Author Archives: Greg Pitcher

Lee Marley Brickwork Ltd returned to profitability last year on the back of record turnover, its latest accounts have revealed. The Berkshire-based masonry and scaffolding business posted pre-tax profit of £2.8m for the year ending 31 December 2023. This represented a turnaround from its £2.2m loss in the 2022 calendar…

Six contractors appointed to carry out £100m of work on universities in the North East have an extra period of opportunity after their four-year deal was extended. The North Eastern Universities Purchasing Consortium has published an official notice of modification to its Minor Works Lot 1A Framework Agreement. Rather than…

Transport secretary Mark Harper has given the green light for a £210m VolkerFitzpatrick motorway project in the South of England. The contractor will upgrade Junction 9 of the M3 near Winchester, Hampshire, after the development consent order was granted. VolkerFitzpatrick was appointed to the scheme back in 2022 but an…

Another 310 construction companies became insolvent in March, the latest official figures have revealed. This took the rolling annual total of business failures in the sector to 4,274, the highest number of any industry measured. Construction was responsible for around one in six insolvencies in the year to 31 March…

Speller Metcalfe is to deliver major upgrades to two public buildings in Wolverhampton. The contractor, which has offices in the West Midlands city, was named as preferred bidder for works on its Central Library and adult education facilities. The deal forms part of a £61m investment in Wolverhampton’s Learning Quarter…

A construction boss who “blatantly” abused a Covid-period financial support scheme has been hit with a 10-year director ban. Marcel Ion, a 39-year-old from Bromley in South London, now needs court consent to promote, form or manage a company until 1 May 2034, the Insolvency Service announced yesterday. In June…

TopHat managing director Andrew Shepherd is to leave the troubled modular housebuilder, it has emerged. The former Laing O’Rourke chief posted on professional networking site LinkedIn that he would be “moving on to a new challenge”. TopHat announced in February that it was consulting on up to 70 job cuts,…

Ringway Infrastructure Services has secured a second term as roads maintenance and response contractor in Milton Keynes. The company, part of Vinci subsidiary Eurovia UK, will continue delivering highways services in the Buckinghamshire city for at least another eight years. Ringway became Milton Keynes City Council’s service delivery partner in…

Graham is set to deliver a £60m redevelopment of one corner of the iconic Lord’s Cricket Ground. The Northern Irish contractor was appointed by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) to transform the Tavern and Allen stands at the famous north London arena. The project will add more than 1,000 seats…

Northumbrian Water has added 33 firms including Esh Construction, Galliford Try and Keltbray to its growing army of suppliers to deliver £3.6bn of projects in the second half of this decade. The utility giant appointed the contractors (see box below for full list) across an 11-lot framework that will be…