Technology

Northumberland-based offsite specialist Merit Holdings Ltd has reported strong turnover and pre-tax profit growth in its latest annual accounts. Revenue reached £94.3m for the year ending 30 June 2023, marking a 48 per cent year-on-year increase compared with the 2021/22 total of £63.7m. Turnover in 2020/21 was £41.8m. In his…

A National Housing Federation-backed alliance of housing associations and councils is looking for dozens of traditional-build main contractors to join a new modern methods of construction (MMC) framework. Building Better, which was set up to increase the use of MMC in social housing, is looking for SME builders to lead…

Laing O’Rourke is looking to cut 60 jobs at its offsite factory in a bid to reduce operating costs. The contractor, whose latest financial results saw it plunge to a £288.1m loss on £3.3bn of turnover, blamed delays to projects for the latest round of redundancies. A spokesperson for its…

A House of Lords committee has criticised the government for lacking a clear strategy on its investment in modern methods of construction (MMC). The Lords’ Built Environment Committee said in a report published this morning (26 January) that the government had “too easily accepted” that the way to encourage MMC…

Two modular housing bosses have written to a parliamentary inquiry into modern methods of construction (MMC) challenging “unfair representation” given by another witness. Directors from trade body Make UK Modular and housebuilder TopHat have submitted letters to the House of Lords’ built environment committee querying evidence that suggested MMC projects…

New housing minister Lee Rowley has dismissed the collapse of several modular building companies as “not unexpected” and described the sector as a “work in progress”. The long-standing MP for North East Derbyshire, who has been in his current ministerial post less than a month, told MPs that boosting modern…

The National House Building Council (NHBC) has made losses on its modular housebuilding warranty scheme due to the number of firms in the sector going bust. Richard Smith, head of standards, innovation and research at the trade body, revealed the damage at the House of Lords built environment committee last…

The cashflow model used in government procurement is not fit for promoting modern methods of construction (MMC), senior figures from contractors told a Parliamentary committee this week. The industry experts were giving evidence to the House of Lords’ Built Environment Committee, which has launched a probe into problems with the…

Doomed disruptor Legal & General Homes Modular Ltd has posted its seventh consecutive annual pre-tax loss, as it implements a plan to cease all operations within the next two years. The business, which launched in 2016 with grand plans to “modernise the homebuilding industry”, said it would wind down by…

Adopting technology can help construction firms reduce errors, a new report claims – but only if it is implemented alongside cultural changes. The Get it Right Initiative (GIRI), a membership organisation aiming to eliminate defects from construction, say that errors cost the industry up to £25bn a year and can occur…