Articles by Date : November 29 2004 - December 05 2004

Jarvis agrees sale of PFI bidding arm to Hochtief
Jarvis has reached agreement with Hochtief Developments (UK) to dispose of its PFI bidding business for £1.2m. more
(03 December 2004 17:05)

Wolseley is 'most admired' firm in construction
Wolseley is the highest placed construction-related firm in Management Today's Most Admired League Table 2004. more
(03 December 2004 12:35)

Savill fined £4k after employee falls from height
Savill Fabrications has been fined £4,000 after one of its employees suffered serious injuries after a fall from height at a construction site in.... more
(03 December 2004 12:20)

NFB applauds national training programme proposal
The National Federation of Builders (NFB) has applauded the Chancellor's proposal for a national training programme as outlined in his Pre-Budget.... more
(03 December 2004 11:26)

Products group dismay at threat to maintenance spending
The Construction Products Association has expressed its concern at the Chancellor's decision to raid nearly one billion pounds from previously.... more
(03 December 2004 11:18)

Briggs & Forrester merges M&E units
Briggs & Forrester, the £100m-a-year turnover building services contractor, has merged its mechanical services and electrical services divisions. more
(03 December 2004 10:59)

Countryside's profit tumbles
Housebuilder Countryside Prop-erties has unveiled a woeful set of financial results, with pre-tax profit crashing to £16m (£36m). more
(03 December 2004 10:58)

Erinaceous spend pays off
Erinaceous, the property services group, has reported a pre-tax profit of £1.6m (£1.2m) on a £38m (£21m) turnover in the six months to 30.... more
(03 December 2004 10:57)

CPA concern at EC directive
The Construction Plant-hire Association (CPA) has issued a warning about the disruption a proposed European Commission directive could cause to the.... more
(03 December 2004 10:57)

Daewoo gets ready for new owner and new kit
Daewoo is planning to enter the zero tailswing and telehandler markets once its sale to Doosan has gone through. more
(03 December 2004 10:55)

Five gear up for Welsh road scheme
Five firms have finally hit the road for a massively delayed roads deal in north Wales, amid accusations that the client has kept contractors in the.... more
(03 December 2004 10:54)

Twelve win £500m Toon housing deal
Twelve contractors have unlocked a £500m housing improvement bonanza in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. more
(03 December 2004 10:50)

Amey and BEAR await Scots trunk roads fate
Amey Highways and BEAR Scotland will know soon whether their Scottish trunk roads maintenance contracts will be extended beyond the initial five.... more
(03 December 2004 10:49)

Public and private sectors must communicate better
Customers and suppliers in construction must improve communication, recognise mutual dependency, and work collaboratively to create win-win.... more
(03 December 2004 10:46)

Trio wins West Midlands regen job
Taylor Woodrow is one of three contractors chosen for a £350m social housing regeneration programme in the West Midlands. more
(03 December 2004 10:45)

Q3 output improves 7% to £25.8bn
Construction output in the third quarter increased 7% compared with the same period a year ago to reach a total of £25.8bn. more
(03 December 2004 09:48)

Aukett sells 49% of Italian jv
Aukett, the listed architecture practice, has sold 49% of its 50% interest in its Italian joint venture Aukett and Garretti to its partner DIGIT for.... more
(03 December 2004 08:42)

Peterhouse delivers goods for Babcock
Babcock International is delighted to have the former Peterhouse Group on board. more
(02 December 2004 17:09)

Steel industry expects steady prices in 2005
The steel industry is optimistic about steel prices in 2005 after China raised interest rates to slow expansion. more
(02 December 2004 17:08)

Further delays for Jarvis fire stations
Jarvis is expected to run more than six months late on its £30m fire station PFI on Tyneside. more
(02 December 2004 17:07)

Health minister promises ProCure 21 transfer to DoH
Industry campaigners were hailing a victory this week following confirmation that ProCure 21 will be transferred to the Department of Health (DoH).... more
(02 December 2004 17:07)

Two bag £340m Westminster job
Two consortia have won five-year infrastructure term contracts worth up to £340.5m in total with the City of Westminster. more
(02 December 2004 17:06)

'We've been robbed,' says UCATT chief
"There is a very real feeling that we have been robbed," said Alan Ritchie, general secretary of UCATT, as he confirmed that his union has rejected.... more
(02 December 2004 17:05)

Sector skills will aid industry performance
A professional industry, fully skilled and delivering what customers require will be the end result when the sector skills agreement (SSA) is fully.... more
(02 December 2004 17:05)

Inspector slams training
The quality of construction training and the level of trainee achievement have been severely criticised by David Sherlock, the government's chief.... more
(02 December 2004 17:04)

Parmar's partner in crime faces sentence
Only one of the two subcontractors accused of helping convicted conman Paul Parmar defraud three contractors of nearly £900,000 was found guilty of.... more
(02 December 2004 17:03)

Steinweg hit by domestic slump
German construction hoist and lift manufacturer Steinweg is restructuring operations as its domestic market remains stagnant. more
(02 December 2004 17:03)

Lafarge buys Riskend readymix division
Lafarge has bought the readymix business of Scottish materials firm Riskend Aggregates. more
(02 December 2004 17:02)

CITB-ConstructionSkills is on the case
CITB-ConstructionSkills operations director Howard Maylard said: "The construction industry is aware of many of the key themes raised in the report.... more
(02 December 2004 17:01)

Review will aim to make Construction Act clearer
Last week in Contract Journal I examined the review that has been carried out under the chairmanship of Sir Michael Latham into the adjudication.... more
(02 December 2004 17:01)

TT helps out with borehole
TT UK has assisted Stockton Drilling of Wakefield with a project to install a sewer effluent outfall pipeline from a new pumping station into the.... more
(02 December 2004 16:59)

Microwave demolition eyed for future
The use of microwave technology to break up structures is being investigated by the Institute of Demolition Engineers (IDE). more
(02 December 2004 16:59)

Support grows for UK directive stance
Support is growing in the European Parliament for the UK's opposition to the Working Time Directive (WTD) and the Temporary Agency Workers Directive.... more
(02 December 2004 16:58)

Construction sludge use
Sewage sludge is being diverted from the land and used in construction, according to a report by the Construction Industry Research Information.... more
(02 December 2004 16:57)

Workers face pensions crisis
Thousands of construction workers face spending their retirement years below the breadline, Age Concern has warned. more
(02 December 2004 16:57)

Social housing PFIs gather pace
Social housing PFIs are set to gather significant momentum, as long as both public and private sector participants act to mitigate the risks.... more
(02 December 2004 16:56)

Mouchel Parkman wins Oxfordshire council contract
Mouchel Parkman has been named preferred bidder for Oxfordshire County Council's integrated construction and property-related professional.... more
(02 December 2004 16:55)

Rok's £100m build boost
Rok has clinched £100m-worth of new building maintenance work with insurance company Royal & Sun Alliance (R&SA). more
(02 December 2004 16:55)

Wilkinson admits to 'lapse' on timber use
Wilkinson Eyre Architects, the architect working on Mowlem's National Waterfront Museum in Swansea, has admitted to a "very minor lapse" in the.... more
(02 December 2004 16:54)

NHS deal for Wolseley UK
Wolseley UK has won a four-year deal as preferred supplier to the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency. more
(02 December 2004 16:53)

Higgins pays in 20 days
Higgins Group's reputation for paying subcontractors quickly continues, with latest annual results revealing that average payment time ran to just 20.... more
(02 December 2004 16:52)

Sir Robert PFI hospital hit by technical bug
Sir Robert McAlpine's ailing £160m Dudley Hospitals PFI contract took a turn for the worse this week when hospital chiefs announced that the opening.... more
(02 December 2004 16:52)

Materials shortage may pose production threat
A chronic shortage of materials could threaten the production of building materials such as damp proof and roofing, and there will be substantial.... more
(02 December 2004 16:51)

Timely workshops
The Freight Transport Association (FTA) is running a series of 'Working Time' workshops ahead of the new directive coming into force in March. more
(02 December 2004 16:51)

New programmes on CPD site
More new programmes are being added to Contract Journal's continuous professional development service CPD Construction in December: more
(02 December 2004 16:50)

Mitie sells scaffolding arm
The sale of scaffolding subsidiary Mitie Generation to a management buy-out (MBO) team knocked a £9m hole in Mitie Group's latest interim results. more
(02 December 2004 16:49)

RICS calls for VAT rethink
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has called on the government to tackle the issue of VAT rates on residential newbuild and.... more
(02 December 2004 16:49)

Government rolls out fourth wave of NHS LIFT schemes
The long-awaited £171m, fourth wave of NHS LIFT schemes was launched by health secretary John Reid last week. more
(02 December 2004 16:48)

Safety passport to be mandatory
RMC has announced that from 1 April next year no contractors will be allowed to work on any of its sites or quarries without a Safety Passport. more
(02 December 2004 16:45)

Amec buys Spanish maintenance firm
Amec has bought a Spanish mutli-technical maintenance company for an undisclosed sum. more
(02 December 2004 15:29)