News

A timber and building materials supplier in Wales has been successfully sold out of administration. Gwent-based TG Howell & Sons Ltd entered administration earlier this month, with Katrina Orum and Huw Powell of Begbies Traynor appointed as joint administrators on 5 February. They oversaw a pre-packaged sale of most of…

Profit has fallen sharply at MJ Gleeson amid continued pressure on the housing market. The housebuilder saw pre-tax profit fall to £7.2m in the six months to 31 December 2023, down from £16.1m in the same period in 2022. Its revenue fell from £171m in the second half of 2022…

Sir Robert McAlpine has announced the sudden departure of chief executive Paul Hamer, and that he will be replaced with former Lendlease Europe boss Neil Martin. A statement shared by the contractor on Friday (16 February) said that Martin will start in post on Monday (19 February) and is joining…

A company has been fined £450,000 and its director handed a suspended sentence after a worker died at a construction site in Birmingham, according to the Crown Prosecution Service. Oleksander Rudyy, 49, was crushed to death in May 2019 when the structure he was standing on collapsed. He had earlier…

Briggs & Forrester’s latest set of group accounts have revealed pre-tax profit growth despite lower turnover, with directors hailing a “significant turnaround” in fortunes. The firm, the fifth largest mechanical and electrical (M&E) specialist in the UK and ranked 68th in the latest CN100 list of top contractors, saw revenue reach £212.5m for…

A significant number of councils will stop offering building-control services from April unless the deadline to prove professional competence is extended, the head of the service has warned the government. From 6 April, all building-control professionals must have passed a competence assessment and be registered with the Building Safety Regulator,…

Turnover was stable but pre-tax profit fell in Bam’s UK construction arm in 2023, partly due to rising costs on an unnamed major project. Bam Construct & Ventures said it made revenue of €1.05bn (£900m) for the calendar year, compared with €1.06bn in 2022, in unaudited figures announced today by…

McLaren Construction has been selected to refurbish and extend the former House of Fraser department store on Oxford Street, central London. McLaren had already started work on the project almost two years ago for client Publica Properties Establishment under a preconstruction services agreement. Erith is undertaking the demolition and reinstatement…

Earlier this month, Construction News revealed emerging plans for a new initiative for contractors to collaborate on promoting the sector through schools outreach. Specialist firm the School Outreach Company is working with senior sector figures on plans to raise £100,000 with the aim of creating a network of five regional…

A drop in new work and depressed infrastructure activity contributed to falling UK construction output in December last year, according to the latest official figures. The sector contracted by 0.5 per cent in December compared with November, with a total value of £15.25bn, Office for National Statistics (ONS) data shows.…