Author Archives: Colin Marrs

Construction industry leaders have written to ministers calling for a two-year delay in introducing the UK’s post-Brexit product-quality mark, saying that it could harm project delivery. From January, any fully manufactured items marketed at British users are set to require a UK Conformity Assessed (UKCA) mark to show they have…

This year’s index shows a healthy picture for the ground engineering sector, largely underpinned by the ramping-up of HS2. A strong bounceback from last year’s COVID-blighted index saw turnover fall at just three firms, while profit was up at all eight of the contractors that have published new accounts since…

Reports of a government U-turn over former prime minister Liz Truss’s promise to build a high-speed rail link connecting Liverpool and Hull have cast doubt over the UK’s economic growth ambitions, according to an alliance of northern businesses that includes major contractors. According to a report in the Financial Times,…

Paul Gandy, chief executive of Tilbury Douglas, exclusively tells Colin Marrs that his firm is back on track after the turbulence surrounding its time as part of Interserve Group Paul Gandy relishes a challenge. Three years ago he became managing director at Interserve Construction, the contracting arm of Interserve Group,…

McLaren Construction made a pre-tax loss of £13.9m in the year to 31 July 2021, despite a 2.9 per cent rise in turnover. Financial results published today showed a slight improvement from the previous year when the firm reported a pre-tax loss of £14.5m. Speaking to Construction News, McLaren managing…

There will be no disruption to building safety legislation being implemented despite the prime minister’s plans to remove regulation of industry, Construction News understands. Since taking power in September, Liz Truss and chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng have expressed their desire to cut red tape to promote growth within the UK economy.…

A block of flats that caught fire close to Grenfell Tower in West London was clad with unsafe materials identified by Kier earlier this year and due for removal, Construction News can reveal. Eight fire engines and about 60 firefighters were called out to a fire at a high-rise block…

Network Rail is set to lose £50m on construction work that it cannot carry out due to planned rail strikes, according to its chief executive. Speaking to journalists today, Andrew Haines said the money is made up of sunk costs that it will be unable to recoup. He explained that…