Financial

Failed industry disruptor Urban Splash House is to go into liquidation, more than two years after collapsing into administration. The move marks the final step in the winding-up of the modular-build specialist, and could bring certain suppliers closer to receiving some of the cash they are owed. Spun out of…

Pre-tax profit at Masterson Holdings slumped last year amid reduced demand, material price increases and geopolitical conflicts. The Hertfordshire-based construction group and parent company of concrete-frame specialist Getjar said that while its financials remained strong, its order book was down, and it was projecting lower turnover and profit for the…

Lendlease Group is confident of selling its UK operation by the end of next year, it said today after announcing it was withdrawing from construction markets outside of Australia. In explaining why it was pulling out of its overseas markets, the firm described them as a “drag” on shareholder returns.…

Materials suppliers are struggling to protect themselves against bad debts as the insurance market shows signs of losing nerve in the wake of high-profile contractor failures. A survey of members of the British Merchants Federation (BMF) has revealed that almost a third (31.2 per cent) had been unable to access…

The UK arm of Strabag has revealed a timetable for its new building unit to compete for construction tenders. Its activity in 2024 and 2025 “will be disproportionately geared towards securing new work” rather than delivering its traditional secured backlog in construction services, Strabag UK said in its latest amended…

Pre-tax profit at Derby-based Bowmer & Kirkland fell by 15 per cent in its most recent financial year despite higher turnover. Revenue for the year ending 31 August 2023 totalled £1.24bn compared with £1.14bn the year before, it latest accounts show. However, profit at the family-owned contractor and building services…

Surgo Construction went under while battling a charity for £1.4m and owing creditors £5.0m. The £14m-turnover company collapsed in March. In a report lodged with Companies House, administrators from FRP Advisory said Surgo launched legal proceedings against the unnamed charity when it failed to pay Surgo for two months worth…

A specialist contractor representative body has written to ministers warning that housebuilders are boosting profits through a “hard squeeze on the supply chain”. The Finishes and Interiors Sector (FIS) sent a letter to both Conservative and Labour MPs in the wake of a bullish trading statement from developer Vistry. The…

Kent-based scaffolding company Trad Scaffolding posted a 15 per cent uplift in its pre-tax profit and a positive outlook for the 12 months from August 2023. In accounts for the year ending 31 August 2023, released this week, the company recorded a pre-tax profit of £3.27m, representing a rise of…

Sales of key building materials have plummeted for a seventh consecutive quarter, an industry organisation has said. The Construction Products Association’s (CPA’s) latest State of Trade Survey showed that 36 per cent of heavy-side products manufacturers saw volumes drop in the first three months of 2024. This continued a slide…