NEWSBRIEF

BALFOUR SIGNS FOR £80 MILLION

Balfour Beatty has signed a contract with developer MEPC for the £80 million redevelopment of the Woolgate Exchange in Basinghall Street, London, EC2. Balfour was appointed back in March this year when MEPC pre-let the 45,080m2 offices to Westdeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale. Balfour Beatty Construction is responsible for the construction, Heery International is managing the design process, Stent Foundations is carrying out a £1 million piling contract and Balfour Kilpatrick has been awarded the £11.2 million M&E contract.

HYDER/LAGAN lead race for £10m water job

The pairing of consultant Hyder and Lagan Holdings, the privately owned construction and construction materials company, has been selected as the preferred bidder for the £10 million scheme to develop and operate the Kinnegar wastewater treatment works in Northern Ireland. The duo have formed a special-purpose company, Coastal Clear Water, to undertake the project. The scheme involves a substantial upgrading of the existing facilities which serve East Belfast, Holywood and Kinnegar. Hyder will design the project and Charles Brand, a Lagan subsidiary, will build it.

60 barford site dumper JOBS SHED

Wordsworth Holdings, the parent company of Barford Site Dumpers and dump truck manufacturer Aveling Barford, has shed 60 jobs at its manufacturing facility in Grantham. The job losses follow the departure of group managing director Chris Haynes and Aveling Barford's managing director Peter Youlton. John Carnall, sales director of Barford Site Dumpers said: "It's not Barford Site Dumpers that's led to the job losses but the downturn in exports in general that has resulted in downsizing." Further job losses were not ruled out.

REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE BEATS THE GLOOM

Analyst Hewes and Associates is predicting that the volume of UK construction output will rise about 1 per cent in 1998 before declining in the following two years. In its latest report, Hewes predicts that after 1998, output will decline by close to 2 per cent (or £1 billion) over the years 1999-2000. Repair and maintenance looks like escaping the downturn and is expected to continue to rise, but at more moderate rates. New work will feel the full effects of a slower economy and decline by over 5 per cent during the two years 1999-2000.

FMB reports workload decline

A workload survey for the third quarter among members of the Federation of Master Builders confirms the continuing decline in public sector workload. FMB president Derrick Ovington said: "The much vaunted release of capital receipts and other regeneration initiatives have not yet reached small and medium-sized building firms." Whilst FMB members in the South-west and Northern Counties reported good workloads, members in South Wales had the weakest workloads. Growth in the South-east outside London appears to be constrained by labour shortages. Firms surveyed said bricklayers and carpenters were in short supply.

New MD for Jarvis airport services

David Bucknall is the new md of Jarvis Airport Services. He recently retired from Bucknall Group after 35 years with the company. Jarvis Airport Services operates within its Streamline Division and is based in Slough.



Homer joins Try as commercial director

Try Construction has appointed John Homer as commercial director. He has worked with HBG Kyle Stewart for 15 years, latterly as divisional director. Try's policy is to grow by acting as preferred contractor for projects up to £50 million.