Author Archives: Will Ing

Graham has hailed its latest financial results as a “strong performance” after reporting almost identical revenue and profit figures to its previous year. The contractor’s turnover increased by 2.8 per cent to £1.13bn in the year to 31 March 2024, while its pre-tax profit slipped by £300,000 to £14.8m. Graham’s…

Laing O’Rourke co-founder and deputy chair Des O’Rourke has died aged 75.  O’Rourke died on Wednesday (17 July) following a brief illness, according to a statement published by the company.  The statement said: “It is with deep sadness that Des O’Rourke’s family confirm his passing. “Des had been ill for…

Blenheim House Construction has applied to enter administration after 28 years of trading.  The Surrey-headquartered contractor turned over £86.6m and employed an average of 84 staff in the year to 30 April 2023. It specialises in refurbishment but has also built new housing, education and leisure facilities, and office buildings. …

The Supreme Court has ruled that most collateral warranties are not construction contracts and therefore are not subject to adjudication.  On Monday (8 July) the five Supreme Court judges unanimously found that Abbey Healthcare, the tenant of a 65-bedroom care home in north London, could not enforce an adjudication against…

Crest Nicholson looks set to merge with Bellway in a £720m takeover deal, after its management backed the latest proposal.  The merger between Crest and Bellway, which have turnovers of £780m and £1.25bn respectively, would create further consolidation in the housebuilding sector - with two other giants, Redrow and Barratt,…

Civil engineering costs will rise by 14 per cent over the next five years, according to forecast data from the Building Cost Information Service (BCIS).  The data company said tender prices for civil jobs will also increase by 22 per cent over the same period – which stretches to the…

HG Construction has been picked to build a 37-storey student accommodation scheme in Manchester.  The Hertfordshire-based contractor will deliver 1,014 student rooms across One Medlock Street, a new student scheme set to be delivered in Deansgate, south of Manchester’s city centre.  The scheme is being developed by Greystar, while HG…

The new government has announced it is dropping ‘levelling up’ from the name of the housing department.  Deputy prime minister and housing secretary Angela Rayner told staff at the department of the name change on Monday (8 July) as she pledged: “No more gimmicks.”   The Department for Levelling Up,…

Avant Homes (Scotland) Ltd has been fined £333,000 after a man was crushed by falling concrete blocks on a site in South Lanarkshire.  Conor Joseph Morgan was an HGV driver delivering materials to Shott Farm in High Blantyre, a site overseen by Avant Homes (Scotland) Ltd, when the incident happened…

UK construction activity grew for the fourth consecutive month in June, according to a leading metric.  The industry registered activity of 52.2 on the S&P Global UK Construction Purchase Manager’s Index (PMI) last month – above the no-change mark of 50.  S&P said the reading “signalled a sustained improvement in…