Is it time to add infrastructure to your portfolio? September 2, 2025 The UK has, for many years, consistently underinvested in infrastructure compared to its G7 peers. With flagship projects, the country has a terrible track record. In the past year, the long-awaited, controversial high-speed HS2 rail line saw its expansion into the north of England scrapped due to escalating costs. Meanwhile, the Lower Thames Crossing development [...]
Thames Water agrees payment plan with Ofwat for historic fine August 27, 2025 Thames Water has agreed a payment plan with Ofwat for its £123m fine over rule breaches tied to its wastewater operations and dividend payouts. The payment plan will see 20 per cent of the total penalty – £24.5m – paid no later than 30 September this year. The penalty will not be funded by customer bills, [...]
Costain shares tumble after HS2 delays spark revenue slump August 20, 2025 Shares in Costain tumbled 13 per cent in the opening minutes of trade in London after the construction firm was hit by further delays to HS2. The Bishopsgate-based business said its overall revenue fell 17.8 per cent to £525m for the first six months of the year, of which revenue for its rail infrastructure services [...]
Why does London have no good public spaces? August 20, 2025 London deserves its own great public square – one worthy of postcards, of celebrations, of idle evenings spent in good company, writes John Oxley.
Rachel Reeves to slash environmental protections to boost builders August 18, 2025 Rachel Reeves is looking to take the axe to environmental protections blocking infrastructure projects in a bid to boost Labour’s building pledges. The Chancellor is considering reforms to prevent nature concerns from inhibiting new developments as she desperately looks to supercharge her growth agenda. Labour’s Planning and Infrastructure bill is in the committee stage at [...]
Reasons to be optimistic about the UK’s construction sector August 13, 2025 There are some early signs the UK’s beleaguered construction industry is turning a corner as higher demand, higher government investment and lower interest rates set shovels in the ground. Judging by the numbers so far this year, the UK’s construction industry is in a bad place: The sector contracted at the fastest pace since 2020 [...]
Balfour Beatty receives profit boost from government contracts August 13, 2025 Infrastructure group Balfour Beatty recorded a jump in profit for the first half of the year after a bumper performance in its UK construction. The London-listed firm posted a £20m rise in pre-tax profit for the first six months of the year to £132m, up from £112m last year. It came as the business’ UK [...]
UK risks squandering AI investment without urgent action on data centres July 30, 2025 The UK could lose out on billions of pounds in AI investment unless it tackles growing obstacles to data centre development, a new report has warned, as infrastructure experts urge the government to move faster on planning reform and energy policy. The ‘how to make the UK an AI leader’ report, published by techUK, the [...]
UK’s AI vision faces infrastructure reality check July 25, 2025 The UK government has set ambitions to become a global leader in AI research, safety and commercialisation. Over £2.5bn has been committed to compute infrastructure, with new supercomputers being built in Edinburgh and Bristol, and “AI Growth Zones” being launched across regions including Greater Manchester and the West Midlands. But a growing chorus of voices [...]
Labour moots breaking Heathrow third runway ‘doom loop’ with new powers July 7, 2025 The Labour government is exploring how to break Heathrow’s third runway “doom loop” via new parliamentary powers that would fast-track big projects. Ministers are examining whether legislation could be enacted to enable the UK’s biggest hub to bypass parts of the planning process. The proposals, first reported by the Times, would also apply to other [...]