Balfour Beatty ups profit forecasts as it defies construction gloom Transport & Infrastructure Balfour Beatty has boosted its earnings and cash flow targets, as the construction firm’s “real momentum” defies wider gloom facing the sector. The group, which works with the government on major infrastructure projects, has seen the value of its order book jump by 17 per cent to £22.9bn in the six months to June, as [...]
UK economy to ‘reverse gains’ as construction drags growth Economics The UK economy’s modest gains from the first half of the year are set to be reversed as the flagging construction industry is set to hammer growth prospects, economists have said. A poll of economists, tracked by Bloomberg, believe GDP contracted by 0.1 per cent in June, partly unwinding previous gains. Pantheon Macroeconomics analysts said [...]
‘Grinding it out’: Ibstock swings to loss and cuts dividend amid building slump Property One of the UK’s biggest brickmakers has bemoaned a ‘challenging’ housebuilding market as it slashed its dividend and swung to a loss. Leicestershire-based Ibstock, which is London’s second most shorted stock with a reported short interest of 12.9 per cent, posted a loss of £27m for the first six months of the year, down from [...]
Deloitte snaps up construction cost boutique to target infrastructure boom August 4, 2026 Deloitte has snapped up a niche construction consultancy as the Big Four firm looks to capitalise on the growing demand for tighter financial controls on major infrastructure projects. Deloitte has acquired The Orange Partnership, a Midlands-based consultancy specialising in cost verification and cost assurance in the construction sector, City AM can reveal. The deal comes [...]
Housebuilder shares rally on Iran war peace hopes and help-to-buy revival August 3, 2026 Shares in leading London’s listed housebuilders jumped on Monday as investors bet a potential Iran war peace deal and a mooted new help-to-buy scheme would provide a boon to Britain’s flagging property market. FTSE-100-listed Persimmon jumped more than four per cent to 1,152 while mid-cap Vistry gained six per cent to 310p on Monday. Analysts [...]
Rightmove: Housebuilders face worst conditions since financial crisis July 31, 2026 The boss of property portal Rightmove has warned that UK housebuilders are facing the worst conditions since the 2008 financial crash. Johan Svanstrom, the FTSE 250 firm’s chief executive, said on Friday that new home developments are at “historically low levels due to continued softer build rates”. The property platform said growth in its new [...]
High interest rates and low confidence put construction firms under pressure, Lords warns July 30, 2026 Construction firms have been hit by a barrage of reduced market confidence, high interest rates and rising national insurance costs, builders’ merchant Lords has warned, after it suffered its biggest-ever single-day stock fall. The London-based firm released a challenging market update on Thursday, which saw its shares plunge 20.61 per cent to an all-time low [...]
Student housing giant Unite faces £400m loss amid property value slump July 28, 2026 Unite Students has plunged to a more-than £400m loss after being hit by a £500m revaluation of its properties and “extremely challenging” building costs. The UK’s largest student landlord slumped to a £417m pre-tax loss in the six months to June, reversing a £186m profit the year before, as its earnings slipped by two per [...]
UK economy grows despite Iran war hit July 16, 2026 The UK economy grew marginally in May after strong performance in parts of the services sector helped soften the impact of Iran war and narrowly prevented a contraction. Fresh figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have revealed the economy grew 0.1 per cent in May, broadly in line with market expectations. The services [...]
UK economy tipped to stall as Iran war chokes growth July 12, 2026 The UK’s economy is expected to stall another month as the Iran war continues to choke growth and some industries face slowing output. Gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to have slipped again by 0.1 per cent in May, according to some economists. The UK’s growth update, delivered by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) [...]