Costain

Costain improved its net cash position in the first half (H1) of this year compared with H1 2022, despite a lower revenue, pre-tax profit and operating margin. The firm had £132.1m in cash on 30 June, marking a 38 per cent year-on-year increase. Chief executive Alex Vaughan told Construction News that this…

Costain was the largest recipient of National Highways spending in each of the last two financial years, Construction News can reveal. The contractor and consultant was paid £522.4m by the government-owned roads body in 2022/23,£129.74m more than its nearest rival – Connect Plus, a consortium including Balfour Beatty – a…

The Skanska Costain Strabag joint venture (SCS JV) working on HS2 has been awarded an additional £305.3m by HS2 Ltd. The funds, awarded under the existing £3.8bn contract, will go towards works on Phase One of the new high-speed railway. They relate to planned and agreed changes to the scope…

Five firms have been chosen for a framework contract for decommissioning and asbestos removal (DAR) at Magnox's nuclear sites. Contracts for Lots 1 and 2 have been awarded to Costain, Keltbray and the Celadon Alliance – a collaboration between Altrad Support Services, KDC Veolia Decommissioning Services and NSG Environmental. Kaefer…

Costain has left “one of the most critical road upgrades in the north of England” less than a year after its appointment by National Highways. The contractor was named alongside Balfour Beatty, Kier and Keltbray on the £1.3bn A66 Northern Trans-Pennine project in October, with the firms appointed to work…

The government has scrapped its plans for the roll-out of smart motorways. The Department for Transport (DfT) and the prime minister decided to cancel all 14 of the planned motorway upgrades, following a “summer campaign pledge” made by Rishi Sunak in his bid to become leader of the Conservative Party.…

A former Crossrail worker has said he was fired and blacklisted after raising concerns about health and safety. In a statement read out in the High Court today, Daniel Collins said there was a “culture of hostility” towards trade union activists in construction, which led to him being blacklisted from…

Costain has returned to profit despite registering a £17m provision to rectify work at a water-treatment facility. The contractor posted a £32.8m pre-tax profit for the year ending 31 December 2022, reversing the £13.3m loss made the previous year. Costain’s revenue was also up, at £1.42bn compared with £1.14bn the…

HS2 is investigating how a roughly 6 square metre pool of bubbling slurry emerged on a rugby pitch in Ruislip, north-west London. The brown foam emerged from the ground on Saturday (18 February), above a site where CSC – a joint venture between Costain, Skanska and Strabag – is boring…

Balfour Beatty moved to the top of the contractors' league table for the first time in two years thanks to a £1.2bn job to build the northern road linked to the Lower Thames Crossing. The job, to build nearly 10 miles of new road, almost single-handedly drove Balfour to first…