'Nothing wrong with competition'

There is nothing wrong with competition - it's not a dirty word, insisted Paul Whitmore.

The trend to partnering and long-term relationships could become a vehicle for "dumbing down" the construction industry, he warned. Whitmore feared a scenario where no-one makes too much and no-one loses too much. "You could have an almost Communist regime in construction and this flies in the face of innovation," he warned.

Whitmore said: "Laing is not becoming risk-averse, rather it is becoming more risk-capable, our focus being the management of risk. It's what we're paid for, at the end of the day."