Network Plus margin climbs to 7.4% on utilities boomPrivate equity-backed utility and infrastructure contractor Network Plus Services has pushed margins higher on the back of rising energy and water workloads.
Adjusted EBITDA jumped 20% to £43m in the year to 30 March 2025, lifting margins from 6.8% to 7.4%.
But onerous contract and restructuring charges impacted the bottom line with pre-tax…
Statom buys piling specialist Franki FoundationsConcrete frame contractor Statom Group has acquired piling specialist Franki Foundations UK.
Franki Foundations is on course for a £40m turnover this year and has been operating in the market for more than 20 years.
The piling specialist has built a strong reputation for delivering complex foundation packages across the UK.
Its services includ…
Strabag storms contracts league with £3bn HARP winStrabag was catapulted to the top of the August contracts league after receiving final sign off for its 110km Haweswater aqueduct upgrade in the North West for United Utilities.
The blockbusting contract secured by special purpose company Cascade Infrastructure is the UK’s first major water scheme procured under Ofwat’s Direct Procurement for…
FM Conway spills 15 tonnes of bitumen into ThamesThe Port of London Authority is overseeing a major clean-up operation after FM Conway released tonnes of bitumen into the River Thames.
More than 15 tonnes of the road building material has already been removed from the water after the spill last month.
The incident happened at FM Conway’s bitumen storage facility at Imperial Wharf in Gravesend…
Another bad month for construction buyersConstruction buyers reported another fall in indusry activity in August – the eighth month in a row workloads have dropped.
But the bellwether S&P Global UK Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index showed a slowdown in the decline registering 45.5 in August, up from 44.3 in July but still well below the neutral 50.0 value.
A slower reduction in…
Thames Water to start £840m major projects framework raceThames Water is preparing to launch a nine-year Major Projects Framework worth up to £840m to deliver some of the biggest schemes in its AMP8 capital programme.
The framework will be used to deliver large-scale construction and engineering works across London and the South East, including critical asset upgrades, new infrastructure and…
M&E specialist Pentalec files administration noticeKent based building services contractor Pentalec has filed a notice of intention to appoint an administrator.
The Gillingham headquartered specialist was formed in 2017 with the “purpose of offering a fresh approach to Building Services Contracting, founded on the principles of partnership and innovative thinking.”
The company website claims…
Michael J Lonsdale founder joins SESThe founder of collapsed M&E specialist Michael J Lonsdale has joined former rival SES as a non-executive director.
SES said Michael Hoodless will “support senior leadership with delivering ambitious strategic growth.”
Hoodless founded Michael J. Lonsdale in 1986 and it grew to become the dominant M&E contractor in London.
But the business collapsed in…
Speller Metcalfe trebles profit in record yearMidlands-based Speller Metcalfe has more than trebled pre-tax profit to £3.4m as turnover rose 22% to £162m in the year to March 2025.
The family-run building contractor, led by second-generation joint managing directors James and Adrian Speller, restored operating margin to 1.6%, up from just 0.5% last time.
Year-end cash also strengthened in…
Vinci to start St Helens’ £100m town centre rebuildVinci Building has got the go-ahead to start the first phase of the £100m rebuild of St Helens town centre masterminded for the council by the English Cities Fund.
The 24-acre revamp will see the firm now press ahead with building a new Market Hall, 120-bed Hampton by Hilton hotel, 56 flats, eight townhouses and over 4,000 sq ft of reta…