Supply Chain

Tender prices are expected to rise next year due to increases in the cost of energy, Arcadis has predicted. The consultant’s updated tender-price forecast for 2021/22 found that inflationary pressures on buildings is expected to peak at between 4-6 per cent in London and between 4-5 per cent regionally in…

The widespread material shortages in the UK are softening but bricks and timber could both face issues going into the new year, the Construction Leadership Council has warned. Though demand has fallen from the high levels seen earlier this year, supply is still struggling to keep up, according to the…

What is the state of payment in the UK construction industry today? Construction News wants to hear your views. The reliably of cashflow is crucial to every business. When the pandemic hit the country in spring 2020, central government pleaded for payments between businesses to keep flowing, from clients right…

It is versatile, strong and the industry’s favourite material – but cement is also a huge contributor to construction’s carbon emissions. Can it be used differently to cause less harm to the environment?

The latest accounts from the UK’s top specialists across seven sectors show how clearly the industry was affected by the pandemic. The suspension of activity on many sites during the first lockdown gave way to a return to work, albeit often with lower output due to social distancing and other…

A contractor that refused to pay for aggregate, which it claimed had turned to slurry in the rain, has been forced to pay up. Readie Construction Limited had ordered aggregate from supplier Geo Quarries Limited to be delivered to a site in Wootton, Bedfordshire, where it was constructing a subbase…

Demolition contractors fared better than most specialists over the past year, but the sector was far from immune to the effects of the pandemic. Revenue was more resilient than in other markets, with the top 10 experiencing an aggregate drop of just 5 per cent, to £754m; it increased for…

Many concrete specialists suffered a drop in revenue in their latest accounts, but losses were largely averted. Now the sector has to deal with the twin challenges of labour shortages and decarbonisation. Combined revenue was largely flat compared with last year’s index, down just 0.6 per cent. Five firms reported…

Revenue was down for most of the UK’s largest ground engineering firms due to the pandemic, but the hit on profit was relatively limited. Seven of the top 10 saw revenue fall in their latest set of accounts, with a median drop of 6 per cent. The decline continues a…

Most M&E firms have managed to stay profitable throughout the pandemic, but material shortages present a fresh challenge. Seven of the top 10 remained in the black in their latest accounts, but heavy losses at the other three has resulted in an aggregate pre-tax loss of £8.2m, down from a…