Twenty four hours after you have read this, a further six construction firms will have entered insolvency. And by the time the next issue of Contract Journal hits your desk, a total of 42 companies will have become insolvent.
Continue reading "One building firm folding every four hours...." »
There will have been plenty of people in the construction industry who will have felt a chilly shiver run down their spines last week as Persimmon announced that it is halting work on new sites.
Continue reading "It's not all doom and gloom for the construction industry" »
It wasn’t pretty, was it. Shortly after the Office of Fair Trading published its Statement of Objections last Thursday morning, accusing 112 construction companies of bid-rigging activities, the consumer media tore into the industry.
This week, the Site Waste Management Plan has arrived. It's the latest in a long line of acronyms to hit the construction industry, but ignore this one and you could be fined up to £5,000 or even end up in prison, as well as being seriously out of line with industry targets.
Site Waste Management Plans came into force last Sunday (6 April) and now every site above £300,000 in value must have one.
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is not an organisation you'd want to tangle with. Much like its sister body, HM Revenue and Customs, its approach to things is pretty much "we say, you do".
Continue reading "OFT investigation: getting our message straight" »
The credit crunch affecting the housebuilding sector appears to have struck an unlikely victim - the government's zero-carbon homes initiative. It was dealt a body blow when a further two bidders walked away from English Partnership's flagship carbon challenge project in Peterborough. Now the initial shortlist of six has fallen to three.
It's not often that we have some really good news to celebrate, but Heathrow's new Terminal 5 is a triumph all round for the construction industry.
After so many things have gone so horribly wrong with recent high-profile projects, it was fantastic that the construction industry received such great praise at last Friday's official opening. It was made clear to all the invited guests and media covering the event that the construction industry was responsible for the delivery, not - as is often the case - just the architect.
Continue reading "Congratulations in order for Heathrow's new Terminal 5" »
So what do adventures, Laing O'Rourke, Honda car adverts and the Queen have in common?
As Contract Journal went to press on Monday this week, media speculation was rife about Alistair Darling's first Budget as Chancellor. Firmly under Gordon Brown's thumb, it seems unlikely that the Budget will deviate much from Brown's previous prudent approach. But Labour are now dealing with a markedly different economy than the one enjoyed by Brown during his time as chief financial plate spinner.
Well, a turnover that's bordering on £1bn - it looks more impressive when you write it out, so one billion - and even now the sky's the limit.
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