Author Archives: Ben Vogel

A steel fabricator in Kent has become the latest construction firm to make the transition to an employee ownership trust (EOT). The move took place last Tuesday (29 October), Hythe-based Nusteel Structures Ltd announced in a LinkedIn post three days later. The firm said that becoming an EOT was necessary…

This week has seen a new building safety minister appointed and an experienced name will lead a new fit-out business at a tier one contractor. Safety switch The government announced on Monday (28 October) that Alex Norris is its new building safety minister, replacing Rushanara Ali. Norris, the MP for…

Tier one contractor Wates is setting up a new fit-out business headed by the former managing director of ISG Fit Out. Lee Phillips, ex-managing director of ISG Fit Out, will build and lead a team focusing on the London commercial fit-out and refurbishment market, Wates announced yesterday (30 October). The…

A £2.3bn boost to prison building was included in the government’s Budget announcement today (30 October). The Treasury’s budget document said the investment in “prison expansion” covers the current fiscal year plus 2025/26. This will ensure thousands of new prison places will become available by 2026, with the under-construction HMP…

The wife of Morgan Sindall chief executive John Morgan has sold almost £450,000 of shares in the company. Rosalind Morgan disposed of 11,543 ordinary shares at £38.90 apiece on 24 October as a “person closely associated with John Morgan”, the tier one contractor stated today in a regulatory announcement to…

Record turnover last year helped civils contractor Colas Rail boost its pre-tax profit by almost 60 per cent. Annual revenue rose by 10 per cent on 2022 to reach an all-time high of £403.7m, the firm announced in its accounts for the 2023 calendar year. This generated a pre-tax profit…

Kier has been selected to deliver a new UK headquarters for electric-motor manufacturer YASA. The 90,000 square foot facility will be built for client Bicester Motion at its eponymous 444-acre technology campus, located at a former Royal Air Force base in Bicester. The carbon-efficient buildings will target BREEAM Excellent certification…

Bam Nuttall saw its pre-tax profit soar to £64.4m 2023, largely driven by the resolution of legacy projects. Turnover of £1.21bn generated a pre-tax profit for the year ending 31 December 2023 that was 16 times higher than the previous year’s figure of £4m, its latest accounts show. This marked…

A unique rail regeneration project in South Wales is on course for completion by 2027 after the adoption of common data environment software. The Core Valley Lines (CVL) programme represents a £1bn investment aimed at revitalising the 180-year-old rail lines that previously serviced the region’s coal industry, said Nathan Sealy,…

The collapse of ISG dominated September’s headlines but the latest monthly administrations data from Creditsafe still gives cause for optimism about the construction sector. There were 24 administrations in September, down year-on-year from the 28 recorded in same month in 2023. The three-month total fell for the fifth quarter in…