Financial

Construction SMEs need to ensure they are not caught out by changes to reporting rules on leases, a tax advisory firm has warned. Firms that do not check asset values based on their end-of-year stocktake may be unaware they could be classed as larger firms and need a statutory audit,…

A drilling firm has become the latest acquisition for utilities specialist OCU Group. The private equity-backed group acquired Peter McCormack & Sons, which specialises in trenchless technology solutions, for an undisclosed sum, OCU said when announcing the deal this morning (24 October). OCU chief executive Michael Hughes said the addition…

Confidence among construction firms has reached its highest point in nearly three years, according to a survey of accountants. In the past quarter, construction companies reported the highest optimism out of any sector, in a regular survey carried out by accountancy trade body the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England…

A 143-year-old cladding firm was toppled by a multimillion pound bill for allegedly defective work done 11 years previously, its administrator has said. M Price Group, which filed for administration in August, struggled with Covid and inflation before a £7.8m claim from Barratt Homes sent it over the edge, according…

A replacement has been named on a part-completed leisure centre where ISG had been main contractor. North East Derbyshire Council announced this week that its development partner Alliance Leisure had appointed Nottingham-headquartered Universal Civils & Build to finish the Clay Cross Active scheme in Chesterfield. The job, estimated to be…

Profit at Morgan Sindall is set to exceed expectations due to the strength of its fit-out and partnership housing arms. In a trading update released on Tuesday morning (22 October), the contractor said profit at its fit-out arm Overbury had strengthened significantly due to exceptional volumes. It is “expected to…

Construction SMEs last month experienced the sharpest rise in new work in two and a half years, a major bank has revealed. The hike in work accompanied the highest rate of output growth for smaller construction companies since January, according to the latest results from a regular survey by NatWest.…

Modular specialist Reds10 has increased profit and revenue for the fourth year in a row after landing a spate of government contracts. The London-based firm’s turnover soared by 70 per cent from £83.8m to £142.5m in the year ending 31 March 2024, while pre-tax profit jumped from £5.6m to £7m.…

'Former employees' of ISG are owed at least £72.3m by the collapsed contractor, administrators for the collapsed firm have calculated. Statements of affairs for seven of the eight ISG subsidiaries that entered administration in September were published on Companies House this weekend. They also show that HMRC is owed £54.4m…

JRL Group has posted a combined loss of more than £80m over its past two financial years after revising the previous year’s figures downwards, largely dragged down by its facades business. Although the firm reported a pre-tax profit of £13.2m in last year’s accounts, in accounts filed last Thursday (17…