Articles by Date : October 15 2007 - October 21 2007

Hewlett Civil Engineering unveils pre-tax profit of £820,000
Hewlett Civil Engineering has made a pre-tax profit of £820,000 on a turnover of £43m. more
(19 October 2007 16:00)

Alfred McAlpine fights back from three front attack
Today could prove to be the day when Alfred McAlpine fights its fiercest battle for survival. more
(19 October 2007 14:00)

William Sapcote & Sons fails to find a buyer
All 120 employees of beleagured Birmingham contractor William Sapcote & Sons have lost their jobs, as the firm announced that it has failed to find a.... more
(19 October 2007 12:59)

Alfred McAlpine: major shareholder happy with Carillion's offer of 570p a share
One of McAlpine’s major shareholders has announced this morning that it likes the Carillion’s take-over offer of 570p a share. more
(19 October 2007 09:00)

Contractor boss fined after asbestos exposure
A Preston-based contractor has been fined £10,000 after exposing two workers from another company to asbestos. more
(18 October 2007 11:56)

Imtech establishes foothold in Ireland, buys Suir Engineering
Imtech has taken its first step to establish a presence in Ireland with the acquisition of Suir Engineering for £20m. more
(18 October 2007 11:00)

Newspaper roundup: 18 October
The news in the nationals on 18 October 2007 more
(18 October 2007 10:56)

May Gurney swoops for gas utility contractor Willows Plant
May Gurney has acquired Willows Plant, a gas utility maintenance contractor based in the north west of England. more
(18 October 2007 10:00)

Balfour Beatty buys Covion to boost fm capabilitiies
Balfour Beatty has paid £33m for Covion. The move boosts Balfour’s reach into the facilities management sector. more
(18 October 2007 09:00)

Carillion shares fall with McAlpine bid
News of Carillion’s £580m offer for Alfred McAlpine took a little swallowing in the City. more
(17 October 2007 16:00)

Law Lords rule out compensation for asbestos-related pleural plaques
Construction workers suffering from pleural plaques contracted from working with asbestos will no longer be eligible for compensation, following a.... more
(17 October 2007 15:12)

Chalcroft Construction: turnover down to £34m as a result of delayed starts to projects
Chalcroft Construction, the subject of a recent management buy-out, has issued its latest annual financial result which show pre-tax profit trimmed.... more
(17 October 2007 15:00)

Roofing boss to be charged with manslaughter
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is set to charge a Welsh roofing firm boss with manslaughter following the death of a teenage employee. more
(17 October 2007 14:13)

Carillion will not go hostile over Alfred McAlpine says source
Carillion has no plans to launch a hostile bid in its quest to acquire Alfred McAlpine, a source has told the Reuters news agency today. more
(17 October 2007 11:43)

Newspaper roundup: 17 October
The news in the nationals on 17 October 2007. more
(17 October 2007 10:54)

Hackney suspends Kier from housing framework
Suspension is the latest in a series of problems that include subcontractor disputes and claims of poor partnering. more
(17 October 2007 09:00)

Atkins sees off rivals on £266m Area 6 MAC job
Atkins is the preferred bidder on the £266m Area 6 MAC Highways Agency maintenance deal. more
(17 October 2007 08:30)

William Sapcote & Sons sinks into administration
Firm goes under after failing to pay off creditors' bills totalling around £600,000. more
(17 October 2007 07:00)

Ardmore set to go solo on troubled Barbican scheme
Mace may be dropped from JV as developer Heron raises concerns over project costs. more
(17 October 2007 07:00)

Balfour made to enlarge new school
Balfour Beatty has been ordered back on site after building a school too small. more
(17 October 2007 06:00)

B&CE set to gain from the ending of NI concessions
Contractors can benefit until 2020, when NI exemption on holiday pay finishes. more
(17 October 2007 05:00)

Bovis expands in the North with Elite purchase
Bovis Homes has bought Elite Homes for £26m in cash. more
(17 October 2007 04:00)

Three chase National Audit Office revamp
Three rivals have thrown their hats into the ring for a high-profile deal in London involving a major revamp of the nerve centre of public-spending.... more
(17 October 2007 04:00)

PFI gives £400m boost to waste schemes
The pace of privately financed (PFI) waste management schemes is set to increase after Chancellor Alistair Darling revealed an additional £400m a.... more
(17 October 2007 03:00)

NG Bailey's Mark Andrews: Rant
One of the most frustrating challenges facing the construction industry is the lack of talented people, due to their lack of knowledge of working in.... more
(17 October 2007 00:00)

Tory attack on BSF dismissed as 'utter rubbish'
A Conservative Party claim that the government's £45bn Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme will be abandoned once schools in deprived.... more
(17 October 2007 00:00)

TfL set to go it alone for Metronet Tube bids
Transport for London (TfL) looked set to be the sole bidder for Metronet Rail's Tube contracts this week, as the failed consortium's administrator.... more
(17 October 2007 00:00)

Bidders voice worries over changing Olympic job specs
Contractors bidding for £300m-worth of Olympic infrastructure work have complained about constant changes to the job specification. more
(17 October 2007 00:00)

FJ Chalcroft hit by fine following worker death
Magistrates at Nottingham Crown Court have fined a Norfolk construction company £260,000 and ordered it to pay £80,000 in costs after one of its.... more
(17 October 2007 00:00)

Freyssinet ties up deal with Makers UK
Freyssinet has acquired the majority of the Northern Infrastructure business assets of Makers UK, a subsidiary of Keller Group. more
(17 October 2007 00:00)

Aukett Fitzroy Robinson's SMC merger plan hits the ropes
Revelation of £4.5m loss proves knockout blow top 5 global aspiration evaporates. more
(17 October 2007 00:00)

More investment needed if waste targets are to be met
CIWM urges radical changes in the infrastructure and practices of waste management. more
(17 October 2007 00:00)

HMRC faces legal battle over travel expenses
Tax experts are poised to take legal action against HM Revenue & Customs in a bid to save construction workers from huge travel expenses bills. more
(17 October 2007 00:00)

Skilled laggers guaranteed work on major sites
Thousands of laggers have been guaranteed work on major sites such as the Olympics following a deal between the GMB union and the Thermal Insulation.... more
(17 October 2007 00:00)

RJ McLeod bags £19.7m A77 Scots roads deal
RJ McLeod has netted a road revamp deal for Transport Scotland, but at a price at least £10m more than the original estimate for the job. The A77.... more
(17 October 2007 00:00)

Pre-Budget Report gets warm response
The Construction Products Association has broadly welcomed the Chancellor's spending plans following last week's Pre-Budget Report. more
(17 October 2007 00:00)

Steel sales set to carry on growing
Volume sales of UK structural steel are expected to demonstrate year-on-year growth, culminating in overall growth of 8% to 1.8m tonnes in 2012,.... more
(17 October 2007 00:00)

E Scotland housing scheme is split between eight
A mix of regional and national players have homed in on a £90m housing deal in eastern Scotland. more
(17 October 2007 00:00)

New fears over prosecution of plant thieves
Fresh concerns have been raised over how seriously the criminal justice system takes plant theft following the alleged inaction of Doncaster Police.... more
(17 October 2007 00:00)

QPA fears EU soil directive will pose regulatory burden
The Quarry Products Association (QPA) has warned that operators may have to suffer the cost of double regulation if new EU legislation on soil.... more
(17 October 2007 00:00)

JCB expands WasteMaster range to meet green targets
Firm adds 19 machines in bid to meet government's landfill and recycling demands. more
(17 October 2007 00:00)

Five in the frame for HA's £50m Midlands road work
Midlands Framework 3 maintenance scheme packages will be worth up to £8m each. more
(17 October 2007 00:00)

Two-way battle for Wilts school
Two firms have gone head-to-head in the closing stages of the battle for a £22m school deal in Wiltshire. more
(17 October 2007 00:00)

Specialist focus: Earthmoving: Site safety
Between 10% and 20% of all the bombs dropped on the UK in World War II failed to detonate on impact - and far too many are still buried in the.... more
(17 October 2007 00:00)

Birse Civils' Clanway Farm earthmoving project
Birse Civils is undertaking a major earthmoving project at Clanway Farm near Stoke-on-Trent. The scheme calls for the removal of 400,000m3 of.... more
(17 October 2007 00:00)

Chance of a reality TV job
Piling and foundations specialist Abbey Pinford agreed to let a TV crew record a programme where three young offenders were given the chance to win a.... more
(17 October 2007 00:00)

Letters - 17 October 2007
Letters to the editor on 17 October 2007 more
(17 October 2007 00:00)

Case law analysis: Termination and good faith
Could a recent ruling in the Australian courts have implications for English law? more
(17 October 2007 00:00)

Legal commentary: Matron knows best even for PFI
Alex Mosson of SLS Solicitors argues that exemplar models for NHS PFI schemes make good sense. more
(17 October 2007 00:00)

Ashley House's positive outlook
Ashley House, a player in the primary care infrastructure sector, has issued a trading update. more
(17 October 2007 00:00)