Articles by Date : August 13 2007 - August 19 2007

Keepmoat £780m management buy-out completed - top team hold 6% stake
David Blunt, chief executive of Keepmoat, has completed a £780m management buy-out of the regeneration and affordable homes group. more
(17 August 2007 12:27)

T Clarke logs £3.9m interim pre-tax profits
T Clarke, the electrical specialist contractor, has made a £3.9m interim pre-tax profit. Chief executive Pat Stanborough said that the result was.... more
(17 August 2007 12:00)

Three QS firms to merge and float on Stock Exchange as Baqus
Three quantity surveyors have joined forces in order to float on the London Stock Exchange. The new group will be called Baqus. Shares will start.... more
(16 August 2007 17:00)

JCB to fit immobilisers and CESAR as standard
JCB has vowed to clamp down on plant theft as it announced that it is to start fitting immobilisers and government-sanctioned registration tags to.... more
(16 August 2007 14:29)

Worker found dead in lift shaft, London
A construction worker has been found dead at the bottom of a lift shaft in offices in central London, it has emerged today. more
(16 August 2007 12:40)

Hydraulic crane operator electrocuted
A 26-year-old man has died after the hydraulic crane he was operating struck powerlines, estimated to be carrying 11,000 volts, while he was.... more
(15 August 2007 16:13)

Simons Construction makes 1.5% margin on turnover of £220m
Simons Construction enjoyed a 34% jump in turnover last year to £220m. It delivered a pre-tax profit of £3.3m, representing a profit margin of 1.5%. more
(15 August 2007 16:00)

Social Market Foundation: 2m homes will need greenfield land
Two million homes will have to be built on greenfield land if the government wants to meet its target of building three million homes by 2020 -.... more
(15 August 2007 10:43)

Urban Initiatives appointed masterplanner for Birmingham's £10bn redevelopment
A consortium led by UK urban designers, Urban Initiatives, was selected today as masterplanner for Birmingham City Council's £10bn plus City Centre.... more
(15 August 2007 10:00)

Balfour Beatty takes £128m hit, but orderbook powers ahead
The steamroller that is Balfour Beatty looks to have shrugged off the Metronet muddle without suffering much impact to its forward speed: during the.... more
(15 August 2007 09:30)

News in brief: Contract Journal 15 August 2007, p 3
Lovell, Morgan Sindall's affordable housing division, has won a £36m deal in north London. The Islington scheme, dubbed Mildmay@N1, involves the.... more
(15 August 2007 00:00)

Civil engineering stats show dip in Welsh workload
Civil engineering stats show dip in Welsh workload English and Scottish civil engineering firms have reported a strong increase in their.... more
(15 August 2007 00:00)

HSE halts work on 86 sites in S Yorkshire
HSE halts work on 86 sites in S Yorkshire Health & Safety Executive (HSE) inspectors issued 31 prohibition notices to stop work on 86.... more
(15 August 2007 00:00)

Laing O'Rourke drug crackdown bears fruit
Figures in Laing O'Rourke's latest Human Capital report show that 114 people were ordered off site in the 12 months to 31 March 2007 for failing drug.... more
(15 August 2007 00:00)

Olympic chiefs deny South East building costs will spiral
Bosses play down claims that '2012 effect' will see construction inflation rise by 1.25%. more
(15 August 2007 00:00)

'Exceptional growth' for Laing O'Rourke
Huge global expansion boosts O'Rourke's turnover and profit by almost a third. more
(15 August 2007 00:00)

Keepmoat wins £40m S Yorks housing work
Local firm Keepmoat has locked out rivals Lovell, Kier, Connaught and Rok from a £40m housing revamp deal in South Yorkshire, but other elements of.... more
(15 August 2007 00:00)

Building Schools for the Future may be scrapped once schools updated
Education committee asks whether Building Schools for the Future is best way to invest. more
(15 August 2007 00:00)

Industry needs leadership for sustainability
Tougher Building Regulations and more client-led demand are needed for sustainable construction to take off, according to a survey conducted by the.... more
(15 August 2007 00:00)

IOSH asks for more detail to reduce fatalities
Industry safety officers need more information from the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) about fatal accidents if they are to reduce construction.... more
(15 August 2007 00:00)

Polypipe pulls the plug on Verplas acquisition
Polypipe has abandoned its proposed acquisition of Verplas after an inquiry by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) was referred to the Competition.... more
(15 August 2007 00:00)

Barking frameworks pull in national and local players
Mixed line-up for council's final two frameworks - worth up to £500m in total. more
(15 August 2007 00:00)

Sand and gravel prices set to rise by up to 60%
Falling reserves, planning costs and environmental pressures blamed for hikes. more
(15 August 2007 00:00)

Lessons must be taken from floods
Following the summer floods, Andy Goring, new chairman of the Concrete Pipeline Systems Association (CPSA), is to write to politicians outlining an.... more
(15 August 2007 00:00)

Specialist contractors face skills drought
Specialist contractors face skills drought Four out of 10 specialist building contractors can't bid for work due to a lack of skilled labour,.... more
(15 August 2007 00:00)

Torquay BSF job attracts five bids
Five firms are swotting up for a £20m to £22.5m Building Schools for the Future (BSF) deal in the West Country. The Pathfinder Torquay Community.... more
(15 August 2007 00:00)

Mastic workers agree a 9.5% rise Fawley holds ballot
Mastic asphalt roofing workers have agreed a 9.5% pay increase over the next two years. The settlement is backdated to 26 June this year. It.... more
(15 August 2007 00:00)

Specification focus: Heating & Ventilation: Sustainability begins at work
The Heating and Ventilating Contractors' Association is encouraging its members to make their own offices as green as possible. Helen McCormick finds.... more
(15 August 2007 00:00)

Amco reports first-half profit of £2.3m
Amco Corporation has unveiled an interim pre-tax profit of £2.3m on turnover of £56m. The latest financial results cover the six months to 30.... more
(15 August 2007 00:00)

Rand opens Midlands office
Rand is opening its first regional office, near Chesterfield, as part of its push into the Midlands. It is seeking new customers for its contracting.... more
(15 August 2007 00:00)

Four do battle for East Anglia RAF base
Four firms are on parade for a prime contract top-secret project, worth between £60m and £100m, to redevelop an RAF base in East Anglia. The.... more
(15 August 2007 00:00)

Thief jailed for equipment scam
A criminal who pretended to act for McNicholas Construction has been jailed for three years after hiring more than £100,000-worth of equipment.... more
(15 August 2007 00:00)

Sustainable construction: reality or myth?
The Chartered Institute of Building's survey on sustainability reveals an industry keen to deliver a greener built environment, but demanding.... more
(15 August 2007 00:00)

Distributors look to North America for cheaper wood
With timber shortages continuing to drive up prices, distributors are considering looking to North America to source more economical materials. .... more
(15 August 2007 00:00)

Specification focus: Heating & Ventilation: Which technology works best?
Neil Gerrard asks two industry experts to help him make sense of the different micro-generation technologies on the market. more
(15 August 2007 00:00)

Garic streamlines with move to new premises
Garic, which specialises in the hire and manufacture of bowsers, wheel wash systems, interceptor drip trays and welfare units, has moved its existing.... more
(15 August 2007 00:00)

Site Report: Asda store: Asda sells sustainability
What does sustainability mean to supermarket giant Asda? Paul Howard asked the chain's head of change management Bob Simpson about the.... more
(15 August 2007 00:00)

Plant hirers leading the way in fleet investment
Hire firms make up 35 of the 75 biggest mobile plant fleets and have a GBV of £4.9bn. more
(15 August 2007 00:00)

CBL chairman Barford dies
Clive Barford, chairman of compact equipment specialist CBL, died suddenly on 30 July. Having trained as an accountant, he joined the family.... more
(15 August 2007 00:00)

How to: manage a major promotion
Managing a major promotion is second only to divorce in terms of life stress, according to research from HR consultancy DDI. more
(15 August 2007 00:00)

Corporate manslaughter: Legal Q&As
The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Bill received Royal Assent last month: are you ready? more
(15 August 2007 00:00)

M6 scheme in doubt as costs soar to £2.9bn
Fears are growing that a major motorway widening scheme on the M6 will be binned after cost estimates for the scheme ballooned to £2.9bn. The.... more
(15 August 2007 00:00)

Legal commentary: Construction Act amendments
Last week, I looked at the Construction Act changes that are unlikely to cause strong objections. But this week I'm considering those that will,.... more
(15 August 2007 00:00)

Amec fails to sate Morgan's appetite
Morgan Sindall still has a war-chest for further acquisitions, even after the recent £26m deal that saw it snap up some chunky bits of Amec: it.... more
(15 August 2007 00:00)

Specification focus: Heating & Ventilation: Lean, mean, heating machines
Heating and ventilation contractors are uniquely placed to encourage clients and specifiers to make greener decisions. These case studies show how.... more
(15 August 2007 00:00)

Comment: Who should lead the sustainability charge?
Following on from the results of CIOB's sustainable construction survey, James Atkinson asks who should lead the charge for sustainability in the.... more
(15 August 2007 00:00)

CLM appoints new programme director
Ian Galloway has been appointed programme director of Olympic delivery partner CLM. more
(14 August 2007 14:35)

Grafton Group makes interim pre-tax profit of £72m
Grafton Group, the builders’ merchants and DIY group, has made a pre-tax profit of £72m in the first half of 2007, down £8m on the £80m figure in the.... more
(14 August 2007 11:00)

Newspaper roundup: 14 August
What the papers are saying about construction on Tuesday 14 August. more
(14 August 2007 10:28)

Fire on Mansell development in Hatfield
An 84-unit timber-framed block of flats being built by Mansell burned to the ground in Hatfield, Herts, over the weekend. more
(14 August 2007 10:21)