Kier

If you invested in Kier around a month ago you’ve probably been rubbing your hands with glee over the past few weeks. In the month between 20 January and last Friday, its share price rose 63 per cent. Confidence in the UK’s most battered listed contractor appeared to be returning…

A wave of discontent smashed into Kier’s board on Friday when shareholders met with the group’s executives in the offices of law firm Linklaters. In the shadow of the grey brutalist towers of the Barbican centre they voted on 15 resolutions in the annual general meeting, which followed the worst…

In a market where some of the biggest tier ones are struggling and undertaking painful turnaround programmes, specialist contractors are thriving. That was the message of CN's 2018 specialists index, the most comprehensive annual look at the demolition, ground engineering, concrete, structural steel, M&E, building envelope and scaffolding markets. In a…

Kier chief executive Andrew Davies completed a couple more steps from the playbook of a ‘CEO doing a turnaround’ this morning. He announced a whacking great writedown and insisted that things would be different from here on out. Aside from facing up to Kier’s problems by making the writedowns, there were other…

There might be a few smiles at Kier HQ today. Its share price soared around 34 per cent after it met the best-case scenario for its net debt while also managing to pay suppliers a lot faster. A new chief financial officer was unveiled for good measure as well. But…

For those of us who regularly look for signals around the health of the construction market, the last few weeks have felt like an almost unrelenting barrage of negative signs. We’ve seen three reasonably sized firms collapse, including the CN100-listed Shaylor Group. Elsewhere, we heard today that the UK’s oldest…

Kier has today unveiled a fresh attempt to try and reduce debt, shore up its balance sheet and ensure it doesn't suffer the same fate that this week befell yet another top 100 contractor in Shaylor Group. Its share price hit record lows on Friday on news it would sell…

Following the strategic review announced today by Kier CEO Andrew Davies, Ian Weinfass and Caroline Wadham take a look at five key takeaways from the contractor's strategic review. Debt level revealed The strategy released today states that the firm’s net debt at 30 June will be higher than market expectations,…

Kier returned from half-term this morning with an unwelcome bang, courtesy of a £40m profit warning. Some market watchers called it a “surprise”, but the arrival of a new CEO just weeks ago perhaps meant it was to be expected. The new starter guidelines for listed contractor CEOs appear to go…

Kier is tasked with bringing the 19th century building up to date without sacrificing its history