Watkin Jones enjoys strong contribution from build-to-rent division January 14, 2020 Housing developer Watkin Jones this morning said profit from its build-to-rent developments more than doubled. The 229-year-old company, which also makes student housing, saw overall profit slip because of exceptional costs. Pre-tax profit fell 8.5 per cent to £49.7m, while revenue grew 3.2 per cent to £374.8m. However, revenue from build-to-rent shot to £73.6m from [...]
SIG shares plunge on yet another profit warning January 9, 2020 Building materials supplier SIG warned of a sharp fall in 2019 profit this morning, amid weak European construction markets and delays in its turnaround efforts taking effect. The company’s shares fell 20 per cent in early trading after it also said sales rates deteriorated towards the end of the year. Read more: Building materials group [...]
Galliford Try boasts new contract wins after sale of housing arm January 9, 2020 Galliford Try shares soared this morning as the construction group touted a number of contract wins after the £1.1bn sale of its residential business. Chief executive Bill Hocking said the business had “good momentum” and a strong order book. Read more: Galliford Try joins the Winters of discontent Galliford, which completed the sale of its [...]
Kier appoints new chairman after tough year December 16, 2019 Kier has appointed a new chairman after a turbulent year to date that has seen the struggling outsourcer’s market cap fall more than 75 per cent. Matthew Lester will step down from the board at Barclays to take up the role in January, replacing outgoing chairman Philip Cox. Read more: A huge private equity tycoon [...]
Costain shares plunge after Welsh arbitration leaves it £20m out of pocket December 12, 2019 Costain shares plummeted 16 per cent today after it warned profit will be about £20m lower than expected after an arbitration case over a Welsh motorway project. The announcement follows a ruling that found the firm shared responsibility for design information on the A465 road project with the Welsh government, a partial reversal of a [...]
Balfour Beatty bullish on full year order book growth December 12, 2019 Balfour Beatty was bullish in its predictions for year-end results this morning, as it expects its order book to be significantly bigger than 2018, while profit will likely be flat. Britain’s biggest construction company, which has a significant presence in Hong Kong, said it had not seen any negative effects from civil unrest in the [...]
Construction disputes rise as Carillion fallout continues to hurt industry December 5, 2019 The number of construction disputes in the High Court has increased in the last year, as contractors struggle with tougher trading conditions, according to research. The UK’s specialist Technology & Construction Court (TCC) heard 397 construction related disputes in the year ending 30 June, the third consecutive annual rise. Read more: Reforming public procurement can [...]
Crane drain: Construction on new London offices slows to five-year low November 18, 2019 The number of new construction projects for office blocks in London has fallen by almost half in the last six months, according to data published today. Work has started on only 24 new schemes totalling 1.8m square feet (sq ft) in the capital over the last six months, compared to 37 schemes totalling 3.5m sq [...]
Kier’s COO leaves with immediate effect November 15, 2019 Kier’s chief operating officer has left the business with immediate effect as the struggling outsourcer rang the changes at the top amid reported interest from private equity. Claudio Veritiero, who was appointed COO only in August of 2018, has quit the company today. Read more: Private equity firm circles Kier as it looks to raise [...]
Construction sector swings back to growth in third quarter November 11, 2019 Britain’s construction sector dodged a recession and swung back to growth in the third quarter, despite a slight dip last month. Construction output increased 0.6 per cent, or £253m in the three months to September, from months of turmoil caused in part by Brexit uncertainty. It follows a decrease of 1.2 per cent in the [...]