Articles by Date : January 03 2005 - January 09 2005

Dean & Bowes wins £3.5m Downing College contract
Dean & Bowes has won a £3.5m, two-stage, design & build project from the University of Cambridge to refurbish two upper floors of laboratories,.... more
(07 January 2005 15:16)

Kanga's Fat Track Model on show at SED 2005
Kanga’s 7 Series ‘Fat Track’ Model, the latest development from Kanga Loaders, designer of the world’s first stand on skid steer loader, will be on.... more
(07 January 2005 12:10)

Keller improves in the US
Keller's US business Suncoast continued its turn-around in the second half, according to a trading statement issued to the Stock Exchange this.... more
(07 January 2005 08:27)

RMC Group set to be snapped up for £2.3bn
Mexican cement maker Cemex has reiterated its intention to buy RMC Group for £2.3bn, but admits that a slight delay is inevitable. more
(06 January 2005 17:01)

BAA appoints four for airport expansion
Airport operator BAA has today (Thursday) appointed four companies for its framework contract for the expansion of Stansted Airport in Essex. more
(06 January 2005 16:11)

Willmott Dixon operating margins improve
Latest interim financial results from Willmott Dixon, released today (Wednesday), show an operating margin of 1.9%, an improvement on the more modest.... more
(06 January 2005 11:00)

Construction growth rate best for eight months
Data for the UK construction sector in December has indicated the most marked rate of growth in the industry since April. more
(06 January 2005 10:59)

Amec named preferred bidder for £220m hospital PFI
Amec has today (Wednesday) been named as preferred bidder, in a jv with Innisfree, for a £220m hospital PFI in Colchester. more
(06 January 2005 10:59)

Redrow enters new year with "strong foundation"
Property developer Redrow has admitted today (Thursday) that it is well placed to capitalise on the market conditions of 2005 as a number of economic.... more
(06 January 2005 10:58)

Record half-year profits for Galliford Try
Galliford Try’s trading update, issued this morning (Thursday), points to record half-year profits in line with market expectations. more
(06 January 2005 10:57)

Utilities agree to share info
A central organisation to champion sharing information between utilities operators could be up and running next year. more
(05 January 2005 16:48)

Bid losers may contest InterRoute's EMAC win
Losing bidders are set to appeal against the award to InterRoute (Raynesway/Mott MacDonald/Serco) of the Highways Agency's (HA) £250m to £400m.... more
(05 January 2005 16:47)

Bluestone strips Benson carcass
A black hole in Benson Group's balance sheet triggered the group's collapse into administration on Monday. more
(05 January 2005 16:47)

Shepherd's pension boon
Shepherd Building Group paid £5.3m into its pension fund last year and has plans for even higher payments in each of the coming two years. more
(05 January 2005 16:46)

Chain of custody a priority for Jewson
Jewson has moved to create a national network of branches offering full chain of custody certification for softwood timber. more
(05 January 2005 16:45)

Civils firms improve their second-round CAT scores
Roads contractors are achieving much improved Capability Assessment Toolkit (CAT) scores in the second round of assessments, according to early.... more
(05 January 2005 16:45)

Red diesel ban consultation
The government is set to withdraw concessions that allow plant to use highways while running on red diesel. more
(05 January 2005 16:44)

Excavator sales first for Bell
Bell has sold its first two branded excavators in the UK, a 14t and a 21t machine. more
(05 January 2005 16:43)

Lavendon to close depots
The Lavendon Group has announced a major restructuring programme of its German access equipment hire operation, resulting in the closure of 24 depots.... more
(05 January 2005 16:43)

Heavy move plan for JCB
JCB has announced plans to relocate its heavy products division from its present town centre location in Uttoxeter to a new out-of- town facility.... more
(05 January 2005 16:42)

Fast risers take market share
Brandon Hire and GAP are among the 108 UK plant hire firms that have increased sales by more than three times the national average during the past.... more
(05 January 2005 16:41)

CV sales still set for record
November registration figures show CV sales are still on track for a record in 2004. more
(05 January 2005 16:41)

Ford marks 40 years of the Transit
Ford is set to celebrate 40 years of the Transit with a number of special editions in both the standard Transit and the Connect ranges. more
(05 January 2005 16:40)

Government mulls prequal criteria
The government is considering proposals for core criteria for public sector prequalification. more
(05 January 2005 16:40)

Country & Metropolitan group achieves £11m pre-tax profit
Country & Metropolitan, a housebuilder that builds more than 95% of its homes on brownfield sites, has made a record pre-tax profit of £11m. more
(05 January 2005 16:39)

CPD Construction adds business programmes
Five new business programmes have been added to Contract Journal's continuous professional development service CPD Construction. more
(05 January 2005 16:39)

McLean buoyed by £6.6m profit announcement
David McLean's latest turnover of £210m has generated a pre-tax profit of £6.6m. more
(05 January 2005 16:38)

Haymills offers staff shares
Haymills' 350 employees have been given the option to own shares in the company. The offer includes all staff and longer-serving hourly-paid.... more
(05 January 2005 16:37)

Latham announces £2.2m pre-tax profit
UK timber distributor James Latham has announced improved pre-tax profit of 60% to £2.2m in the half-year to 30 September, with turnover increasing.... more
(05 January 2005 16:36)

National Road Planing strengthens UK grip
National Road Planing has spent £2m on new plant to strengthen its position in the specialist road planing market, where it now has a 25% share. more
(05 January 2005 16:35)

New scheme aimed at Scots skills shortage
A new scheme aimed at attracting refugees into the construction industry to help solve the skills shortage issue has been set up in Scotland. more
(05 January 2005 16:33)

CITB and EH hatch skills shortage plan
CITB-ConstructionSkills and English Heritage (EH) have drawn up an action plan to address the skills shortage in traditional building crafts. more
(05 January 2005 16:33)

Professional privilege
The recent decision of the House of Lords in the case of Three Rivers District Council -v- Governor & Company of The Bank of England has clarified.... more
(05 January 2005 16:32)

Two suitors eye TubeLines
Jarvis has two potential buyers for its one-third stake in TubeLines: Ferrovial, the Spanish group that owns a one-third stake in the PPP consortium;.... more
(05 January 2005 16:31)

Five vye for £35m Berks road project
Five contractors will pick up the tender paperwork next spring for a £35m high-profile roads deal in Berkshire. more
(05 January 2005 16:31)

Lanyard tragedy prompts safety systems warning
Operatives using fall arrest systems must be properly trained in how to use the systems, the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) has warned. more
(05 January 2005 16:30)

DoH considers fifth wave of LIFT deals
A fifth wave of NHS LIFT schemes is on the cards. Department of Health (DoH) officials are considering whether to launch another round or create a.... more
(05 January 2005 16:28)

Royal Bam clears 3.2% UK and Ireland margins
Royal Bam, the European construction group based in Holland, has notched up profit margins of 3.2% in all its three UK and Ireland divisions - HBG.... more
(05 January 2005 16:27)

Olympic bid pressure plea
Contractors should pester the London 2012 Olympic bid team to ensure it considers all the practicalities of the project and the scope of its.... more
(05 January 2005 16:27)

Top level change anticipated at Scottish Building
Scottish contractors are set to enter the new year under new leadership following a top level change. more
(05 January 2005 16:26)

Suppliers slam Brown's view of Aggregates Levy
The Quarry Products Association (QPA) and the British Aggregates Association (BAA) have slammed the Chancellor of the Exchequer's upbeat depiction of.... more
(05 January 2005 16:25)

Six stay in fast lane for HA's M1 improvements
Six contractors have now notched up a hat-trick of shortlist appearances on the Highways Agency's (HA) M1 improvement deals. more
(05 January 2005 16:24)

HA sitting on £100m-worth of early involvement deals
The Highways Agency (HA) is sitting on £100m-plus worth of early contractor involvement packaged deals while it decides how to move the schemes.... more
(05 January 2005 16:24)

Northern Ireland 2005 road repair budget slashed
The Northern Ireland budget for roads maintenance is to be cut from £83m this year to £60m in 2005-06, according to the Quarry Products Association.... more
(05 January 2005 16:23)

Greenpeace timber guidelines
Greenpeace has presented the Heritage Lottery Fund and the National Lottery with proposed guidelines for timber procurement on the projects they.... more
(05 January 2005 16:22)

Montpellier overhauls operating systems
Montpellier has restructured its operating systems in a major re-organisation lead by new executive chairman Roy Harrison. more
(05 January 2005 16:21)

O'Rourke for Rotunda
Laing O'Rourke is emerging as favourite to breathe new life into Birmingham's landmark Rotunda, under a £20m deal. more
(05 January 2005 16:21)

Safety barriers 'inadequate' on UK bridges
A repeat of the Selby train crash remains a strong possibility as more than one-in-five bridges have inadequate safety barriers, according to a.... more
(05 January 2005 16:20)

Wates set for £20m Liverpool deal
Wates looks set to graduate on to a £20m education sector deal in Merseyside. more
(05 January 2005 16:19)

FSA offers guidance on PFI insurance
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has issued new guidance on insurance mediation in a bid to calm PFI contractors' fears that they could be.... more
(05 January 2005 16:18)