Articles by Date : July 30 2007 - August 05 2007

Costain wins £76m road scheme in south Wales
Costain has accelerated past four rivals to take the chequered flag for a delayed £76m roads deal in south Wales. more
(03 August 2007 16:34)

Enterprise plc makes £25m pre-tax profit
Enterprise, the UK support services player that snapped up Accord for £150m last week, made a pre-tax profit of £25m on turnover of £640m. more
(03 August 2007 15:00)

John Sisk lifts profit margin to 2.4%
John Sisk has reported a profit margin of 2.4% from operations during 2006, a lift from a figure of 1.5% in the previous year. more
(03 August 2007 11:00)

Tarmac sale: Anglo looking for offers
Anglo-American has confirmed that it is ready to listen to offers for Tarmac. The asphalt and building materials business is expected to fetch around.... more
(03 August 2007 10:53)

Newspaper roundup: 3 August
The news from the national newspapers on 3 August 2007. more
(03 August 2007 10:49)

Construction product prices continue to rise
Tender prices continue to soar, particularly for large and complex projects in Central London, according to a report by cost management consultancy.... more
(03 August 2007 10:40)

Balfour Beatty spend £9m on bolt-on acquisitions
Balfour Beatty has spent £9m on three bolt-on acquisitions, two of them in the UK and one in Sweden. more
(02 August 2007 13:00)

John Doyle unveils £2.7m pre-tax profit
John Doyle’s turnover in 2006 ran to £180m, with £110m of this being won in the eight months following a management buy-out led by Rob Johnson, chief.... more
(02 August 2007 10:00)

Alfred McAlpine to demerge - two sons expected to be born next year
Alfred McAlpine’s torrid times have triggered a drastic response as the group’s PFI concessions to be sold as well as its Slate division. more
(02 August 2007 09:00)

Construction on YouTube
Over the last six months, videos have played an increasingly significant role in breaking stories online. Contract Journal picks out its top.... more
(01 August 2007 16:00)

Enterprise Accord: new trading name after £150m take-over
Following Enterprise’s £150m take-over of Accord, the new £1.1bn-a-year turnover group will trade as Enterprise Accord. more
(01 August 2007 16:00)

Hanson reports drop in profits as takeover is approved
Hanson has recorded a drop in pre-tax profit just a day after its shareholders voted to accept HeidelbergCement’s takeover offer. more
(01 August 2007 11:27)

Newspaper round-up: 1 August
Round-up of the news in the national papers on 1 August 2007. more
(01 August 2007 10:28)

£40m Blackwall tunnel scheme reposted
Transport for London (TfL) has reposted a £40m-plus scheme to refurbish the northbound section of the Blackwall tunnel on the A102. more
(01 August 2007 10:24)

Travis Perkins logs £130m interim pre-tax profit
Travis Perkins enjoyed a 17% jump in its interim pre-tax profit to £130m. Geoff Cooper, chief executive, said that performance in the first half of.... more
(01 August 2007 09:00)

New minister announces agenda for construction
Timms promises to act as a 'critical friend'; key industry figures are optimistic. more
(01 August 2007 08:01)

Uncertain legacy dogs Olympic media centre
Distribution depot a post-Games possibility, but indecision is not helping contractors form accurate bid costs. more
(01 August 2007 08:00)

Crane driver charged with endangering train users
A crane driver has been bailed to reappear in court later this month after the arm of his machine was left dangling from a bridge over railway tracks.... more
(01 August 2007 07:59)

NCC hatches plan to secure future funding
The beleaguered National Construction College (NCC) East at Bircham Newton, Norfolk, has moved a step closer to securing its future after it.... more
(01 August 2007 07:57)

Comment: A shocking indictment
With construction at its busiest period in years, Emma Penny, editor of Contract Journal, warns about the health and safety issues that could face.... more
(01 August 2007 07:55)

Costs escalate on Glasgow museum build
Costs on Glasgow's new Riverside Transport museum have rocketed by £14m and its opening date delayed by 18... more
(01 August 2007 07:54)

Improve supervisor skills or risk more deaths on site
HSC points to lack of trained competent supervisors, as fatalities hit five-year high. more
(01 August 2007 07:51)

Transport for London (TfL) estimates a cool £2.5bn to tackle Tube overheating
Transport for London (TfL) leaders have put a figure of £2.5bn on the scheme to cool the capital's overheated Tube network. A six-strong.... more
(01 August 2007 07:50)

Unions set to accept ODA employment conditions
A memorandum of agreement on employment conditions on the 2012 Olympic construction project looks set to be signed by all parties. Unofficial.... more
(01 August 2007 07:49)

Bosses paid less in construction
Senior construction executives are still being paid less than bosses in other industries, new research has shown. The study, by executive.... more
(01 August 2007 07:48)

Insurance repair firms create trade association
Insurance repair contractors have joined forces to form a national trade association to improve confidence in the sector. The creation of the.... more
(01 August 2007 07:44)

Gangmasters switch focus to construction
GLA chief predicts 'horror scenario' unless there is a crack-down on rogue operators. more
(01 August 2007 07:40)

Constructing Better Health up and running
The long-awaited Constructing Better Health scheme was launched today (Wednesday) as the largest ever industry occupational health contract was.... more
(01 August 2007 07:39)

Welsh firms shut after insolvency investigation
The High Court has wound up two Welsh construction firms after an insolvency service investigation revealed that a prominent manager in both.... more
(01 August 2007 07:35)

Plumbers set to accept 9% pay increase
Plumbers are set to agree a new two-year pay deal worth upwards of 9%. The offer from plumbing employers is worth 4.5% in 2008, followed by 4.5%.... more
(01 August 2007 07:32)

Six win share of £85m Haringey BSF scheme
Haringey Council will run mini-tender competitions to decide how work is split. more
(01 August 2007 07:29)

Mulalley joins big guns on housing job
Family-run contractor Mulalley has joined major league players in the line-up for a £300m housing revamp deal in south London. Also earmarked to.... more
(01 August 2007 07:25)

Wates doing the Lambeth work
Wates has stifled three rivals to knock up a £22m housing revamp deal in south London. Higgins and Hill Partnerships were also in contention during... more
(01 August 2007 07:25)

Skanska in rude health with 44% turnover hike
Hospital PFI work contributes to £610m turnover, as firm reports strong orderbook. more
(01 August 2007 07:00)

May Gurney buys FDT for £3.5m
May Gurney has bought FDT, a Manchester-based mobile telecoms inspection and maintenance specialist, for £3.5m. FDT has 90 employees. Following a.... more
(01 August 2007 06:59)

Lindum unveils record pre-tax profit of £5.9m
Lindum Group's turnover of £80m has left the Lincoln-based construction group with a record pre-tax profit of £5.9m. The figures cover the 12.... more
(01 August 2007 06:58)

Renew acquires Seymour Civils
Renew has bought Seymour (Civil Engineering Contractors), which operates in the water sector, for £6.8m. Based in Hartlepool and founded in 1978,.... more
(01 August 2007 06:53)

Accord and ASI unite to promote Rhinophalt
Both firms claim the new surface treatment can extend the lifespan of existing roads. more
(01 August 2007 05:02)

The inside line on...quick hitches
Where is the problem with quick hitches? Around 13% of accidents involving excavators are attributed to quick hitches - mostly fatalities and.... more
(01 August 2007 00:02)

Leavers & Joiners: 1 August 2007
This week's appointments in the construction industry. more
(01 August 2007 00:00)

Seven share £80m new-build scheme
Seven contractors have won £80m-worth of new-build housing work in the West Midlands. The line-up for Sandwell Borough Council's deal is Lovell,.... more
(01 August 2007 00:00)

Egger axes green dye for greener results
Chipboard manufacturer Egger UK has removed a green dye from the production of its moisture-resistant Weyroc flooring products to make them more.... more
(01 August 2007 00:00)

H+H becomes first aircrete firm to gain EEAS approval
H+H UK has staked a claim to being the first aircrete manufacturer and the first firm in the precast concrete sector to achieve accreditation under.... more
(01 August 2007 00:00)

Rant! : SUMO Services' Mike Bushell
Historic 'as built' records of underground utility assets are not accurate enough. The government's solution is the new 'Mapping the Underworld'.... more
(01 August 2007 00:00)

Heritage skills in high demand
With so much emphasis on new build, the heritage sector is the Cinderella of construction, but it's growing in importance. Emma Penny investigates. more
(01 August 2007 00:00)

Safety focus: RNLI saves Lagan and its dummy
Contract Journal visited Warrenpoint Harbour in County Down to witness Lagan Construction and the RNLI working together on safety measures. more
(01 August 2007 00:00)

Trainers cry 'foul' over CPCS scheme proposals
Objections to the proposed changes to the Construction Plant Competence Scheme (CPCS) have emerged during a series of roadshows... more
(01 August 2007 00:00)

Case Law analysis: Concurrent adjudication and litigation
Will the courts grant a temporary stay of court proceedings pending adjudication. more
(01 August 2007 00:00)

Climbing the ladder: Mark Johnson
Mark Johnson, vice president, design & management EMEA region, Johnson Controls Global WorkPlace Solutions. more
(01 August 2007 00:00)

Manitowoc has purchased Indian tower crane manufacturer Shirke
Manitowoc has purchased Indian tower crane manufacturer Shirke, which it says will boost its worldwide production capacity. The company, based in... more
(01 August 2007 00:00)