Former Lewisham council office to become Premier InnWhitbread has secured planning permission to convert a former 11-storey council office block in Vauxhall in Central London into a 180-bedroom Premier Inn budget hotel.
Lambeth Council’s planning committee voted unanimously this week to approve the proposals to change the use of its former home at Phoenix House.
Whitbread is now looking to…
Construction to start on UK’s first floating padel courtsConstruction will start shortly after planners green lighted the UK’s first floating padel tennis courts at Liverpool Waters.
The development will feature three courts built on state-of-the-art floating platforms and the world’s first floating clubhouse.
Peel Waters, the team behind the Liverpool Waters regeneration scheme, has…
Bombshell cavity barrier defects wipe out Taylor Wimpey profitsTaylor Wimpey has taken a massive £222m hit to cover legacy fire safety defects plunging the house builder into a first-half pre-tax loss of £92m.
The increased provision comes after a fresh wave of intrusive surveys uncovered widespread issues with cavity barriers hidden behind brickwork and render.
The full scale of the problems…
39 firms win £3bn South East school frameworkA bumper line-up of 39 firms has landed spots on the London Construction Programme’s new £3bn Major Works Education Framework.
The five-year deal will see work procured across eight specialist lots, covering new builds, retrofits, MMC projects, and fire safety upgrades for education buildings in London and the South East.
Top names among t…
22 firms win Prosper £500m new build homes frameworkA total of 22 contractors have secured spots on Prosper’s new £500m New Build Development Framework covering England and Wales.
Among the main multi-regional lot winners were Etec Contract Services, Caddick and Adderstone Living.
The four-year deal spans 12 lots across 10 regions and will mainly focus on new build housing but also covers…
Esh boss bullish as profits and prospects riseProfits have jumped again at North of England contractor Esh Group with Chief Executive Andy Radcliffe full of confidence for future trading.
Latest results for the year to December 31 2024 show pre-tax profits up to £5m from £3.1m last time as turnover ticked-up to £265m from £261m.
The privately-owned firm more than doubled its cash balance to…
Civils contractor Galldris sold to staffNorth London civil engineering firm Galldris has become the latest contractor to transition to an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT).
Donal Gallagher and Sean O’Driscoll who founded the business in 1998 will remain involved in the day to day running of Galldris.
They said: “From our clients and stakeholders perspective, it is very much business as…
Fit-out firepower drives Morgan Sindall to record half-yearMorgan Sindall has delivered another record-breaking first half on the back of surging profits from its fit-out and construction arms.
Across the group revenue rose 7% to £2.4bn in the six month to the end of June with pre-tax profit up 37% to £96m.
The strong performance prompted a formal upgrade to targets across both fit-out and…
Grid delays now rival planning as chief threat to project deliveryFierce competition for electricity connections is creating serious headaches for developers, with grid delays now on par with planning as a top risk to project delivery.
Turner & Townsend’s latest tender price forecast warns that access to power has become a key battleground for construction, with demand surging and…
Forterra to shut down two divisionsForterra is closing down its Formpave block paving and the Bison Bespoke precast businesses.
The materials giant said the move will cost £4m and allow it to focus on core operations.
Formpave manufactures and sells concrete block paving, with 2024 full year revenue of £5.9m. The business broke even last year and is expected to be loss making this year.
T…