Author Archives: Ian Weinfass

Higgins has won a £75m contract to deliver 189 Passive House-certified homes for housing association Peabody. The job, won by the firm’s Higgins Partnerships arm, in Deptford, south-east London, is said to be one of the largest Passive House-certified developments planned in the UK. It is Peabody’s first foray into…

Steelwork specialist Shufflebottom has been sold to a startup steel construction acquisition vehicle. The firm has been acquired by Embrace Steel Group, a company incorporated in 2020, whose website says it is committed to “assembling a team of industry experts in steel frame building design and manufacturing through strategic acquisitions”.…

Materials firm Breedon Group has mitigated the impact of lower sales volumes through its pricing strategy. The UK, Ireland and US-based company said in a trading statement this morning (24 April) that sales volumes were down 9 per cent in the first quarter of this year when compared with the…

Two megaprojects have signed agreements with trade unions. After a two-year campaign, the Unite union has secured access to HS2’s Old Oak Common railway station site, which is run by a Balfour Beatty/Vinci/Systra joint venture known as BBVS JV. Meanwhile, Sizewell C announced it had signed agreements to provide “best-in-class”…

The former director of a subcontractor has blamed a dispute with Vinci's UK building solutions arm for putting his company out of business. Ex-Marshdale Construction Ltd director Ben Edgar made the claim in a report published on Companies House last Friday (19 April) by the firm's administrator, insolvency firm Currie…

Former employees of a collapsed contractor have waited more than five years to be paid money they are owed. A new report, filed earlier this month at Companies House by administrators at Begbies Traynor, said that the ex-employees were still expected to be paid in full, but the liquidators were…

Asbestos was banned 25 years ago, yet thousands are still dying as a result of its presence. CN examines the long legacy of the former go-to building material and whether enough is being done about the dangers it poses today Roofer Liam Bradley and his co-workers had just finished removing…

The Ministry of Defence’s Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) is looking to speak to suppliers as it shapes multibillion-pound infrastructure plans. The body, which is responsible for the UK’s nuclear weapons, has issued a prior information notice (PIN) for its Future Infrastructure Programme – which covers new office accommodation, laboratories, testing…

Work to repair parliament’s tallest structure, the Victoria Tower, faces a year’s delay due to a botched procurement process, Construction News can reveal. Last May, parliamentary authorities launched a tender for a £95m job to repair the tower’s crumbling masonry, windows, cast-iron roof, rainwater drainage and flagpole. However, bidders for…

The head of procurement at National Highways is to stand down after five years. Malcolm Dare will leave the roads agency, known as Highways England when he joined at the start of 2019, for a new job elsewhere. Among his responsibilities, Dare oversaw the body’s £8.7bn Regional Delivery Partnership framework…