Author Archives: Ben Vogel

More than one-third of the firms that went into administration in November employed two or fewer staff November saw a monthly total of 33 business failures – one fewer than November 2022. Despite this relative stability, however, the year-to-date total of 345 administrations marks a 49 per cent increase on…

Reforms are needed to boost the number of electricians, which is essential for the UK to deliver on its pledge to become net zero by 2050, a new report has warned. The Electrical Contractors’ Association (ECA) launched its Recharging Electrical Skills Charter at an event in the Houses of Parliament…

The problem of late payment is worsening but project bank accounts (PBAs) promise a sunnier future for subcontractors, industry insiders have told Construction News. Speaking in the latest edition of the CN First Site podcast, Roni Savage, managing director at geoengineering specialist Jomas Associates, warned: “Payments are later than ever.…

The combined revenue figure from our seven specialisms is promising. But the mood darkens when you look at profits and margins The latest annual Construction News Specialists Index depicts a strong overall revenue performance from the top 10 contractors in seven sectors: concrete, demolition, envelope, ground engineering, mechanical and electrical…

The 10 biggest ground engineering (GE) firms recorded the second-lowest combined turnover of any specialism in this year’s index, although there were still sizeable increases in turnover and pre-tax profit since the previous year. Total revenue has shot up by 29 per cent compared with the previous year’s table, while…

PROFIT HIKE The pre-tax profit reported by Esh Group in its annual financial results for 2022, up from £530,000 the previous year.  Turnover increased to £261m, up by 2.4 per cent or £6m compared with 2021. Esh chief executive Andy Radcliffe said: “Our focus on targeting key sectors that present…

Newly released Creditsafe data shows that construction administrations almost doubled year-on-year in October, with 37 failures compared with 19 the year before. And the year-to-date total of 312 marks a 58 per cent increase compared with the first 10 months of 2022. Eleven firms were large enough to file turnover…

Sisk is slashing embodied carbon and optimising offsite-manufactured components in its latest job at Wembley Park Project client: Quintain Total cost: £230m (fixed-price contract) Contract type: JCT design-and-build Main contractor: John Sisk Architect: Haworth Tompkins Structural engineer: Elliott Wood/CampbellReith Groundworks: Harringtons Builders Demolition: Goody Demolition Piling: Keller Concrete cores and…

Turnover at Northern Ireland-based contractor Gilbert-Ash increased for the fourth year in a row in 2022, although inflation took a sizeable bite out of the firm’s profit. Revenue for the year ending 31 December totalled £263.2m, marking a 20 per cent increase on the previous year’s £219.3m. Gilbert-Ash was ranked…

Durham-based Esh Holdings achieved higher group turnover but slightly lower pre-tax profit in 2022, according to its latest annual report. The contractor posted group revenue of £260.9m for the year ending 31 December, marking a 2.3 per cent year-on-year increase. Profit before tax fell from £3m to £2m. Esh broadened…