Bear heads for £2m loss on Scots roads

Further losses of £2m are expected this year on the two Scottish maintenance contracts run by the Babtie, Ennstone and Ringway (Bear) consortium.
And despite a radical shake-up of its management structure and operating policy, Bear might run further into the red next year.
The two controversial Scottish trunk road maintenance contracts awarded to Bear cover the north-east and the north-west of the country. Last year's losses ran to £4m (CJ 8 May).
Estimates for 2004 suggest that the financial output could lie anywhere between break-even and a maximum loss of £500,000. But Bear should be firmly into profit by 2005.
Ennstone chief executive Vaughan McLeod said: "Bear has not eaten a big hole in our latest profits."
McLeod, who last week announced the interim financial results for his group, a major producer of aggregates and asphalt products (see p12), is also Bear's chairman. He took over the reins a year ago, replacing Henry Perfect, a former Babtie chairman.
McLeod restructured senior management, bringing in Alan MacKenzie as Bear chief executive in July 2002.
MacKenzie was previously with Ennstone. And in January this year, Bill Taylor was appointed Bear operations director, switching from Amey Highway Maintenance.
"MacKenzie and Taylor have pioneered the turnaround in Bear," said McLeod, who is stepping down as chairman of the consortium at the end of September.
"I'm comfortable because we now have a good on-the-ground structure to the business," said McLeod.
"It's so good that we'll be keen to win the next round of bidding for these contracts, which are up for renewal in 2006."
Bear has not had much overall impact on Ennstone's profit because set against the losses made by the consortium is the profit on all the materials supplied by Ennstone to Bear.