News

An investment giant who held a 10% stake in Carillion considered suing the collapsed contractor over losses before its demise. Kiltearn Partners told the ongoing Parliamentary enquiry into Carillion’s collapse that they had “considered participation in civil legal action against Carillion with a view to recovering a proportion of its clients’ crystalised losses.” Kiltearn held 10% of the company’s shares in February and May 2017 ahead of the eventually-fatal £845m profit warnings and provisions in July 2017. Klitearn told MPs that Carillion’s published information, including historic annual reports, could “no longer be considered reliable and consequently no effective assessment of its finances could be made.” The MPs heard that other investors were “fleeing for the hills” while Carillion and its auditors were insisting things were …

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Styles & Wood Group has been awarded a contract to deliver the fit out and refurbishment of the iconic India Buildings in Liverpool on behalf of its client Shelborn Asset Management. Architect Falconer Chester Hall drew up the revamp plan The works consist of a Category A fit out, which involves major refurbishment to the Grade II listed building including the provision of office space, remedial works and major external repairs to ensure it is viable as a fully working building. When complete, the building will be leased back to HMRC for use as a ‘supercentre’.  Styles & Wood was successful following a two-stage tender process and management believe that the contract, which will span a 72-week period, should contribute £38.25 million of revenue over the…

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North London Waste Authority (NLWA) is holding an industry open day for potential suppliers on a new £650m power plant. A whole range of work packages will be up for grabs on the 10-year construction programme to deliver the North London Heat and Power Project (NLHPP) at Edmonton EcoPark. The development on a 16 hectare site in the Upper Lee Valley will ensure the ongoing ability to dispose of waste responsibly and cost effectively for many years to come. Companies engaged in the project should work to the highest standards of health and safety, work as a “good neighbour”, be committed to equality, diversity and inclusion, and play a positive role in skills development of their workforce. The components of the NLHPP are: an Energy Recovery Facility…

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On behalf of main client, Greenwich Leisure Ltd & Wrenbridge York Sport Ltd, Buckingham Group Contracting Ltd has awarded Aarsleff Ground Engineering the piling works for the New Stadium Leisure Complex in York.  The new Stadium Leisure Complex Project will combine sport, health and educational facilities and once completed, will include an 8,000 all seater stadium to be shared by York City Football Club and York City Knights Rugby League Club, swimming facilities, cinema, gym, dance studio and a sports hall with spectator seating. The scheme will also house a wide range of community facilities, catering and hospitality venues and family leisure activities. The initial enquiry was specified as a CFA pile design, however Aarsleff sought early engagement with Buckingham Group to detail the benefits of a driven …

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The construction industry is increasingly showing its concern about the environment by transitioning to more environmentally friendly practices. The UK government is beginning to pass legislation that stipulates construction firms should use green practices within their production process – but what about their fleets? Should they be green too? For business owners, a fleet of reliable vehicles is a vital cog in the smooth running of their business. However, electric vehicles have previously had a level of stigma attached – a smaller mileage range, longer time taken to recharge and less charging points than petrol stations. But, the market is evolving, and with it comes improvements for electric vehicles. After a record year in 2017, electric vehicles have remained in the spotlight thanks to the rising attention on …

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National trade body the Property Care Association (PCA) has set out its schedule of professional development training for 2018. The PCA has invested significant resources into developing a comprehensive portfolio of courses throughout the year in areas including condensation, damp and timber preservation, residential ventilation, structural waterproofing, invasive weed control and flood resilience. Led by experts in their fields, the courses are designed to meet the needs of delegates at whatever stage in their career. There are specific surveyor-led courses including surveying timber and dampness in buildings, surveyor in structural waterproofing, control and eradication of Japanese knotweed and property flood resilience. Courses are also available for office-based staff, or those at technician level, who will benefit from gaining an understanding of their industry and the work …

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Carillion bosses were pursuing or planning claims for over £260m on seven contracts before the firm collapsed. The extent of claims it planned to chase were revealed in the board’s business plan put to its banks and the Government in the board’s failed attempt to buy extra time with emergency funding. This also revealed that it had written £1.1bn off its balance sheet due to legacy contracts, delays in settlements and PFI transactions. The claims dossier opens an avenue for the Official Receiver, overseeing Carillion’s liquidation, to pursue although in practice claims are usually written off because they are difficult to pursue following corporate collapse. The claims were also being contested providing no real guarantee of the estimated claw-back. According to the business plan …

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On behalf of client Torbay Council, main contractor Dyer and Butler has awarded Aarsleff Ground Engineering the soil nailing contract to stabilise the embankment as part of a major Highways widening scheme on the A3022 Brixham Road between Clayland Cross and Wilkins Drive. The widening of Brixham Road is part of the Western Corridor scheme – one of the Local Enterprise Partnership’s portfolio of strategic infrastructure projects that will help to generate growth throughout the whole of Devon, Plymouth, Somerset and Torbay. Specifically, Aarsleff will install 378 No. self-drilled fully galvanised soil nails, of 6m length. Aarsleff will install the soil nails with their excavator mounted hütte drill mast. Owing to the success of the contract win, Aarsleff’s Assistant Manager for Geotechnical Jonathan Greener said “Combined with …

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It may not happen often but electric motor failure can have serious consequences when it does occur. In fact, it can be difficult to know just what to do. As business downtime and losses mount, it’s very easy to make a panicked decision over whether to rewind and repair or replace your motor. What should motor owners do? With new high-efficiency motors available, do they take the plunge and invest in a whole new motor altogether that promises higher efficiency levels but with significantly greater costs? Or, do they commit to an electric motor rewind or repair? While the cost is often lower, many are concerned about the potential inefficiencies that an electric motor rewind can bring — yet are these worries grounded in fiction? This …

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Caddick Construction has taken over from Carillion on the £154m Angel Gardens scheme in Manchester. Caddick is the sister company of Moda who are developing the scheme with Apache Capital. It is one of the first major private jobs to restart on site following Carillion’s collapse. Caddick will be directly hiring 20 former Carillion employees and the move will save around 500 jobs on site protecting around 30 subcontractors previously working under Carillion. Angel Gardens is one of the country’s biggest residential schemes outside of London and Caddick Construction will now act as construction manager to deliver the 35 storey, 466 home build to rent (BTR) project. Carillion started work on Angel Gardens in January 2016. Andrew Parker, director of projects at Moda, said: “We have had contingency plans in place for…

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