Construction news

• Margins hit 4.8% as profits triple at Esh Group

  09-07-2026 08:42 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Esh Group has posted the strongest financial performance in the company’s history.
  The North of England contractor saw pre-tax profits rise to £15m in the year to December 31 2025 – up from £5m last time with a 4.8% pre-tax margin. Turnover grew by 17% to £311m.
  Chief Executive Andy Radcliffe said strong demand from Esh’s core markets coupled with its disciplined approach to contract selection, risk management and quality delivery has enabled the Group to deli
  
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• Labourer dies after scissor lift fall

  09-07-2026 09:08 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  A specialist contractor has been fined after a worker died when a series of wall panels collapsed and knocked him from a scissor lift.
  Steven Tervit had been carrying out a dismantling operation at a specialist technology centre in Renfrew on 9 November 2022 when the incident happened.
  The 32-year-old was employed as a labourer by temperature-controlled building specialist Food Process Engineering Limited and had worked for the company for 15 years.Tervit had been working at a height of around f
  
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• Industry unites to warn new PM against more infrastructure cuts

  09-07-2026 08:57 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Construction’s biggest names have issued a rare united plea to the incoming Prime Minister not to tear up the Government’s £725bn infrastructure strategy.
  The open letter from the industry’s captains comes amid mounting concern that infrastructure budgets could be raided further following last week’s decision to axe two major road schemes to fund greater defence spending
  Twenty eight leading contractors, consultants, and institutions signed an open letter calling on
  
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• MoD to split £6.6bn military homes maintenance mega deal

  09-07-2026 08:19 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  The Defence Infrastructure Organisation is planning to split its next-generation military housing maintenance contracts in a move that could reshape bidding for one of the UK’s biggest public sector property services deals.
  Fresh market engagement documents reveal the Ministry of Defence property arm is considering breaking apart planned maintenance and capital works from day-to-day repairs and maintenance under its £6.6bn programme for Service Family Accommodation.
  The proposed chan
  
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• Hampshire council seeks D&B firm for £100m housing job

  09-07-2026 08:09 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Eastleigh Borough Council is looking for a design and build contractor to deliver a major house building package at its flagship One Horton Heath development in Hampshire.
  The contract is expected to be worth £100m, making it one of the largest local authority housing opportunities currently available.
  The job covers the Upper Acre parcel at 310-acre mixed-use development to the east of Eastleigh. This will provide 424 mixed-tenure homes together with roads, utilities, landscaping, public
  
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• Funding deal to kick-start Middlewood Locks tower phase

  09-07-2026 08:09 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Fresh backing from the National Housing Bank has fired the starting gun on the next high rise residential phase of the £1bn Middlewood Locks regeneration in Salford.
  The government-backed funding package will bankroll site preparation, enabling works and detailed design for a 909-home expansion on 10 acres between Salford Central station and Manchester’s Spinningfields district.
  Joint venture partners Scarborough Group International and Metro Holdings hope to start construction early
  
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• Battersea job lifts Sisk to top of contracts league

  08-07-2026 09:22 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Sisk jumped to the top of the rankings for work won in June on the strength of its £280m residential project for the next phase of the Battersea Power Station redevelopment in London.
  The firm will start work this summer on Phase 3C, the final two Frank Gehry-designed buildings that will complete Electric Boulevard.
  Balfour Beatty and Morgan Sindall ranked second and third respectively helped by infrastructure new orders.
  Balfour picked up a £125m deal for maintenance of the Leeds in
  
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• Vistry warns of first-half loss as daily net debt nears £800m

  08-07-2026 08:33 via constructionenquirer.com
  Vistry has warned it will post a first-half loss after driving average daily net debt close to £800m as the partnerships house builder prioritised paying suppliers faster while funding a sweeping balance sheet reset.
  The group expects to report a first-half pre-tax loss of around £30m after taking a £50m hit from aggressive cash-generation measures, including deeper sales discounts, accelerated asset sales and write-downs on low-margin sites.
  In a half-year trading update, new
  
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• Higgins wins £47m school and flats scheme

  08-07-2026 08:25 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Hammersmith & Fulham Council has appointed Higgins Partnerships as main contractor to deliver the £47m rebuild of Avonmore Primary School alongside 91 new homes in Hammersmith.
  The new school has been funded by the mixed-tenure homes of which half will be affordable with priority given to eligible local residents to help ensure families can remain in the area.
  Designed by BPTW in collaboration with Walter & Cohen, the development will provide 2,297sqm of flexible learning space and
  
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• Capital&Centric lines up five Rotherham regeneration starts

  08-07-2026 08:07 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Capital&Centric has been confirmed as development partner for a major regeneration programme that will reshape five key riverside and town centre sites in Rotherham.
  The appointment, approved by Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council’s cabinet, paves the way for the Manchester-based regeneration specialist to prepare detailed proposals for three new residential neighbourhoods and two mixed-use town centre schemes.
  The long-term regeneration vision centres on opening up the town’s
  
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• Council bosses blast ‘shoddy’ work by failed contractor

  07-07-2026 16:22 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Council bosses have hit out at construction standards on a part-completed housing job where the main contractor went into administration.
  Westridge Construction went under in September 2023 while building a new seafront council housing development in Southwick, West Sussex.
  For the last two years replacement firm Cheesmur Building Contractors has been attempting to rectify construction issues on the 49-home site.Client Adur & Worthing Councils has now confirmed the remediation work will cost
  
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• Balfour Beatty pumps £10m into venture capital tech fund

  07-07-2026 13:35 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Balfour Beatty is investing £10m into a venture capital fund focused on technologies transforming the built environment.
  The contractor hopes the deal will “strengthen Balfour Beatty’s access to emerging technologies that could improve productivity, delivery certainty, safety and performance across major infrastructure projects.
  The money will go into Pi Labs’ Fund IV focused on early-stage companies developing solutions across areas including artificial intelligence, dat
  
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• 140 homes and aquarium plan for Swansea Civic Centre

  07-07-2026 09:18 via constructionenquirer.com
  Urban Splash has unveiled plans to transform Swansea’s vacant Civic Centre into a mixed-use waterfront destination with up to 140 seafront homes, an aquarium, cafés, bars and workspace.
  The developer has launched a public consultation on proposals to repurpose the landmark Brutalist 1980s civic building ahead of submitting a planning application later this year.
  Backed by £20m of UK Government funding and being delivered with Swansea Council, the scheme would retain and refurb
  
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• HS2 workers left out of pocket after safety shutdown

  07-07-2026 09:02 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Self-employed workers on HS2 have been left out of pocket after sites were shut down across the West Midlands when a contractor had to be taken to hospital by air ambulance.
  Main contractor Balfour Beatty Vinci decided to stop works at local sites on its 90km section of the line from Long Itchington to Handsacre in Staffordshire following an accident on Thursday 18 June.
  A phased restart of works started on June 24 following a review of safety procedures.
  But workers have contacted the Enqu
  
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• Green light for latest Winsford Gateway warehouse

  07-07-2026 08:39 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Rula Developments has secured full planning consent to deliver a new 225,000 sq ft logistics building at its 30-acre Winsford Gateway site in Cheshire.
  The WG225 scheme will occupy a 14-acre serviced development plot at Winsford Gateway where access works  to the site have commenced alongside the construction of WG27 – a 27,728 sq ft unit forming the new headquarters for floor finishing and interior design business, Saint Group.
  Winsford Gateway is located at the north entrance t
  
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• Blue Sky floors tier one rivals in £176m Barbican revamp race

  07-07-2026 08:09 via constructionenquirer.com
  Boutique construction management specialist Blue Sky Building has beaten a trio of London heavyweight contractors to steer the £176m renewal of London’s iconic Barbican Centre.
  The City of London Corporation selected Blue Sky Building ahead of  Bovis, McLaren and Sir Robert McAlpine for the construction management role worth up to £5.1m.
  BSB will act as the client’s principal delivery partner, managing dozens of trade contractors under separate contracts.The appointm
  
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• Graham names finance chief as next CEO after bumper year

  06-07-2026 23:16 via constructionenquirer.com
  Graham has promoted finance chief Courtney McCormick to chief executive after posting record results that saw turnover break through the £1.2bn mark for the first time.
  McCormick, who has served as group chief financial officer for the past 12 years, will take over on 1 September following the retirement of long-serving chief executive Andrew Bill after more than 40 years with the business.
  The leadership handover comes as the privately-owned contractor reported revenue up 16% to £1.
  
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• Buyers report sharpest fall in civils work for six years

  06-07-2026 12:56 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Construction buyers have reported the biggest fall in civil engineering work since since April 2020.
  The news will be another blow for contractors still reeling from government plans to scrap road schemes to pay for increased defence spending.
  The latest bellwether S&P Global UK Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index registered 38.4 in June, up slightly from May’s six-year low of 38.2 but still well below the neutral 50.0 value.Construction output has decreased in each month sin
  
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• Loan unlocks offices to student accommodation deal

  06-07-2026 09:33 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  A £113m loan has been agreed to finance the transformation of 450,000 square feet of vacant London office space into 1,085 student beds in the Royal Docks.
  Firma Partners has provided funding to DPK Group for the conversion of the Royal Albert Dock office complex in East London into a Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) scheme with a GDV of £300m.
  The loan will finance refurbishment of 20 buildings at the riverfront Docklands site which were originally constructed by Brookfiel
  
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• McLaren employs robot army for site quality checks

  06-07-2026 08:41 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  McLaren Construction has agreed a partnership with FieldAI to bring general-purpose robots to its UK construction sites.
  McLaren will deploy autonomous quadruped robots initially to capture 360° site imagery, generate data and support safety compliance patrols and quality assurance.
  Regular automated scans by FieldAI robots will create a visual and spatial record of work as it is installed.AI-enabled analysis will compare site data against the design model, reducing the time between ins
  
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• McLaren employs robot army for for site quality checks

  06-07-2026 08:41 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  McLaren Construction has agreed a partnership with FieldAI to bring general-purpose robots to its UK construction sites.
  McLaren will deploy autonomous quadruped robots initially to capture 360° site imagery, generate data and support safety compliance patrols and quality assurance.
  Regular automated scans by FieldAI robots will create a visual and spatial record of work as it is installed.AI-enabled analysis will compare site data against the design model, reducing the time between ins
  
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• Final segment installed at problem HS2 green tunnel

  06-07-2026 08:29 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  The last of 5,020 reinforced concrete segments has been lifted into position at an HS2 cut and cover tunnel plagued by construction problems.
  The milestone was reached on the Chipping Warden Green Tunnel in Northamptonshire where faults were found in 2022 in precast concrete segments.
  With the pre-cast wall installation finished, the construction team are now focused on completing the waterproofing and internal floor slab and all other internal works, including the emergency walkways that will r
  
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• Morris & Spottiswood storms £230m turnover barrier

  06-07-2026 08:25 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Fit-out and refurbishment contractor Morris & Spottiswood delivered another record year after landing more framework work and expanding deeper into southern England.
  Revenue climbed by around a third to £231m in the year to December 2025, while pre-tax profit leaped nearly a half to £6.9m as the contractor extended a remarkable growth run that has seen sales soar 125% in three years.
  The Glasgow-based group, which is in its centenary year, said growth was driven by repeat busines
  
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• Morganstone lands key role in Port Talbot steelworks revival

  06-07-2026 08:10 via constructionenquirer.com
  Tata Steel UK has picked Swansea civils firm Morganstone to deliver the first major construction package on its Project Invictus transformation at the Port Talbot steelworks.
  Morganstone will carry out the civil and structural works for the new Pickle Line. This process section will support new pickling and rinse tanks used to remove mill scale from hot rolled steel before it is cold rolled.
  The deal marks the shift from demolition and enabling works into full construction on the processing line
  
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• Battle starts for places on £250m animal labs framework refresh

  06-07-2026 08:10 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Ten contractors and nine consultants face a battle to retain places on a £250m refresh of construction partners for the Animal and Plant Health Agency’s flagship science campus at Weybridge, Surrey.
  Defra has launched early market engagement for its new Science Estates Delivery Framework, which will replace the existing APHA framework supporting one of the country’s most technically demanding construction programmes.
  Current framework holders include contractors Kier, Sisk, Wil
  
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• HS2 work paused after serious site accident

  03-07-2026 08:53 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Construction work has now resumed at HS2 sites across the West Midlands after a contractor had to be taken to hospital by air ambulance.
  Kenilworth Nub News reported that emergency services were called to the North Warwickshire site on Thursday 18 June, at around 5.20pm after a 44-year-old man was hit by a vehicle and injured his leg.
  He was airlifted to hospital to receive treatment and has since been discharged and is recovering at home.HS2 said it is continuing to support him and his family.
  
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• Kier lands ECI roles on £500m worth of Southern Water jobs

  03-07-2026 08:50 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Kier has strengthened its position on Southern Water’s AMP8 programme after securing two more early contractor involvement commissions with a potential construction value that takes its workload with the utility to nearly £500m.
  The latest Stage 1 ECI awards cover the Hastings Resilience programme and the Brighton East nitrate removal scheme under Southern Water’s £3.1bn Strategic Delivery Partner framework.
  Kier is now working on 31 ECI projects for Southern Water worth
  
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• Ministers clear sewage works deadlock stalling 18,000 homes

  03-07-2026 08:42 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  The Government has stepped in to unblock construction of almost 20,000 homes after brokering a breakthrough deal with Anglian Water to overcome wastewater capacity constraints that had stalled major developments across the East of England.
  The intervention by the Water Delivery Taskforce clears the way for more than 18,000 homes by replacing a planning stand-off with a phased infrastructure strategy allowing housing and utility upgrades to progress together.
  Anglian Water had objected to several
  
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• Northern Trains race for £300m depots and stations works

  03-07-2026 08:40 via constructionenquirer.com
  Northern Trains is preparing to launch a £300m construction framework covering infrastructure upgrades across its network of 22 train care depots and more than 470 stations.
  The eight-year framework will run from March 2027, with an initial five-year term and an option to extend to 2035.
  It will create a long-term supply chain to deliver everything from building refurbishments and depot fit-outs to major civils, M&E, track, electrification and signalling schemes needed to support exist
  
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• Northern Trains race for £300m depots and stations work

  03-07-2026 08:40 via constructionenquirer.com
  
  Northern Trains is preparing to launch a £300m construction framework covering infrastructure upgrades across its network of 22 train care depots and more than 470 stations.
  The eight-year framework will run from March 2027, with an initial five-year term and an option to extend to 2035.
  It will create a long-term supply chain to deliver everything from building refurbishments and depot fit-outs to major civils, M&E, track, electrification and signalling schemes needed to support exist
  
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