News from building.co.uk

£200m of framework wins give Kier maximum security

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Business barometer Contractor keeps top spot thanks to £181m Wolverhampton prison job

More deals could follow Gleeds buy

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Gleeds says its purchase of rival QS Locus Consultants for an undisclosed sum could herald a consolidation drive in the consultancy sector

Willmott Dixon regroups

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Willmott Dixon has formed three trading brands after last year’s re-acquisition of social housing group Inspace

Hochtief profit plummets

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Pre-tax profit at German owned-contractor Hochtief UK Construction fell 59% from £1.6m to £665,000 in the year to 31 December 2008

Galliford’s sales rise

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Galliford Try has reported that total house sales rose 7% to £274m in the four months to 5 November and it described the autumn selling season as “stable”

Viñoly fiasco contributes to £13m turnover drop at Banner

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Contractor £2.8m in the red after dispute with Colchester council and three other problem jobs

Citywatch: Kier keeps it interesting

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Kier kicked off the week with a trading update containing two points of interest beyond its cautious optimism and the trumpeting of 52 framework deals

Space to breathe

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Instead of telling housebuilders what to build, we should focus on providing better information to buyers

Major housebuilders snap up lion’s share of Kickstart cash

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Barratt and Persimmon have bagged 30% of Kickstart funding between them, according to research from the House Builders Association, which represents mainly small and medium-sized builders

Private housing drops

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Private housebuilding has fallen 20% year on year, the communities department says

First-time buyer fund

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Mill Group has launched a £500m investor fund to allow first-time buyers to get on the housing ladder

House prices to fall

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Property group Savills has warned that house prices will fall nearly 7% next year, even though values rose 3.7% during 2009

Delivery in doubt as HCA land assets drop by £1.1bn

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Homes and Communities Agency scales back development as proceeds from land sales plummet

BRE to launch environmental standard for refurbishments

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

BRE is to develop a measurable standard for retrofitting homes to high environmental standards

Sixties revival

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Phase one of the 555-home redevelopment of the old Mardyke Estate into the Orchard Village began this week with the demolition of the old tower block

Electronic documents: Indecent disclosure

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Showing the other side your electronic documents is far more expensive and dangerous than simply putting emails and Word documents on a memory stick

Adjucation enforcement: When to use the f-word

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

It’s easy to bandy about the word ‘fraud’ in the hope of defeating enforcement in civil proceedings, but you’d better make sure you have sufficient evidence to back it up

Public procurement: A fresh chance to challenge

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Public bodies should tighten up their procurement systems, as the remedies directive will widen the scope for firms to contest their decisions