Supply Chain

Materials suppliers are struggling to protect themselves against bad debts as the insurance market shows signs of losing nerve in the wake of high-profile contractor failures. A survey of members of the British Merchants Federation (BMF) has revealed that almost a third (31.2 per cent) had been unable to access…

Plans have been submitted that will see Bow Goods Yard in Stratford become “the belly of London”, with the creation of a major new rail hub capable of transporting up to 3.5 million tonnes of construction material to sites across the capital. The Network Rail scheme will see the yard…

Kent-based scaffolding company Trad Scaffolding posted a 15 per cent uplift in its pre-tax profit and a positive outlook for the 12 months from August 2023. In accounts for the year ending 31 August 2023, released this week, the company recorded a pre-tax profit of £3.27m, representing a rise of…

Sales of key building materials have plummeted for a seventh consecutive quarter, an industry organisation has said. The Construction Products Association’s (CPA’s) latest State of Trade Survey showed that 36 per cent of heavy-side products manufacturers saw volumes drop in the first three months of 2024. This continued a slide…

Lee Marley Brickwork Ltd returned to profitability last year on the back of record turnover, its latest accounts have revealed. The Berkshire-based masonry and scaffolding business posted pre-tax profit of £2.8m for the year ending 31 December 2023. This represented a turnaround from its £2.2m loss in the 2022 calendar…

Staff at a building services equipment manufacturing firm in Hertfordshire have voted to strike. Workers employed by Crane Building Services & Utilities will now meet with representatives from the GMB trade union to coordinate strike days. The union is seeking a 10 per cent pay rise, while Crane has offered…

The amount of construction materials being purchased each day across the UK has fallen by almost a tenth in just a year, data has revealed. April’s Builders Merchant Building Index report showed that like-for-like sales plummeted by 9.2 per cent in the year to February 2024. Set up and run…

Keltbray failed to raise a key plank of its current appeal against its £20m cover-bidding fine in 2021 during the competition regulator’s initial investigation, a hearing has heard. The contractor is appealing against the financial penalty imposed by the Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) last year, after the regulator’s investigation…

Mechanical and electrical (M&E) contractor Enerveo has announced the departure of its chief executive. The firm was bought back from private equity company Aurelius by former parent company SSE in late March. Zak Houlahan, who was appointed by Aurelius in 2021, has been replaced by the company’s chief financial officer…

The competition regulator “plucked a figure almost from thin air” when fining demolition firm Keltbray £20m over cover bidding, the firm’s legal representative claimed yesterday in an appeal hearing. Keltbray’s fine, initially reduced to £16m after agreeing a settlement, was the biggest among the 10 demolition firms that were fined…