British Land gets green light for ‘exciting’ £3.3bn Canada Water town centre makeover October 1, 2019 A major south London commuter hub is set to get a £3.3bn face lift over the next 15 years, after Southwark Council granted planning permission last night for a new town centre in Canada Water. The scheme, drawn up by property giant British Land, will create 3,000 homes and accommodate 20,000 jobs. Developers hope it [...]
Galliford Try sees profits sink amid Bovis Homes sale talks September 11, 2019 Galliford Try suffered a 27 per cent slump in profits in its latest financial year, it revealed today, a day after it restarted talks to sell its housebuilding arm to Bovis Homes for £1.1bn. Read more: Galliford Try’s share price rockets as it targets £1.1bn Bovis Homes sale The figures Pre-tax profits crashed 27 per [...]
Mace breaks £2bn revenue barrier but profit slumps September 3, 2019 Construction firm Mace has surpassed the £2bn annual revenue mark in 2018 for the first time in its history, but also suffered a drop in profit because of challenges on some of its projects. The firm, which was in charge of building Tottenham Hotspur’s new football stadium and is contracted to build the new HS2 [...]
Construction industry output ‘drops like a brick’ to a decade low September 3, 2019 Britain’s construction industry suffered its sharpest decline in new work in more than a decade last month, as economic uncertainty hampered decision making among customers. New orders slumped at their worst rate since March 2009, according to closely-followed industry barometer the IHS Markit Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), which read just 40 for the category where [...]
JCB charges ahead with ‘historic’ electric digger August 20, 2019 JCB marked an “historic moment” in digger manufacturing today, as its new electric version of the iconic yellow digger rolled off the production line. The firm is moving into full production with the construction industry’s first fully electric mini excavator, with 50 machines already having gone out to customers around the world. Read more: JCB [...]
UK construction sector suffers ‘disastrous’ blow as downturn deepens August 2, 2019 The UK’s construction industry activity sank for the fifth time in six months in July as economists all but ruled out a swift turnaround, a closely-followed measure of sector activity revealed today. Output fell for the third month in a row in July, according to IHS Markit’s UK Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), leaving the [...]
Construction market ‘patience wearing thin’ with Brexit uncertainty July 18, 2019 London’s construction market appears to be losing patience with Brexit uncertainty, as output growth gains speed and workload expectations gather pace for the year ahead. According to a quarterly industry survey by RICS, 14 per cent more respondents reported an increase in construction workloads across London in the second three months of 2019. This is [...]
UK construction sector suffers worst output in 10 years July 2, 2019 Activity in the UK construction sector “dropped like a stone” last month as suffered its steepest fall in output since the height of the financial crisis, according to a closely followed industry index. Construction activity plummeted to its lowest level since April 2009 in June, on the back of the sharpest drop in UK housebuilding [...]
DEBATE: Is the focus on modern methods of construction to increase housebuilding misplaced? June 24, 2019 Is the focus on modern methods of construction to increase housebuilding misplaced? Chris Stanley, housing manager at Concrete Block Association, says YES. The current media excitement around modern methods of construction, particularly modular, is largely a result of favourable public funding schemes. To solve the housing crisis, the government needs a far more considered, holistic [...]
Kier shares plunge on housebuilding unit sale reports June 14, 2019 Shares in construction company Kier plunged more than 30 per cent today following reports that the outsourcer is preparing to sell its housebuilding unit. Shares fell from 205p to 136.28p after it emerged that the embattled firm has been in talks with advisors over selling the business. Read more: Kier shares rally after plummeting on [...]