Financial

There was some cheer in the construction industry yesterday as HS2’s future was – apparently – confirmed by the prime minister. A pipeline of work worth billions and guaranteed for up to 20 years is now in place. Don’t be fooled, however, into thinking the way ahead is clear. There…

The table below lists insolvencies and administrations of construction-related firms, filed in the UK during January 2020. Data provided by Creditsafe Company No. Company name Date of administration Status SIC description 04961667 A & S WINDOWS LIMITED 15-JAN-20 Meeting of Creditors Other building completion and finishing 04961667 A & S…

The prime minister’s fulsome backing for HS2 is good news for the construction sector. With luck, the Oakervee review will prove to be the final episode of government indecision about the landmark project, though I doubt it will be the last inquiry into it. But with a project of HS2’s…

HS2's go-ahead will see the UK construction market “tighten” and will benefit firms not directly working on the project, analysts have claimed. Prime minister Boris Johnson told the House of Commons shortly after midday that "the cabinet has given HS2 the green signal", ending months of speculation about the future…

Total construction output grew by 2.5 per cent in 2019, data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revealed. The figures show new work accounted for the majority of the increase over the year, rising by 3.4 per cent following a 0.4 per cent drop in 2018. The increase…

Administrators have been appointed to the 200-year-old contractor Symm & Company after “tough trading conditions” caused its collapse. Critchleys was appointed on 5 February after directors of the £28m-turnover firm failed to keep the business afloat. A statement from Critchleys said: “The company has experienced recent tough trading conditions and the…

Joint administrators have confirmed the majority of Astins' 140 staff have been made redundant following the contractor’s collapse earlier this week. Detailing the reasons for the firm's demise, Leonard Curtis Business Rescue and Recovery director Andrew Duncan said Astins "suffered recently as a result of a number of substantial bad…

Scunthorpe-based contractor Clugston fell into administration after the collapse of a key subcontractor caused "significant ransom positions from the supply chain", an administrator's report has revealed. When the unnamed subcontractor went under in June last year, suppliers refused to work while seeking payment from Clugston for what was owed to them…

Redrow is planning to recover some of its remedial costs on cladding replacement from the contractors it paid to build the developments. Executive chairman John Tutte would not say what the overall cost of cladding remediation was to the company. Speaking to Construction News this morning, he said Redrow’s high-rise…

Contracting revenue for Higgins Group plunged more than £140m in its last financial year as the company suffered a £4m pre-tax loss. Accounts for the year ending 31 July 2019 showed a fall in contracting revenue to £150m, almost half the £293.8m it reported the previous year. The decline follows…