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 [...]
Kier share price slumps as lenders ‘seek to offload debt’ November 4, 2019 Kier’s share price slumped seven per cent today following a report alleging lenders are trying to pass on its debt to hedge funds. Kier fell 8.4 per cent to 107.6p in early trading, with HSBC supposedly marketing the firm’s debt for as little as 70p in the pound. Read more: Kier lenders ‘try to offload [...]
Travis Perkins halts sale of plumbing and heating unit amid ‘unprecedented’ uncertainty October 22, 2019 Travis Perkins has put the sale of its plumbing and heating business on hold due to an “unprecedented level of uncertainty” in the market. The building materials distributor had decided to tell the unit last December in a bid to simplify and cut costs. Read more: Travis Perkins confirms plans to demerge Wickes But the [...]
Like a brick: SIG shares drop as profit warning sends ripples through construction industry October 7, 2019 Building materials firm SIG shares tumbled 15 per cent this morning as it warned profits would be “significantly lower” than last year, amid languishing construction markets in the UK and Germany. SIG’s warning set alarm bells ringing across the industry as it said a “deterioration in trading conditions” had worsened in recent weeks. Read more: [...]
