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Leeds shopfitting and joinery specialist Wood-Mitchell Building Group has been placed in administration. Most of the 70 staff at the £12m turnover firm have been laid off by administrators from Deloitte. The administrators are now in the process of shutting the business down, which traces it history back to 1896. Wood-Mitchell serviced a variety of regional and national clients across a range of sectors, from museums, offices and shops. Deloitte’s Leeds office aims to run the business with a skeleton staff to complete some outstanding contracts and will put the firm’s freehold property in Lowtown, Pudsey up for sale.

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Aberdeen council has backed development partner Henry Boot’s funding proposals for a £333m conference and exhibition centre on the outskirts of the city. The planned £333m Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre will be built at Bucksburn near the Dyce airport and will replace the existing AECC at the Bridge of Don, which was built in 1985. A mixed-use residential-led scheme is proposed for the Bridge of Don site once the new centre is up and running. Boot will submit detailed plans targeting a planning permission by the end of 2015 to develop the initial phase of the project, including the 750,000 sq ft exhibition and conference centre, two hotels and an anaerobic digestion green energy centre. Construction is penciled in to start in mid-2016 and run through …

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Leeds-based McFadden Construction has become the first victim of the financial turmoil at construction business GB Group. Yesterday the local civil engineering firm itself filed for administration after being locked in a long-running payment dispute with GB Group over work on a major Leeds hotel project. McFadden boss Martin Horne said: “There are several contractors that have not been fully paid on the Leeds hotel. “We were in the throes of a second adjudication for around £700,000, after winning £450,000 in an earlier ruling for work on the reinforced concrete basement. “But with GB Group filing for administration there is now obviously a big question mark over the case, which has been putting a big strain on our cashflow. “This payment dispute has hit more …

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An explosives specialist has been fined after a quarry blast sent rocks of up to 15 kilos flying outside a danger zone toward employees and across a public road. Falling rocks narrowly avoided hitting workers as they landed well outside the designated blast zone at Moons Hill Quarry near Shepton Mallet on 7 February 2012. Bristol Crown Court heard that workers acting as sentries outside the danger area were aware of rocks flying above their heads and landing all around them immediately after the blast. Rocks also landed in the processing plant area of the quarry, which is on the other side of a public road. HSE inspectors discovered that the blast had not been properly planned. Too much explosive was used in an area where the ground was already …

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Development Securities and Transport for London has formed a joint venture to create a mixed-use scheme at Southwark Underground station. The one-acre site above and around the London Underground station on Blackfriars Road has potential for a 225,00 sq ft landmark scheme, led with 300 flats. The development site combines three sites: a vacant office building, Algarve House; adjacent land owned by TfL including the air space above Southwark Underground station; and further land around the station owned by the London Borough of Southwark Located between the Elephant and Castle regeneration area and the South Bank, the high rise project including developing air-rights would deliver over 300 flats as well as shops and restaurants. Development Securities and TfL have signed up architect AHMM to develop a masterplan …

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The deal marks the firm’s first foray as a major housing developer in the UK and saw it fend off rival bids from a Mace, Argent and Peabody consortium and specialist developer Grainger. Balfour Beatty’s UK construction arm will deliver all construction, which is expected to generate £400m, while the group’s investment arm injects £35m of equity over eight years, representing 50% of the equity required. The development will be constructed in phases over eight years creating 50 apprenticeships and sustaining 350 construction jobs at the peak of construction. The transformational project at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in East London is being delivered in a 50:50 joint venture with Places for People, which will manage sales and letting. It will create two new neighbourhoods, to be called East Wick and Sweetwater, with …

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Between the years 2009 and 2014, male workers in the UK were on average 20.75 times more likely than their female counterparts to suffer a fatality at work. This is despite the fact women currently make up 47% of the UK workforce[1]. The most recent data for the years 2013/14 indicate that a total of 85 men died whilst at work, compared to the total female death toll of four. Of these, 42 deaths were related to construction. Fatal falls, which again were most prevalent in the construction industry, accounted for three in every ten worker deaths. A full illustration of the year on year comparative data between the genders can be found here. This infographic shows the prevalence of male mortality rates in the UK workforce compared to females, per average 100,000 …

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The growth spurt in house building activity enjoyed by much of the industry could be coming to an end. According to the latest Government figures housing starts climbed again last year rising by 10% to 137,010. This growth comes on the back of a 36% rise on 2012 and 59% jump from the trough in 2009. But the latest quarterly figures also suggest activity may have peaked before getting anywhere near the output levels required. Seasonally adjusted housing starts in England are estimated at 29,800 in the December quarter 2014, a 10% decrease compared to 33,250 starts in the September quarter, which itself was down 10% on Q2. Completion figures, which always lag behind starts, are running at only 118,760, well below the 245,000 homes a year target widely accepted by all political parties as …

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Supermarket group Asda has announced plans to inject £600m into its store investment programme this year. President of Asda, Andy Clarke, said that while the retail market was experiencing “one of its most challenging and changeable periods in history”, the business remained focused on delivering its long term plan, including expanding and improving the Asda store estate. He said: ”I’m pleased that we can announce our continued investment in the UK with £600m for new and improved stores in 2015. “With such a powerful force like Walmart behind us that fully supports our strategy, we’re in a unique position in a difficult market – a position of great strength.” During the year Asda will invest in 17 new store openings, including three supermarkets in London while 62 …

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Travelodge has revealed plans to build more than 150 new hotels over the next eight years. The  development programme will see 20 to 25 hotels opening every year. It is a step-up on the current construction programme which will see nearly £100m spent in 2015 opening 15 new hotels. Peter Gowers, Travelodge Chief Executive said: “We are well underway with our plans to build new Travelodge. “We’re investing more than £100m in modernising our hotels for our customers and we now have 87% of guest rooms upgraded to our new look. “In 2015 we are opening 15 new hotels, creating 400 new jobs and extending our network still further. “With our modernised hotels and unbeatable value, we are well placed to serve the rapidly growing demand for low-cost travel. “We see …

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