Articles by Date : April 28 2008 - May 04 2008

David McLean: £5m loss after two exceptional hits
David McLean has dived into the red to the tune of £4.9m after suffering from two exceptional hits. more
(02 May 2008 15:00)

Credit squeeze causes 56% rise in builders' calls for help
Record numbers of builders are seeking legal advice over the phone to deal with mounting numbers of customers who do not pay their bills. more
(02 May 2008 14:01)

Aukett Fitzroy Robinson names new chairman
Aukett Fitzroy Robinson, the quoted international architect, has announced that Tim Hodgson will be its next non-executive chairman. more
(02 May 2008 12:00)

Housebuilding: new-build market slumps
This spring has seen the number of reservations of new-build houses and flats plummet by two thirds as potential homebuyers struggle to secure a.... more
(02 May 2008 11:28)

World's longest sea bridge - PHOTO
The world’s longest sea bridge was opened yesterday across the Hangzhou Bay in China. more
(02 May 2008 11:09)

Housebuilding falling short of government targets
Government plans to ease the housing crisis are on the brink of collapse. more
(02 May 2008 11:04)

Northern Ireland's Maze stadium plans abandoned
Plans to build a £140m national sports stadium in Northern Ireland have been abandoned today. more
(02 May 2008 10:57)

Prince of Wales' new eco-town gets green light
Planners have given the go-ahead to Prince Charles' new Devon eco-development, billed as Britain’s greenest town. more
(02 May 2008 10:53)

Roofing boss charged with manslaughter
The owner of a roofing firm has been charged with the manslaughter of a worker who died after falling through a skylight. more
(02 May 2008 10:31)

Steel cost blamed for construction delay to Olympic training facility
The rising cost of steel has been blamed for the delay to construction of a £29m sports facility in the running to host Olympic training sessions in.... more
(02 May 2008 10:14)

M V Kelly again holds profit margin above 4%
M V Kelly, the groundworks and civil engineering group, made a 4.0% profit margin last year as pre-tax profit ran to £1.9m. more
(02 May 2008 10:00)

Best Places to Work in 2008 - The Shortlist
The shortlist for this year’s Contract Journal Best Places to Work in Construction is out – and if you are on it, many congratulations. more
(02 May 2008 00:00)

Andrews Sykes: £12m profit on £60m turnover
Andrews Sykes, the air conditioning plant hire specialist, made a pre-tax profit of £12m last year on turnover of £60m. more
(01 May 2008 17:00)

Construction, housing, property, machinery blogs
Latest from ContractJournal.com construction blogs. more
(01 May 2008 12:56)

Holloway White Allom: financial restructuring complete
Holloway White Allom has said ‘no’ to all its bidders and is to remain independent. more
(01 May 2008 12:00)

Bid-rigging: US law firm lines up to represent clients
A US law firm is to offer public sector clients the chance to sue building contractors found guilty of anti-competitive tendering practices following.... more
(01 May 2008 11:29)

Insulation business Superglass shares surge 9%
Scottish insulation manufacturer Superglass has seen its shares surge as it cashes in on the UK government’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions from.... more
(01 May 2008 10:52)

£2bn offshore wind farm's future under threat
Plans for a £2bn offshore wind farm are under threat because oil company Shell, one of its biggest backers, has pulled out. more
(01 May 2008 10:40)

£126m worth of road upgrades announced in South Lanarkshire
South Lanarkshire Council has pledged to spend £126m to improve more than 80% of its roads by 2016. more
(01 May 2008 10:20)

SMEs given access to 3,000 public sector contracts
Small- and medium-sized (SMEs) contractors have been given greater access to public sector contracts under a new trial launched today by the.... more
(01 May 2008 10:14)

1+1 = New construction carbon calculator unveiled
A free online carbon calculator that could keep budgets on track has been developed to help the construction industry go green. more
(01 May 2008 10:02)

Rok: turnover up 20% in 2008 first quarter
Rok is feeling distinctly rosy. No wonder, turnover for the first quarter of 2008 was up by more than 20% over the previous year. more
(01 May 2008 10:00)

Balfour Beatty completes £180m American military PPP deal
Balfour Beatty has completed the £180m acquisition of a military PPP accommodation business in America. more
(01 May 2008 10:00)

29,000 Olympic pools worth of CO2 saved by Millennium Homes
New data shows Millennium Community homes like those built in Greenwich can save enough carbon dioxide to fill 29,000 Olympic swimming pools every 30.... more
(01 May 2008 00:01)

Everest fined after work at height breaches
Double glazing and roofing firm Everest has been fined £6,000 and ordered to pay £15,963.25 costs after its workers were found to be repeatedly.... more
(30 April 2008 16:58)

Wren Homes: no sales in six months to end of January
Wren Homes, the AIM-listed retirement homes operator, has announced an interim loss of £390,000 as a result of not having made any sales during the.... more
(30 April 2008 16:00)

Holloway White Allom makes £5m profit and margin of 7.8%
Holloway White Allom, the Mayfair specialist refurbishment contractor, has enjoyed a rise in profit margin to 7.8% in what managing director Bob Cole.... more
(30 April 2008 15:00)

Number of construction firms facing financial problems doubles
Construction is the sector registering the most “critical problems” with the number of firms voicing distress more than doubling from the same period.... more
(30 April 2008 12:25)

Lily Allen in sustainably-built studio
Lily Allen is backing the call for changes to the Energy Bill to give homeowners and businesses an incentive to install solar panels, after working.... more
(30 April 2008 12:18)

Restructured contractor: we'll never be a subbie again
Directors at an Exeter-based contractor have vowed never to work as a subcontractor again after it was forced into a Company Voluntary Agreement.... more
(30 April 2008 11:53)

Year-on-year house prices fall for first time in 12 years
Year-on-year house prices in the UK have fallen for the first time in over a decade. more
(30 April 2008 11:36)

Fitzpatrick lifts profit margin from 2.6% to 3.2%
Fitzpatrick’s latest annual turnover of £370m generated a profit margin of 3.2%, the performance being an improvement over the previous figure of.... more
(30 April 2008 11:00)

Half of EU migrant workers have left the UK
Half of the one million EU migrants who have come to Britain since 2004 have already gone back home, a survey published today has revealed. more
(30 April 2008 10:48)

Economic crisis could cause Olympic budget to rise
The cost of the 2012 Olympics could rise further because of the global credit crisis and falling house prices, the government has admitted. more
(30 April 2008 10:21)

Hand-made straw home built in Wales
A hand-made environmentally-friendly home made of straw has been built in Wales. more
(30 April 2008 10:12)

Balfour Beatty wins £200m of work on world's longest railway tunnel
Balfour Beatty has won a £200m contract to install the rail systems in the Gotthard tunnel. more
(30 April 2008 09:00)

MPs slam Olympic budget blowouts and venue designs
Olympic Games officials are “willing to spend money like water”, MPs claim in a report that labels the 2012 Aquatics Centre as over-designed and.... more
(30 April 2008 00:01)

Bid-rigging: Secret club exposed
Contractors have been meeting to fix prices in a series of shady get-togethers known as the "Calorie Club". more
(30 April 2008 00:01)

Why is there bad news ahead for bricks & blocks?
Since the peak of the building blocks market in 2003, the industry has seen a fall in demand. more
(30 April 2008 00:00)

Two more fatal falls from height
Two men were killed last week in falls from London building sites at Westminster and Wandsworth. more
(30 April 2008 00:00)

JCT calls for contractors to prove 'greenness'
Building contracts containing clauses forcing contractors to be environmentally friendly could be introduced as early as next year. The Joint.... more
(30 April 2008 00:00)

Persimmon halts work on sites as downturn bites
Housebuilding subcontractors suffered another blow this week after Persimmon revealed it is pausing work on 30 sites across this country. more
(30 April 2008 00:00)

HBG picks up £460m-worth of health schemes.
HBG has picked-up two health schemes worth a combined total of £460m. more
(30 April 2008 00:00)

Mixed bag of money for PFI
A mixed economy of funding sources for major public-sector projects is emerging as the PFI market matures, Partnerships UK chief James Stewart told.... more
(30 April 2008 00:00)

Public meets private in 4Ps
A networking forum for organisations involved in delivering major public-sector projects is to be launched in September by the Public Private.... more
(30 April 2008 00:00)

Economy hits building plans
More than 50% of councils will cut back on building work in the financial downturn, according to a survey by the Public Private Partnership Programme.... more
(30 April 2008 00:00)

Authorities get ready for school
Up to 10 new Building Schools for the Future schemes, worth an estimated £750m, are to be let this summer, ahead of schedule, as part of.... more
(30 April 2008 00:00)

BSF looks to developers to tighten construction costs
Contractor-led consortia bidding for Building Schools for the Future (BSF) schemes are facing increased competition from developers... more
(30 April 2008 00:00)

English Partnerships expands Carbon Challenge
English Partnerships wants to develop three more sites as part of its Carbon Challenge project - despite predicting more builders will drop out of.... more
(30 April 2008 00:00)

Funding the key to avoiding Olympic legal wranglings
Throwing even more money at London 2012 will be the key to saving the Olympics from descending into a Wembley-style legal bloodbath sparked by.... more
(30 April 2008 00:00)