Author Archives: Ian Weinfass

HS2 is changing the responsibilities of two of the main joint ventures carrying out phase-one works. Managers at the megaproject are reassigning assets within the central section of the route in the North Chilterns area between the Eiffage, Kier, Ferrovial Construction and Bam Nuttall JV (EFKB) and Align, which is…

South London contractor Claritas Group is set to be liquidated following issues caused by inflation. Chief executive and founder Jon Wardle said in a statement that the firm had started the process of a creditors’ voluntary liquidation. “The challenge of cash flowing and managing the losses associated with the inflationary…

A college set up to deliver skills for major infrastructure projects is to shut down next month after failing to become viable. The National College for Advanced Transport and Infrastructure (NCATI) was launched by the government in 2017 as the National College of High Speed Rail, with buildings that could…

Briggs & Forrester’s profit has halved due to the impact of fixed-price contracts and inflation. The firm, the fifth largest M&E specialist in the UK and ranked 58th in the CN100 list of top contractors in 2022, saw its pre-tax profit fall from £3.2m to £1.6m in the year to…

More than 47 per cent of Vistry Group shareholders voted against the company’s remuneration report at its annual meeting on Thursday (18 May). The housebuilder, known as Bovis Homes prior to its acquisition of Galliford Try’s housebuilding businesses in 2019, saw just 52.9 per cent of its shareholders vote in…

Barratt is set to redevelop a problematic housing block in Croydon, despite being set to make a loss on the project, a council-commissioned report says. The housebuilder found defects with the concrete frame of its Citiscape building in Croydon, south London, in 2020 as it worked to remove ACM cladding…

There is a real and increasing risk that the Houses of Parliament will be destroyed before restoration work has begun, a group of MPs has warned. The Public Accounts Committee warned that “years of procrastination” around organising a programme to refurbish the crumbling buildings are increasing the risks to the…

The official system to investigate construction accidents is failing both victims and the industry Kayla Boor had just left her four-year-old son at school and was walking along the street when a pallet of bricks fell onto her from a building site crane. Two days later, the recently engaged woman…

The government has overruled a council’s bid to stop HS2 lorries driving on roads on safety grounds. Solihull Council had twice refused an application from contractor Balfour Beatty Vinci (BBV), on behalf of HS2, to allow construction lorries to travel to five different sites near the village of Balsall Common.…

Vistry Group has appointed two non-executive directors, weeks after two board directors resigned following a reported disagreement over executive pay proposals. The housebuilder, known as Bovis Homes prior to its acquisition of Galliford Try’s housebuilding businesses in 2019, yesterday named Capstar Hotel chief executive Paul Whetsell and ex-Thomson Reuters president…