Author Archives: Toni Sekinah

Industry body Build UK has released an updated version of the Common Assessment Standard (CAS), including new questions on firms’ building-safety capabilities. The CAS is an industry-agreed set of questions and corresponding assessment standards that can pre-qualify construction suppliers for projects. The updated version (V4) contains a new Building Safety…

Leeds-based Torsion Group’s construction arm is to deliver a £53m residential build-to-rent (BTR) project in Sheffield. In a joint venture with Housing Growth Partnership (HGP), Torsion Group is providing equity to the 234-bed Hollis Croft Sheffield scheme. Torsion Group chief executive Dan Spencer said his firm was working with HGP…

The Labour Party wants to implement planning reforms in an effort to supercharge housebuilding as soon as it takes office if it wins Thursday’s election. In an interview with The Times, party leader Sir Keir Starmer and shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said they would “hit the ground running” and initiate…

The Home Builders Federation (HBF) has appointed Neil Jefferson as its new chief executive. Jefferson will take up the role on 1 July, stepping up from his current position as HBF managing director. The chief executive function had been performed by Stewart Basely, HBF executive chairman, since 2006. He will…

Employee-owned Neilcott Construction saw double-digit percentage growth in turnover and pre-tax profit last year. In the Kent-based contractor's accounts for the 2023 calendar year, filed last week with Companies House, the firm posted £138.9m in revenue, up significantly from £100.3m the previous year. Pre-tax profit grew more modestly from £2.6m…

The Construction Leadership Council (CLC) has called on the next government to reform the planning system and provide a “regulatory roadmap” for boosting retrofit. In a three-page open letter signed by 16 council members (see box below), the group listed 12 policies it would like to see enacted by whoever…

T levels and modern apprenticeships are the newest contenders to step onto the training stage. CN looks at how they are performing against the competition It’s no surprise that Steve Umbers is a fan of apprenticeship training. His 20-year career path through the construction industry has taken him from being…

The Conservative Party’s election pledge to provide 100,000 new apprenticeships by 2029 has received a cold response. A leading construction academic dismissed the £885m plan as “nonsense”, while a senior executive at one contractor described it as “simply smoke and mirrors”. If it wins the 4 July general election, the…

Kent-based scaffolding company Trad Scaffolding posted a 15 per cent uplift in its pre-tax profit and a positive outlook for the 12 months from August 2023. In accounts for the year ending 31 August 2023, released this week, the company recorded a pre-tax profit of £3.27m, representing a rise of…

A second hospital in the government’s expansion programme faces a likely delay, it has emerged. The expected completion date for the new Princess Alexandra Hospital – in Harlow, Essex – may be delayed until 2032, the local council was told last week. The news follows the announcement on 1 May…