Construction news

• M&E specialist restarts Berwick Hospital job after Merit collapse

  28-11-2025 08:52 via constructionenquirer.com
  Work on the delayed Berwick Community Hospital is back on the move after the sudden collapse of main contractor Merit forced Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust to trigger emergency measures.
  Tyne and Wear-based M&E specialist Opus Building Services has now been drafted in as interim contractor and is already established on site, re-employing most of the former Merit team to keep momentum going while the trust begins the hunt for a permanent replacement builder.
  Damon Kent, managing
  
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• Buyers report steepest output fall for five-and-half years

  04-12-2025 10:50 via constructionenquirer.com
  Construction buyers reported a “sharp and accelerated reduction” in output levels last month.
  The latest bellwether S&P Global UK Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index fell to 39.4 in November from 44.1 in October.
  It was the lowest reading since May 2020 while lower volumes of construction output have now been recorded for eleven months in a row.Activity fell below the 50 no change mark in all sectors with housing activity (index at 35.4), commercial construction (43.8)
  
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• Anglian Water to shift £1.5bn work to single Tier 1 partner

  04-12-2025 08:50 via constructionenquirer.com
  Anglian Water has put contractors on notice for a major bid race to appoint a single design and build firm or JV to deliver a £1.5bn programme of flagship projects across AMP8 and AMP9.
  The new Major Infrastructure Delivery Framework marks a clear shift from the multi-contractor alliance model that underpinned its AMP4 and AMP5 programmes.
  Now Anglian intends to try a more commercial approach with a sole Tier 1 delivery partner that operates in parallel with its existing Strategic Pipeline
  
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• Balfour Beatty powers up order book 20% to record £18.4bn

  04-12-2025 08:45 via constructionenquirer.com
  Balfour Beatty is set to close the year with a turbocharged order book and cash pile as the UK energy boom powers the pipeline to record levels.
  This morning Balfour said it would reach year-end with an order book around 20% higher at roughly £18.4bn, driven by more than £3.5bn of new UK power-generation work and the long-awaited inclusion of £3bn of Sizewell C civils.
  Revenue is expected to come in more than 5% ahead of last year’s £10bn, with UK construction and s
  
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• Balfour Beatty powers up order book 20% to over £20bn

  04-12-2025 08:45 via constructionenquirer.com
  Balfour Beatty is set to close the year with a turbocharged order book and cash pile as the UK energy boom powers the pipeline to record levels.
  This morning Balfour said it would reach year-end with an order book around 20% higher at more than £20bn, driven by more than £3.5bn of new UK power-generation work and the long-awaited inclusion of £3bn of Sizewell C civils.
  Revenue is expected to come in more than 5% ahead of last year’s £10bn, with UK construction and s
  
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• Electrical apprentice falls through fragile roof

  04-12-2025 08:29 via constructionenquirer.com
  Two companies have been fined after an electrical apprentice fell through a roof while installing CCTV in Weymouth.
  The then 20-year-old had been working for electrical contractor Tristan G Murless Limited at one of its sites at a commercial industrial estate on 13 July 2022.
  He had been using a makeshift crawling board when he fell around 11 feet through a fragile roof to the concrete floor below.
  The incident took place on the roof of a lean-to attached to a main warehouse. The project involve
  
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• BAM gets green light for £140m Cardiff Central revamp

  04-12-2025 08:20 via constructionenquirer.com
  BAM has got the green light to start the £140m overhaul of Cardiff Central after the Government approved the final business case for Wales’ busiest station.
  Work will begin in spring 2026 on a major rebuild delivering a new southern entrance, a larger concourse and an extended platform 0 to ease chronic congestion for the 35,000 passengers using the station each day.
  The £140m package includes nearly £78m from the UK Government, £40m from Cardiff Capital Region and
  
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• Monster TBM hunt starts for Lower Thames Crossing

  03-12-2025 21:14 via constructionenquirer.com
  Bouygues Murphy JV has entered talks to buy a monster TBM to drive one of the widest tunnels in the world for the Lower Thames Crossing.
  The JV will use just one machine to drive both 16.4m wide north and southbound tunnels, keeping costs down while not impacting the total programme schedule.
  Tunnelling machine procurement gets underway as it emerged the mega project cost is heading towards £11bn, up from the £9bn cited earlier this year. The Government is due to foot £3.1bn of
  
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• BGS Utilities gets investment boost for growth plans

  03-12-2025 15:54 via constructionenquirer.com
  Multi-utility infrastructure provider BGS Utilities has received a six-figure investment boost to assist the firm’s future growth.
  Based out of its offices in Birchwood Park, Warrington, BGS Utilities works across the industrial and commercial, and house building sectors across the North West and surrounding areas.
  The investment from NPIF II – FW Capital Debt Finance, which is managed by FW Capital as part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II (NPIF II) is assisting the firm
  
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• Builder ordered to pay back stolen plant and car money

  03-12-2025 15:48 via constructionenquirer.com
  A builder who stole almost £85,000 in hired plant and used company funds to pay for his high-performance car will go to jail if he does not repay more than £190,000 in the next three months.
  Vasile Hrusca used more than £67,000 from his own failing company in 2019 to pay off the remaining balance on a hire purchase agreement for an Audi RS6 which he had bought the previous year for just under £75,000.
  He also sold seven diggers and other machinery which were still subject
  
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• Iconic London meat and fish markets line up Royal Docks move

  03-12-2025 09:02 via constructionenquirer.com
  Traders at London’s iconic Billingsgate and Smithfield markets have agreed a preferred new home at the Royal Docks paving the way for massive development plans at the exisiting sites.
  The City of London Corporation and GLA have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to relocate both historic wholesale markets at Albert Island next to City Airport in Newham.
  The ambitious plans now hinge on Parliamentary approval to formally end trading at the current sites in 2028 and planning consent from N
  
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• Amey rail maintenance workers to hold strike ballot

  03-12-2025 08:35 via constructionenquirer.com
  Rail union TSSA will ballot hundreds of members employed by Amey after accusing the contractor of trying to push through a ‘below-inflation pay offer amounting to a real-terms cut in wages.”
  Around 300 Amey rail maintenance workers across Scotland, Wales, North East, Midlands, London and all Southern regions will be asked to support strike action in the ballot which opens today and closes on Monday 15 December.
  The action follows Amey’s decision to proceed with a pay offer of 2
  
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• Water orders flow as Kier nets £44m ECI haul

  03-12-2025 08:29 via constructionenquirer.com
  Kier has scooped another pair of early-stage AMP8 deals from Southern Water, adding £44m of work to its fast-growing water portfolio.
  The two ECI packages cover design and development work across a dozen wastewater treatment sites and come on top of £29m of similar AMP8 wins secured earlier this year.
  A £20m tranche covers early-stage design at six plants: Chickenhall, Fullerton, Leeds, Newnham Valley, Paddock Wood and Sellindge.
  Upgrades will lift capacity and boost compliance
  
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• £350m plan lodged for Leatherhead town centre revamp

  03-12-2025 08:16 via constructionenquirer.com
  The Kier Property and Mole Valley District Council joint venture has fired the starting gun on a £350m overhaul of Leatherhead town centre in Surey.
  The Leret Partnership is targeting two key brownfield sites at Bull Hill and the Swan Centre as part of the council’s wider Transform Leatherhead programme.
  Its application will see 480 homes, workspace and leisure, including more than 10,000 sq m of modern Net Zero Carbon offices aimed at attracting new employers into the town.Bull Hil
  
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• Willmott Dixon tops contracts league after £136m Luton win

  03-12-2025 08:15 via constructionenquirer.com
  Willmott Dixon has topped the November work-won rankings after bagging a £136m mixed-use scheme in Luton town centre and a run of education jobs that pushed it clear of the chasing pack.
  Its flagship Luton Stage project, procured through the Southern Construction Framework, will transform the old Bute Street Shoppers car park into a major new destination with 292 flats, commercial space and a purpose-built events venue.
  Morgan Sindall took second place after another strong month of regiona
  
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• Civils firm files administration notice as part of restructure

  02-12-2025 16:47 via constructionenquirer.com
  The directors of Essex-based contractor E.J. Taylor & Sons Limited have filed a Notice of Intention (NOI) to Appoint Administrators as part of a proposed restructuring process supported by FRP Advisory.
  The NOI was filed at Court on Monday to provide the company with protection while marketing of the business is undertaken and a pre-packaged sale is progressed.
  The business continues to trade normally in the meantime and said it will continue to make supplier and subcontractor payments.The c
  
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• Tilbury Douglas appoints new fit-out MD

  02-12-2025 15:24 via constructionenquirer.com
  Tilbury Douglas has appointed Jack Dixon to the newly created role of Managing Director at its fit-out division Paragon.
  Dixon joins from Structure Tone London where he spent nine years latterly as a divisional director.
  Craig Tatton, Chief Executive Officer at Tilbury Douglas said: “This appointment further invests in Paragon’s development, building on its established reputation.“Looking ahead, there’s a clear opportunity to grow our fit-out business with targeted privat
  
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• Kier CFO to step down after six-year turnaround mission

  02-12-2025 09:31 via constructionenquirer.com
  Kier CFO Simon Kesterton is stepping down at the end of the year after six years helping steer the group through its biggest financial reset in a generation.
  Kesterton joined when Kier was on the ropes with a battered balance sheet and mounting debt.
  He leaves with the group firmly back on its feet, cash discipline tightened and major IT and procurement shake-ups pushed through.
  CFO change: Simon Kesterson steps down after six years as Tom Hinton hired to drive next phase of growth
  His replaceme
  
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• London Mayor ends stalemate over Paddington student towers

  02-12-2025 09:08 via constructionenquirer.com
  Unite has won a long-running planning battle in Paddington after the London Mayor’s office stepped in to overturn Westminster Council and approve its 600-bed Baltic Wharf student towers project.
  City Hall’s intervention draws a line under one of Westminster’s most fiercely contested student housing disputes and finally clears the way for construction to start.
  The £147m scheme on a Travis Perkins builders’ merchant site had been repeatedly blocked by councillors who
  
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• Severfield suffers £7.6m first-half loss amid work slowdown

  02-12-2025 09:01 via constructionenquirer.com
  Steelwork giant Severfield has taken another financial hit after posting a £7.6m pre-tax loss for the first half of the year amid tighter pricing, lower factory volumes and lingering bridge remediation fallout.
  Revenue at the steelwork contractor tumbled 18% to £206m as demand across commercial, industrial and data-centre work stayed muted and margins remained under pressure.
  Underlying pre-tax profit slumped from £16m in the same period a year ago to just £0.6m as factor
  
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• Holcim buys site waste removal business

  02-12-2025 08:20 via constructionenquirer.com
  Holcim UK has acquired London construction waste management company Thames Materials Limited.
  The acquisition will reinforce Holcim’s position in the recycling and construction demolition materials market in the capital and surrounding areas.
  Thames Materials was formed in 1995 and employs 90 people with a fleet of 62 vehicles with its head office in Uxbridge.Recycling operations are conducted from a 12 acre facility in Harefield with a capacity of 750,000 tonnes.
  The firm specialises in t
  
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• London co-living job storms through Gateway 2 in 13 weeks

  02-12-2025 00:20 via constructionenquirer.com
  Developer Morro has achieved the industry’s fastest Building Safety Act approval clearing Gateway 2 in just 13 weeks for a London co-living scheme.
  The rapid Building Safety Regulator sign-off means contractor HG Construction can now get underway on the Hackney project at a long-vacant builders’ yard overlooking Regent’s Canal.
  The Meanwhile Group’s Morro brand, working with development manager Pareto Projects and principal designer Veretec, has now secured both planning
  
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• Bauer Technologies lands Dovetail Building piling deal

  01-12-2025 20:46 via constructionenquirer.com
  Bauer Technologies has been awarded the specialist piling and geotechnical works package for The Dovetail Building – a 24-storey mixed-use development in the City of London.
  Commissioned by Deconstruct UK Ltd on behalf of client Brockton Everlast, the project represents a significant addition to London’s premium office and retail landscape, featuring a three-level basement and high-specification tower structure designed to meet modern sustainability and performance standards.
  Bauer T
  
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• CSCS Alliance confirms appointment of new Chair

  01-12-2025 20:34 via constructionenquirer.com
  The CSCS Alliance – the collective voice of the 37 card schemes that carry the CSCS logo – has announced the appointment of Marion Marsland as its new Chair.
  Marsland will lead the Alliance as it continues to drive higher standards and improved safety across construction and the built environment.
  With over 40 years’ experience in the thermal insulation sector, Masland has worked across contracting, distribution and manufacturing before moving into trade-association leadership.
  
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• Caddick lands £20m Nottingham addiction clinic

  01-12-2025 17:23 via constructionenquirer.com
  Caddick has been picked as preferred bidder to deliver a £20m addiction treatment clinic on the site of Nottinghamshire Fire & Rescue’s former HQ in Bestwood.
  The contractor has signed a PCSA with Delamere Health to prep the plot for a new 32-room residential treatment centre billed as the UK’s biggest investment in addiction rehabilitation.
  Demolition of the old fire HQ is due to start before Christmas ahead of a full build contract expected early next year.
  Designed by An
  
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• Balfour regional civils chief joins Costain

  01-12-2025 13:49 via constructionenquirer.com
  Costain has appointed Peter Mumford as managing director for its natural resources division.
  Mumford will join Costain’s Executive Board and start on 2 January 2026.
  He replaces Sam White who left in October to become managing director of Mitie’s Technical Services division.
  Mumford joins from Balfour Beatty where he was managing director of its regional civils business in the UK.Prior to that he spent five years at National Highways leading the delivery of the government’s &po
  
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• Gateway 2 project backlog slashed but retrofit logjam drags on

  01-12-2025 09:17 via constructionenquirer.com
  The Building Safety Regulator has slashed the pile of legacy Gateway 2 new build cases by almost half as new approval procedures start to kick in.
  But large numbers of planned remediation and refurbishment project remain stuck in a stubborn bottleneck as fresh applications continue to outpace decisions.
  Since August, the regulator has pushed through 40 legacy high rise, new build determinations, cutting the old-case backlog from 103 to 63.
  Another nine schemes are already lined up for approval w
  
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• ECO4 axe pushes local retrofit firms to brink

  01-12-2025 09:14 via constructionenquirer.com
  Regional energy retrofit firms are warning of a supply-chain collapse after the Government moved to axe the £6.5bn ECO4 scheme that upgrades damp, mouldy and draughty homes for the poorest households.
  The shock Budget decision scraps the £1.3bn-a-year programme in March 2026, handing bill-payers a saving of around £48 while pulling vital funding from low-income homes and the SME contractors that deliver the work.
  Around 5,000 homes a month currently receive measures through ECO
  
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• “Future of construction” firm files administration notice

  01-12-2025 09:10 via constructionenquirer.com
  Pioneering graphene firm Versarien has filed a notice of intention to appoint an administrator.
  The firm’s products include Cementene – a concrete admixture hailed as the “future of construction” which boosts strength and cuts carbon.
  Versarien has trialled its products on HS2 and signed a deal with Balfour Beatty last year to work on new products.But the AIM listed business confirmed this morning that its shares were being suspended while it seeks a buyer over the next t
  
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• Stage set for Andover £24m new theatre bid race

  01-12-2025 08:41 via constructionenquirer.com
  Test Valley Borough Council has raised the curtain on a £24m two-stage tender to build Andover’s new flagship theatre.
  The council is hunting a contractor to deliver pre-construction services and a 77-week main works package that will form the centrepiece of its town-centre masterplan.
  The project replaces the old Poundstretcher unit on the High Street, now being demolished to create a clear site for the venue, which will become the new home for The Lights.
  Five contractors are expec
  
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