Articles by Date : November 13 2006 - November 19 2006

New Holland machine stars in Casino Royale
New Holland's W190B will be making its big-screen debut in the new Bond film, Casino Royale. more
(16 November 2006 00:00)

Editor's comment: A welcome upheaval
For too long, construction firms have faced local authorities who are unwilling to change their procurement methods, insist on completion of reams of.... more
(15 November 2006 17:35)

Atlas Ward switches pension assets into bonds
The deficit in the Atlas Ward Holdings pension scheme now stands at £4.5m, representing a rise of £1.2m over the previous figure. more
(15 November 2006 12:00)

S Harrison Group unveils £1.9m loss
S Harrison Group is the second construction group to announce a loss this morning. After a pre-tax profit of £3.2m in 2004, it stumbled to a £1.9m.... more
(15 November 2006 11:00)

£2m loss at John F. Hunt Demolition
John F. Hunt Demolition has gone into the red after unveiling a pre-tax loss of more than £2m. more
(15 November 2006 09:00)

Demolish or refurbish: Streets of gold? (Special report on regeneration)
There's growing opposition to government plans to demolish whole swathes of Victorian terraces - but if we refurbish them instead, what's actually.... more
(15 November 2006 00:00)

Do you work for the best employer in construction?
Contract Journal today launches its Best Places to Work in Construction Awards 2007. Find out how to enter here. Whether your firm is shortlisted or.... more
(15 November 2006 00:00)

Site remediation: Filth Avenue (Special report on regeneration)
One of Europe’s most contaminated sites, a 98ha coking works near Chesterfield, is undergoing a huge clean-up. Phil Bishop meets the remediation team. more
(15 November 2006 00:00)

Ex-Knowles chiefs urge QSs to merge
Quantity surveyors (QS) who want to release cash but fear that they are far too small to float on the Stock Exchange are being urged to consider a.... more
(15 November 2006 00:00)

Fastline bags Metronet deal
Fastline has won a trackside plant hire contract worth around £5m with Metronet Rail for its London Underground operation. Metronet previously.... more
(15 November 2006 00:00)

Bobcat raises reliability of breaker tool
Bobcat has launched a hydraulic breaker attachment, featuring an internal design with fewer moving parts for greater reliability. more
(15 November 2006 00:00)

Trio in line for £360m Somerset framework
Three contenders are tussling to haul in the largest-ever corporate services framework deal. more
(15 November 2006 00:00)

Possible buy-out at Enterprise
A management buy-out at Enterprise, led by chairman and chief executive Owen McLaughlin, could be on the cards following an unsolicited approach for.... more
(15 November 2006 00:00)

Court imposes fines of £80,000 after fatality
Lyons Landfill and Francis Michael Lyons of Felstead, Essex, have been fined £80,000 and been ordered to pay £35,000 legal costs, following the death.... more
(15 November 2006 00:00)

Mann aims for £70m turnover
Mann Construction, founded in 1996 by Peter Manning and Brian Mulry, has announced an increased turnover of £40m and has unveiled ambitions of taking.... more
(15 November 2006 00:00)

Hire market to grow by 14%
The plant and tool hire market is predicted to grow by 14% by 2011, topping £5bn in total (at 2006 prices), according to latest research from Market.... more
(15 November 2006 00:00)

Housing Corporation and English Partnerships: Regeneration revolution? (Special report on regeneration)
The long-expected merger between the Housing Corporation and English Partnerships seems imminent, and could transform the way regeneration is.... more
(15 November 2006 00:00)

OFT fine hits profit at Prater
Prater, the envelope contractor involved in roofing, cladding and curtain walling activities, enjoyed a surge in turnover to £39m last year. more
(15 November 2006 00:00)

Stuart Milne bags £45m office work
Stewart Milne Construction has secured two office deals in Aberdeen totalling around £45m. An estimated £23m scheme will see a nine-storey office.... more
(15 November 2006 00:00)

Bell eyes depot in Scotland as part of expansion plan
ADT manufacturer Bell is considering opening a depot in Scotland in what may be the first move in expanding its infrastructure ahead of the.... more
(15 November 2006 00:00)

Sutherland in £9.4m Rok share swap
David Sutherland featured in the past month’s biggest share buying deal – it ran to £9.4m and involved the acquisition of shares in Rok. There were.... more
(15 November 2006 00:00)

Case sales rise but residual values drop
Case has heralded an increase in total annual sales of more than 10% as a sign it is over the worst of its UK dealer problems, despite evidence of a.... more
(15 November 2006 00:00)

TowerLight unit combines site lighting with CCTV
Lighting specialist TowerLight has teamed up with security specialists to produce what it claims is a unique concept - a unit that combines site.... more
(15 November 2006 00:00)

‘Green’ Murphy pension deficit grows by £2m
J Murphy and Sons, better known in the construction industry as ‘the green Murphy’, suffered a £2m increase in the deficit of its pension scheme last.... more
(15 November 2006 00:00)

SMEs record upturn in Q3 workloads
Workload and employment among small- and medium-sized firms grew in the quarter June to September, according to the latest figures from the.... more
(15 November 2006 00:00)

HSE to focus on SME safety levels
The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) will be increasing its attention on small-and medium-sized contractors as part of its work programme for next.... more
(15 November 2006 00:00)

Legal case study: Respect the decision
Adjudication has now been a part of life in the construction industry for more than eight years, and it was very quickly established that once a.... more
(15 November 2006 00:00)

King's Cross Central: Argent's major (Special report on regeneration)
Argent's 20-year revelopment of King's Cross Central will open up 27 forgotten hectares of London to a new generation of workers, residents and.... more
(15 November 2006 00:00)

Site remediation: Dust busters (Special report on regeneration)
Tarmac's research team are developing the use of steel slag dust to treat contaminated ex-mining land and make it fit for replanting and development..... more
(15 November 2006 00:00)

Road surfaces given new steel
Researchers at the University of Sheffield are developing a long-lasting road surface material - steel fibre reinforced concrete - using the steel.... more
(15 November 2006 00:00)

Barratt Homes prosecuted for illegal signage
Barratt Homes has been prosecuted for the third time by a local council for putting up signs illegally and fined £17,700. more
(15 November 2006 00:00)

HSE swoops on Hull sites
Four out of ten sites visited by health and safety officials in Hull during a blitz last week were closed because of dangerous working. more
(15 November 2006 00:00)

RMC and Cemex sue Nayler for road resurfacing breach
Asphalt contractors RMC aggregates (Greater London) and Cemex UK Operations are suing Nayler Chemicals for £356,246 in damages for breach of contract.... more
(15 November 2006 00:00)

Bovis and HBG do battle for £80m Liverpool D&B project
The list of contenders for a £75m to £80m deal on Merseyside has been slashed in half by joint clients Neptune Developments and Countryside.... more
(15 November 2006 00:00)

Firms told to prepare for CIS draft subcontractor lists
Contractors are to be given details of their draft subcontractor lists for new CIS by the end of November, either by letter or CD-ROM, from HM.... more
(15 November 2006 00:00)

Bristol hospital PFI to trial EU bid rules
The North Bristol NHS Trust’s £370m privately financed Southmead hospital scheme is to pilot new EU procurement rules which could see three bidders.... more
(15 November 2006 00:00)

Crest Nicholson fends off Castle Bidco
Crest Nicholson has rejected a bid approach by the Castle Bidco consortium at 585p a share, which values Crest at £660m. Castle Bidco attempted to.... more
(15 November 2006 00:00)

Mears' work cut on Sheffield job
Poor performance by Mears Group on the £669m Sheffield Decent Homes framework has led to the company being stripped of much of its workload for the.... more
(15 November 2006 00:00)

Councils face major spending shake-up
Local government is set for a major upheaval in how it spends its £55bn annual budget on goods and services following a report from.... more
(15 November 2006 00:00)

Government told to 'tear up' its green code
Environmental guru Jonathan Porritt believes the government should “tear up” its Code for Sustainable Homes, and should set targets for the industry.... more
(15 November 2006 00:00)

PfS must unite private and public sectors
Tim Byles, the new head of Partnerships for Schools (PfS), must forge a better partnership between the public and private sector if the Building.... more
(15 November 2006 00:00)

OGC unveils plan for education e-auction
The government is to launch a second controversial reverse e-auction (REA) commodities framework contract aimed at the education sector. more
(15 November 2006 00:00)

Hays and CJ mobilise to help the Lighthouse Club
Recruitment specialist Hays and Contract Journal are working together to help raise money for the Lighthouse Club through a mobile phone recycling.... more
(15 November 2006 00:00)

HA defends costly newt rescue
The Highways Agency (HA) has defended the £300,000 cost of relocating a colony of great-crested newts amid national media criticism. more
(15 November 2006 00:00)

Lexia in the market for acquisitions
Lexia Solutions Group, which includes asbestos removal company Rhodar, is on the acquisition trail with six potential targets already on its radar. more
(15 November 2006 00:00)

Does construction enjoy 'thinking outside the box'?
More than half of employees working in the construction sector believe that management jargon, as used by The Office’s David Brent, is a.... more
(15 November 2006 00:00)

Scots workers seek drugs advice
An increasing number of workers in the Scottish construction industry are seeking help for drug abuse, according to one drugs counselling service. more
(15 November 2006 00:00)

Leeds and Hackney BSF deals move on
Significant developments have taken place on two deals worth almost £380m in the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme. more
(15 November 2006 00:00)

Haki pushes for scaffolding code
Dangerously weak scaffolding is continuing to be sold cheaply in this country, according to research done by the Original Scaffolding Equipment.... more
(15 November 2006 00:00)

China economy boom threatens UK firms
Concern is growing that the sharp rise in demand for metals as China's economy booms is hitting the prices of domestic construction products like.... more
(15 November 2006 00:00)