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Carillion has given up on merger talks with Balfour Beatty. Carillion’s decision came as Balfour rejected a third approach on Wednesday morning. Balfour also said it would not be asking for an extension to Thursday’s takeover panel deadline. Carillion confirmed in a Stock Exchange announcement: “The Board of Balfour Beatty has not agreed to Carillion’s proposal or to request an extension to the Put Up or Shut Up deadline which expires at 5pm 21 August 2014. “Carillion therefore today announces that it is no longer pursuing such a merger.” The move means Carillion cannot come back with another offer for Balfour for at least six months.

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Two Stoke-on-Trent brothers with little experience of construction have been  jailed after they exposed workers to asbestos. At least seven workers are known to have been exposed to asbestos – one aged just 17 at the time – by Akram Hussain, 52, of City Road, and Inam Hussain, 47, of Boughey Road, during refurbishment work at a former print works since February 2012. Stafford Crown Court heard that neither was qualified or experienced in construction, demolition or refurbishment work; nor were they licensed to remove asbestos. Akram Hussain is a snooker hall manager and Inam Hussain a taxi driver, although they have been carrying out the work on the building for around ten years. Despite repeated visits from HSE inspectors and numerous enforcement notices warning them of their failings, …

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Costain is well on course to see turnover top £1bn again after delivering strong growth at the infrastructure division in the first half of the year. The firm lifted orders by 10% this year to a record £3.2bn, completing its transformation in to a major engineering services player. But Costain also revealed it had decided to exit the waste sector after it suffered losses during the first half of the year at the natural resources division from extra costs on its Greater Manchester Waste PFI job. This weighed down a positive overall operating performance at the water, oil & gas, and nuclear process arm. David Allvey, Chairman, said: “The increasingly strategic nature of our long-term customer relationships has ensured that over 90% of the order …

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A construction start date for the £315m Circuit of Wales has moved a step closer after backers of the racetrack scheme signed a deal to host motorcycling’s British MotoGP. Next year’s race will be staged at an alternative British venue before the 2016 event takes place at the newly built track near Ebbw Vale. Spanish giant FCC and local civil engineer Alun Griffiths (Contractors) were due to start on site last year but the project has been delayed by planning wrangles. Michael Carrick, Chief Executive of the Circuit of Wales, described the deal as a “significant landmark in the development” of the project. He said: “MotoGP is the pinnacle of global motorcycle racing and expectations within the series and of its millions of fans worldwide are for …

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Construction plant that is more than 10 years old will be banned in London under Mayor Boris Johnson’s plan to improve the capital’s air quality.  Fresh planning rules will require all construction equipment to meet strict new standards for both particulates and nitrogen oxides, cutting emissions by  40%  by 2020. They will also slap tighter controls on dust from construction and demolition, which is claimed to generate up to 15% of air pollutant emissions in London. London’s borough councils will start implementing the tough new regulations through the planning system from September 2015. Equipment over 10 years old will need to replaced or retrofitted on all developments in central London and major developments in outer London or more than 10 homes or 1,000 sq ft. While other cities and countries have introduced …

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The first wave of projects to benefit from a £1bn scheme to kick-start building work on 200,000 new homes was confirmed by Communities Secretary Eric Pickles today. Pickles has published a shortlist of 36 large-scale housing projects in line to receive a share of £850m of funding to get work going onsite. The £850m is part of the government’s £1 billion programme to build the infrastructure needed for large schemes containing more than 1,500 homes. The money will go towards the building of road improvement, schools and parks to support the extra homes being planned. The 36 projects will now go through a final rigorous due diligence process before receiving the funding. The funding will be available between 2015 and 2020 and will be in the form of …

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The order includes DC electric scissor lifts, electric vertical masts and its first diesel-powered rough terrain scissor lifts. Deliveries have already begun and the full line-up of machines will arrive over the coming months. Speedy is updating and expanding its entire fleet of access equipment so that no machine at any of its depots will predate 2013. “Skyjacks are industry-leading machines that are widely recognized as the easiest to work on, so I am delighted to welcome so many to our fleet and I’m confident they will serve our huge range of customers well,” said Speedy supply chain director Andy Connor. “With energy costs increasing on a daily basis, we want the latest products on the market, both in terms of sustainability and innovation. …

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TWO NORTH-EAST construction companies are reporting a surge in contracts, revenue and new jobs, amid signs that the beleaguered building trade is showing signs of recovery. Newcastle-based Shepherd Engineering Services (SES), has landed a double deal worth a combined £13m.  and Newton Aycliffe firm Finley Structures is on target to smash its record turnover. SES will provide full mechanical and electrical (M&E) services as part of the £200m transformation of Newcastle’s historic city-centre Stephenson Quarter. The company, which has offices in Darlington and York, will also provide all of the M&E services on the new Consett Academy and Leisure Centre in County Durham which forms part of a £40m investment into the former steel town. The deals come less than a year after…

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Estate agent Hamptons International says house price growth in greater London will cool to 3pc in 2015 from 15.5pc this year . Dramatic double-digit increases in London house prices will come to an abrupt halt next year, as anxiety around the general election and rising interest rates puts a severe dampener on growth, according to a report from Hamptons International. House price growth in greater London will cool from 15.5pc this year to just 3pc next year, according to the estate agent’s latest forecasts. Even the most sought after areas such as Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster will not be immune from the softening market; Hamptons believes growth in prime central London will weaken to 3pc in 2015 from 10pc this year. The research from Hamptons, which specialises in …

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A bankrupt building boss is serving 27 months in prison for a string of offences including fraud and running four separate building companies despite being disqualified as a director. . The conviction of Trevor Lawrence – also known as Trevor Fail – follows an initial investigation by the Insolvency Service and a full criminal investigation and prosecution by the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS). Trevor Lawrence, 50, also pleaded guilty to acting as a director whilst a disqualified along with seven other related offences including three counts of fraud. He was sentenced on 14 July 2014 at Northampton Crown Court. The judge also disqualified him from acting as a director for seven years. Commenting on the sentence, BIS deputy chief investigating officer Ian West said: “This was a particularly blatant …

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