Interviews

Vistry chief operating officer Graham Prothero tells David Price how he’s made the shift from CEO of a contractor to COO at a housebuilder and how an old business partnership led to the biggest housing sector merger for more than a decade

If not for a tempting company car,…

Mark Reynolds has been thinking, and he is keen to discuss what kind of business Mace is. “The power of data is unbelievable,” he says. “I met with my board on Friday and I said to them, ‘we are a sustainability and data company. We just happen to do great…

The UK boss of the world’s largest system-scaffolding supplier tells Lem Bingley about the firm’s focus on site speed, modern methods and Brexit blips

We are a month in to post-Brexit trading arrangements when Sean Pike, UK managing director of system scaffolding provider Layher, speaks to Construction News. The firm’s parent…

TClarke began investing in growth as soon as the pandemic hit the UK last March and that has set it on course for the future, its top two executives tell David Price.

When the pandemic struck last spring, TClarke’s executives, like those at most contractors, focused on making sure they could…

A year ago, the CLC was spurred into action as the pandemic caused confusion and closures across the sector. Ian Weinfass speaks to co-chair Andy Mitchell about its initial response and how the industry has fared in the past year

When Construction Leadership Council (CLC) co-chair Andy Mitchell reflects on the…

In September – three years after it bought the company – French giant EDF’s takeover of Imtech became absolute. The energy firm, part-owned by the French government, installed Gautier Jacob as chief executive in place of the retiring Paul Kavanagh, who’d been at the electrical contractor for 17 years. Jacob,…

Morgan Sindall CEO John Morgan thinks COVID-19 has been a “wake-up call” for the industry, with restrictions forcing a reassessment of how businesses operate and leading to improvements. Morgan spoke to Construction News following yesterday’s trading update that revealed the company would beat an earlier full-year pre-tax profit forecast of…

Wates chief executive David Allen tells Ian Weinfass why the sector has thrived despite the crisis it faced in 2020, how this will help solve the skills shortage, and how he plans to grow his firm through its residential work

There were times in 2020 when things did not appear too…

Fred Mills, the co-founder of a construction YouTube channel with one million subscribers, talks to Construction News about how the industry can attract more talent

Construction’s inability to attract new talent has crippled the sector for years. Now, in the midst of a global pandemic, and with labour shortages looming, the issue…

A global pandemic might have struck during a critical point of the acquisition but Brian Morrisroe was unmoved. The boss of the concrete frame specialist that bears his name was conducting due diligence on his company’s purchase of demolition contractor Cantillon when the COVID-19 virus sent the country into lockdown.…