Supply Chain

Demand for heavy materials such as steel, bricks and timber has continued to fall in response to the slowdown in the new-build sector, according to the latest sector analysis. In the last quarter of 2022, a fifth of heavy-side manufacturers reported that sales of construction products dipped, marking a second…

Framework provider Pagabo has put contractors on alert for a £545m mechanical and electrical solutions framework. A range of specialist mechanical and electrical (M&E) subcontractors will be appointed to the four-year framework, which has been designed to respond to growing demand for M&E expertise across the public sector. According to…

A floor specialist that has worked with major contractors including Buckingham Group and Sir Robert McAlpine has collapsed into administration. Malin Industrial Concrete Floors Ltd, a £25.6m-turnover company specialising in flooring production, appointed Mazars as administrators this week. The Manchester-based firm had a strong profile of work producing specialised flooring,…

Ministers have vowed to publish a strategy to tackle the semiconductor shortage “as soon as possible” after a high-profile MP branded the delay an “act of national self-harm”.    Darren Jones, chair of parliament’s business, energy and industrial strategy committee, criticised the government following its official response to a report…

Plans have been unveiled for the UK’s largest timber development, called The Phoenix. The 700-home, mixed-use neighbourhood proposed for Lewes, East Sussex, would transform a 7.9 hectare brownfield site of a former foundry, called the Foundry Iron and Steelworks, into a development powered entirely by renewable energy. It would use…

Companies could have to report on the proportion of money they withhold in retentions under new proposals designed to drive down payment waiting times.  Under the plans, any medium-to-large company would need to submit information on their firm’s retention-payment terms if they are subject to existing rules around compulsory reporting…

Scotland’s public construction sector pipeline has swelled by more than £600m to reach £12.2bn, according to new figures from the Scottish Futures Trust. More than half of the future work in Scotland will be for smaller firms, providing a buffer at a time of economic difficulty. The Scottish Futures Trust’s…

The government has made £600m available to help Britain’s two biggest steelmakers switch to greener technology and protect jobs, according to reports. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is understood to have offered £300m each to British Steel and Tata Steel. This support would be tied to the firms investing in their plants…

More than half of all invoices sent to construction firms were paid late last year, an analysis has found. The proportion of late invoices “significantly increased” to 52.9 per cent across the sector in 2022, a rise of 13 per cent compared with 2021. Data company Creditsafe looked at 21…

The government is set to hand British Steel £300m of financial support, according to reports. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is expected to approve the funding, which will be paid in instalments over the next few years. The funding will be used to replace British Steel’s blast furnaces at its Scunthorpe sites,…