Supply Chain

The construction industry faces a “second wave” of inflation, as rising energy prices drive up wages and other costs, the boss of the world’s largest building-materials company has warned. Chief executive of Dublin-based CRH, Albert Manifold, said he was seeing a “second wave of cost increases” after Russia’s invasion of…

Reintroducing the red-diesel rebate would go some way towards combatting the “very significant, rapid price increases” seen across the building material sector, the Mineral Products Association (MPA) has argued. In a letter to chancellor Nadhim Zahawi, the MPA, which represents the aggregates and cement industries in the UK, demanded action…

The Construction Plant-hire Association (CPA) is searching for a new chief executive, after current boss Kevin Minton announced his intention to step down. Minton, who has worked at the CPA for 15 years, will remain in his post until the first quarter of 2023, to allow a “smooth handover”. He…

Bouygues and Equans have agreed to withdraw one of their bids for work on a £300m HS2 overhead-cable contract following concerns raised by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in light of their forthcoming merger. Last November, Bouygues struck a £6bn deal to buy Equans, the construction and services business owned…

Contractors have been invited to a flagship event in Birmingham next month to hear about opportunities to work on the government’s £3.7bn New Hospital Programme (NHP). In October 2020, the government announced plans to build 40 hospitals by 2030, as part of a scheme to upgrade and expand NHS services,…

With the raised energy price cap pushing up the average household bill to about £3,459 per year from October, the soaring cost is already a concern for millions of people across the country. As an industry that relies on energy-intensive materials and heavy machinery, diesel and petrol, construction is even…

More than half of small and medium-sized enterprises have experienced quicker payment times following improved protection mechanisms implemented during the pandemic. Research conducted by the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) found that 52 per cent of 1,400 construction SMEs had seen an improvement in the time it takes to get…

Tom O’Brien is partner and head of building consultancy at Glenny LLP Prices have been going up across the board, and with headlines dominated by the rising cost of living and sky-high energy bills, many industries have been feeling the sting. In the built environment, the BCIS Materials Cost Index estimates that…

Rising energy costs have delayed major construction works at Britishvolt’s North East gigafactory, its co-founder has revealed. Earlier this month, main contractor ISG confirmed that construction work at the site had been “paused” amid design changes to the factory, which will produce lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles. The contractor said…

Scottish contractor McGill collapsed after it was hit hard by a number of “loss-making contracts”, administrators have revealed. The Dundee-based firm, which entered administration last week, also struggled with the after-effects of the coronavirus pandemic and material price inflation, which hit its finances. This was despite the group receiving funds…