M&A

Keith Cooper asks how scaffolding specialists have managed to protect their profits, despite the headwinds of recent years From the outside, scaffolding firms seem as susceptible as any other construction specialist to the many challenges of recent years. The pandemic, huge hikes in the cost of materials and the chronic…

With many subcontractors bitterly regretting the fixed-price contracts they signed before inflation spiralled, James Wilmore asks whether fluctuation clauses and advance payments will become the norm “Collaborative risk-sharing will be key to preserving industry resilience and capacity moving forward.” These were the words of the Construction Leadership Council’s (CLC) product…

Joshua Stein reveals the payment performance of the UK’s largest contractors – and asks whether it’s too easy for firms to manipulate the system Advertising sponsor   “If businesses or freelancers are owed a lot of money, their cashflow is affected. Unless they have a large amount of funds in…

The Autumn Statement may have protected major-project spending in the short term, but difficult decisions lie ahead. By David Prosser If politics is a game of managing expectations, Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt pulled off a coup in November. For weeks in the build-up to the chancellor’s Autumn Statement, ministers…

The year got off to a bumpy start with a major contractor going under in January. But there was better news for those eyeing up nuclear builds. Here are the stories that Construction News readers flocked to read in 2022. 10. Boost for Rolls-Royce’s Snowdonia nuclear plans In mid-October, Rolls-Royce’s…

Some big-name contractors have gone under in recent years without following proper redundancy procedures. With taxpayers footing the bill for payouts, is there any incentive for failing businesses to play fair? David Prosser reports Labour. Raw materials. Interest rates. As these costs all soar, the mortal threat to many construction…

This year’s index shows a healthy picture for the ground engineering sector, largely underpinned by the ramping-up of HS2. A strong bounceback from last year’s COVID-blighted index saw turnover fall at just three firms, while profit was up at all eight of the contractors that have published new accounts since…

Steel specialists have seen their profit margins squeezed as unprecedented inflation and COVID-19 have challenged their bottom lines. Pre-tax profit dropped in four of the top 10 firms with William Hare reporting the only loss – £3.6m at the end of last year – compared with its £1.4m profit for…

Most specialist contractors have seen an improvement in their fortunes as the industry has moved on from the pandemic, but the picture may be about to worsen Things were getting better for the UK’s top specialists before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the 2022 Construction News Specialists Index reveals. Emerging from…

The average margin in the M&E sector has improved slightly in this year’s index, but is still among the smallest of the seven specialist categories. “[While] there has been a huge amount of change in the industry, I think the companies that have succeeded are those that were able to…