M&A

A mixed bag: the highest-paid executives in construction

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Construction News’ analysis shows that some executives have seen their pay packages fall while others are celebrating heights never seen before The median pay for a chief executive at a FTSE 100 company reached £4.19m in 2023, the highest level on record, according to the High Pay Centre (HPC).. The…

Construction M&A: are we seeing a revival?

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Sinead Cuthill is an associate and Dan Coppel is a partner at Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath Merger and acquisition activity in the UK construction sector has declined from its peak in 2022, frustrating would-be buyers and sellers, as well as the bankers, brokers, lawyers and accountants who service the…

Andre Redinger: The man who almost bought ISG

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Andre Redinger has a lot to say. Via a video call, he speaks to Construction News from his South African homeland less than 24 hours after ISG, the company he spent six months trying to buy, announced it was filing for administration. The previous evening, ISG chief executive Zoe Price…

CN100 2024: Snakes & ladders

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Rising turnover and slumping profit characterise the CN100 2024 index of top UK contractors, but the outlook remains broadly positive There is a saying among economists that “if you torture the data long enough, it will confess”. At Construction News we like to think that our interrogation techniques reveal the…

Base rate cut: a confidence booster but no silver bullet

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Nicola Hodkinson is the owner and director of Seddon  The Bank of England’s recent base rate cut to 5 per cent is being hailed as positive for the industry, particularly for simulating the mortgage market and the construction of new housing. The move also has the potential to attract pension…

Esh chief executive: ‘It’s been a hell of a journey’

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Regional focus brings benefits for Durham firm A strong regional focus has paid off for Esh Group, according to its chief executive Andy Radcliffe. Speaking exclusively to Construction News, he said that targeting jobs in the North East has delivered strong financial results and secured future business. Radcliffe spoke after…

Is the construction sector finally turning the corner?

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Whisper it quietly, but the industry might soon be able to heave a sigh of relief after all the gloom. Over the past two years, hikes in inflation and interest rates have left the sector battered by administrations, financial write-offs and belt-tightening. “New business is now expanding at its strongest…

A new model for public private partnerships

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Nick Gray​​ is UK and Europe chief operating officer at consultancy Currie & Brown Between 1997 and 2010, more than 700 new public sector construction projects were successfully delivered, improving the fabric of many key sectors of the economy, such as education and healthcare. Arguably, the delivery of many of…

Fighting time: why PFI claims are on the rise

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Is a looming legal time limit behind a rise in defect claims relating to long-completed schemes built under private finance intiatives?  In autumn 2021, North Kent Police Station’s geothermal heating system broke down. Almost three years later, the administrators of the company holding the station’s private finance initiative (PFI) brought…

Lendlease sale a sprint, not a marathon

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The head of Lendlease Europe’s construction operations says he wants to find a buyer for the business “at pace” Simon Gorski is a man in a hurry. As the boss of Lendlease Europe’s construction operations, he is looking to line up a buyer for the UK business by the end…