Author Archives: Ian Weinfass

Profit has fallen by nearly £2m at demolition contractor Colemans. The firm’s latest accounts, for the year to 30 April 2023, show its pre-tax profit fell to £268,000 from £2.5m in the prior year. Turnover stood at over £12.98m in its latest year, up by 10.6 per cent from £11.73m…

A demolition contractor has been fined £60,000 after a labourer was hit by masonry in an incident that left him “lucky to be alive”. MAC Demolition, the firm contracted to carry out the works, was fined over the incident, which took place in Kilburn, north-west London, last year. The west-London…

A £57m-turnover West Yorkshire contractor has ceased trading after projects were delayed or cancelled. Bradford-headquartered HB Projects, which specialised in work throughout the retail, commercial and industrial sectors, said this week that it was going to appoint administrators. The firm’s directors said in a statement: “This has been a difficult…

A facade specialist has been fined £240,000 after leaving combustible cladding that it was removing from a building on residents’ balconies. According to a statement from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the incident took place at the eight-storey The Circle apartment block in central Liverpool, where Green Facades was…

Homes England has lost an equal pay claim brought by a senior employee who was paid £14,000 less than a male colleague. Quantity surveyor (QS) Jennifer Owen joined the agency in November 2020 on a salary of £51,258 per year, the minimum in her pay band. She was told she…

The Institute of Directors (IoD) is developing a new code of conduct in the wake of the collapse of Carillion and other corporate scandals. The membership body for directors flagged the findings of research by PR consultancy Edelman, which suggest that trust in UK business is lower than that of…

Tarmac boosted its UK revenue and underlying profitability last year through measures including price increases, its latest accounts show. The company, which quarries aggregates, manufactures concrete and has contracting subsidiaries, saw revenue rise from £1.81bn to £2bn, according to accounts for the year ending 31 December 2022. Tarmac’s pre-tax profit…

More than two-thirds of manufacturing businesses think the UK’s national infrastructure has deteriorated over the past 10 years, a survey has found. Companies responding to the questionnaire by manufacturers’ trade body Make UK also said the decaying state of the rail and road networks was holding back their investment and…

A local authority in the North of England is calling for compensation from the government over its decision to scrap the northern leg of HS2. Cheshire East Council wrote to rail minister Huw Merriman and communities secretary Michael Gove seeking compensation totalling £11.2m, to cover a sum invested by the…

Proposals for the programme to restore the Palace of Westminster will not be put to MPs until at least 2025, it has emerged. Lord (John) Gardiner of Kimble, deputy speaker of the House of Lords, said two options for the development would be presented to MPs and peers later this…