Construction buyers report fastest downturn since 2020Construction buyers saw industry activity drop at its fastest rate for nearly five years in February.
The bellwether S&P Global UK Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index fell to 44.6 in February from 48.1 in January – the lowest mark since May 2020.
Residential building (index at 39.3) decreased for the fifth month in a row and was t…
Bidders day for £15bn schools alliance frameworkThe Department for Education is holding a bidders day at the start of next week ahead of inviting tenders to renew the mega framework for the sector.
The existing £7bn Construction Framework (CF21) of 23 firms is set to expire in November 2025.
This will be replaced with a new construction framework estimated to be worth over £15bn based on a…
MPs told safety regulator delays forcing industry job cutsThe head of the Construction Leadership Council has warned MPs that delays gaining building safety regulator approvals on projects are now one of three major blockages to delivering Government housing targets.
Mark Reynolds, co-chair of the CLC, was giving evidence to MPs on the Housing Committee investigating whether Government housing…
£600m delivery partner named for new hospital programmeA joint venture between Mace and Turner & Townsend has been picked as the Programme Delivery Partner for the £37bn New Hospital Programme.
The forecast value of the PDP contract for a six-year duration is up to £600m to April 3031. There is also an option to extend the deal for up to a further four years to April 2035.
The programme w…
Planning green light for £10bn Northumberland data centrePlanning permission has been granted for a £10bn data centre in Northumberland .
Plans from investment giant Blackstone-owned QTS will see construction of a 540,000 square metre data centre campus on the Cambois site which was originally going to be the home of the doomed Britishvolt battery plant.
The approval for the site in Cambois has…
Police arrest plant hire theft gangCheshire Police officers have arrested nine people in connection to the theft of high value construction plant and equipment from hire companies following a series of dawn raids in Lancashire on Wednesday morning.
Officers from Ellesmere Port CID, with the support of officers from The National Construction and Agriculture Theft Team (NCATT) and Lancashire Rura…
Balfour Beatty boss Leo Quinn to step downBalfour Beatty Group Chief Executive Leo Quinn will step down from the Board later this year after more than a decade at the helm.
Philip Hoare, Chief Operating Officer at AtkinsRéalis, has been chosen by the Board to succeed him and will join the group in September.
Hoare has built his 30-year career in the industry at consultant AtkinsRéalis first as…
Galliford Try upgrades target as half-year profits jump 54%Galliford Try is upgrading its profit forecast for the year after a strong first half performance saw pre-tax profit jump 54% to £20m.
A strong half of work activity across both infrastructure and building divisions saw revenue approaching £1bn at the half year to December, up 13% to £923m.
The firm is benefitting from strong positions…
Ibstock pulls out of GRC cladding marketIbstock is quitting the Glass Fibre Reinforced Concrete (GRC) cladding market.
The materials giant confirmed it has ceased production of GRC after the division made a trading loss of £3m last year.
Ibstock said: “The GRC business recognised a trading loss of around £3 million in 2024, reflecting acute pressure on margins in the current market…
Trespasser dies in crane fall at Willmott Dixon siteA man died yesterday after breaking into a Willmott Dixon site in Manchester where it is understood he fell from a crane.
Emergency services were called to the £60m Manchester Science Park on Tuesday afternoon after it was reported a man had fallen from a significant height.
A Willmott Dixon spokesman said: “We can confirm that an incident…