.2m loss
    Multi-disciplinary engineering specialist Taziker Industrial suffered a £1.2m pre-tax loss last year that prompted the previous founders to buy back a controlling stake in business from its private equity owners.
    The ownership change back to Thomas Taziker, Nigel Taziker and Graham Moor agreed in October 2023 also deleveraged the business and prompted a strategy rethink away from a path of diversification and rapid growth.
    While the previous growth drive doubled the size of the business in
  • Morgan Sindall lands £19m Milton Keynes hospital job

    Morgan Sindall lands £19m Milton Keynes hospital job
    Morgan Sindall’s Northern Home Counties business has been appointed to develop a £19.1m ward expansion on behalf of the Milton Keynes University Hospital (MKUH) NHS Foundation Trust.
    Procured via the Pagabo Framework, the project will create a new two-storey building known as Oak Wards as well as a link corridor to the existing A&E department in MKUH’s main building.
    Work  is due to start on site this winter and be completed in late 2025.The hospital has an air ambulan
  • Clancy bolsters civils leadership team

    Clancy bolsters civils leadership team
    Clancy has strengthened its senior leadership at the civil engineering team with two new hires.
    Former Morrison Water Services contracts manager Daniel Tonkin has joined to become operations director for Clancy’s work for South West Water.
    He joins as Clancy gears up for a significant work programme after securing South West Water’s Capital Delivery Programme Tier 1 Delivery Partners framework.The other senior newcomer, former Buckingham Group major projects director Simon Hyams, tak
  • Balfour names new project boss for HS2’s super-hub station

    Balfour names new project boss for HS2’s super-hub station
    Balfour Beatty has brought in major project specialist Steve O’Sullivan as project director for its HS2 Old Oak Common station project joint venture.
    O’Sullivan replaces Nigel Russell, who was promoted to chief executive officer of Balfour Beatty’s HS2 Major Projects business at the start of this year.
    With over 40 years’ experience in the industry, O’Sullivan has helped deliver some of the largest and most complex infrastructure projects in the UK and overseas incl
  • Buckingham Group supply chain hit doubles to £256m

    Buckingham Group supply chain hit doubles to £256m
    Administrators for collapsed contractor Buckingham Group have revealed the true extent of the hit for unsecured creditors following its collapse last September.
    At the time the directors statement of affairs disclosed there were 1,292 unsecured creditors with claims totalling £113m.
    But the latest progress report from administrator Grant Thornton reveals this figure has now more than doubled.In total 1,375 claims have now been received totalling £256m, which includes significant clai
  • Builders demand an end to police plant bans

    Builders demand an end to police plant bans
    The National Federation of Builders is calling for an end to police bans on moving mobile cranes and large plant on the country’s roads.
    The Enquirer revealed last month that police forces across the country had implemented bans this Easter.
    Crane and plant hire firms fear police forces are increasingly looking to prohibit their movements.Now the NFB is adding its voice to the debate with demands to revamp the current system of travel bans.
    Rico Wojtulewicz, Head of Policy and Market Insig
  • £200m carbon capture plan for Deeside site

    £200m carbon capture plan for Deeside site
    Energy from waste operator enfinium has unveiled plans to invest around £200m in carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology at the Parc Adfer facility in Deeside, North Wales.
    The project could capture up to 235,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide every year because installing CCS would enable the plant to take more CO2 out of the atmosphere than it produces.
    The Parc Adfer plant was opened in 2019 and currently diverts up to 232,000 tonnes of unrecyclable waste from climate damaging landfill.Wi
  • Green light for £65m Blackpool multiversity campus

    Green light for £65m Blackpool multiversity campus
    Blackpool Council has gained planning for a £65m education campus in the town centre.
    The Multiversity plan has already received almost £50m in Government funding as part of the Levelling Up Fund and Blackpool Town Deal.  
    The approval paves the way for a 3-acre site including 59 homes in the Talbot Gateway area to be levelled to make way for a 350,000 sq ft education facility across three major blocks rising to five storeys.It will be delivered in two phases, starting with
  • Vinci signs £138m Sheffield steel forge expansion deal

    Vinci signs £138m Sheffield steel forge expansion deal
    Vinci Building has clinched a £138m contract to deliver the UK’s largest open-die forging facility in Sheffield.
    The project involves erecting a 13,800 sq m building to house the groundbreaking forging facility at Sheffield Forgemasters’ historic site on Brightside Lane.
    Vinci has been working under a preconstruction agreement for nearly two years and is now starting to pile foundations ahead of erecting a 40m-high superstructure and installing building services and a water pum

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