M&A

Scaffolding firms have rebounded from the pandemic-driven downturn with rises in revenue and profit. The sector had the highest median average pre-tax margin of any of the seven specialisms in the CN Specialists Index 2022, at 6.6 per cent. This was up a remarkable 4.9 percentage points on 2021’s 1.8…

Uncertainty hangs over the future of the envelope sector, where the median average margin is 4.3 percentage points lower than it was in 2018. The top 10 firms in the specialism – under intense scrutiny since the Grenfell Tower fire of 2017 – posted a median margin of 1.6 per…

Concrete became the specialism with the lowest margins across the seven index categories, having boasted the second-highest in the 2021 edition. The median average margin for the top specialists tumbled from 3.7 per cent to just 1.15 per cent in this year’s index, in what has been a tough year…

Fortunes were mixed for demolition specialists in this year’s index, while an admission of historical bid rigging hit a number of the sector’s big names. Aggregate turnover was relatively flat year-on-year, although seven of the top 10 contractors reported a rise. Pre-tax profit grew slightly to a cumulative £19.8m. Keltbray…

The cost of steel rose so steeply this year that even some of the biggest project managers in the country were beginning to feel the heat. Prices, which had been largely stable at around £350 per tonne, were suddenly hitting levels of between £500 and £700, and even more. The…

The industry’s highest earners have once again seen their pay rocket, after COVID lockdowns brought a year of restraint. James Wilmore examines how the rises sit within a context of rising worries over the cost of living for those further down the foodchain. Recent events in Westminster have demonstrated that…

With inflation, skill shortages and energy prices contributing to a rise in administrations, Adam Branson considers the construction industry's prospects of weathering the winter months The economic headlines just keep getting worse. In August, the Bank of England forecast that inflation would hit 13.3 per cent in October, up from…

Ian Weinfass speaks to Altrad RMD Kwikform UK managing director Mark Pickard about the company’s stormy recent history and his plans for the future After the turbulence, stability and growth will follow. At least that’s what Mark Pickard hopes. Few businesses will have known as much upheaval in the past…

Phil Deyes is an IP and property specialist at Leonard Curtis Construction is a major sector within the British economy and a good barometer for the country’s trading outlook. Construction is back in the spotlight as the government releases its insolvency statistics for England and Wales. The construction industry experienced…

An increased margin was the main headline from Kier’s full accounts for this year, with the group recording a pre-tax profit of £15.9m in the year to 30 June 2022. This was up from £5.6m its previous 12 months. Its revenue fell for the second consecutive year, to £3.14bn, down from…