Shop Direct swings to a loss as rising costs and PPI claims hit profits September 19, 2018 Littlewoods owner Shop Direct has moved into the red in the last 12 months, as rising construction costs for new distribution centres and mounting PPI mis-selling claims mount up for the online retailer. Pre-tax losses hit £24.7m in the year leading up to the end of June 2018, compared with profits before tax of £24.9m [...]
China is fighting a Cold War. Has the West realised it yet? April 27, 2020 Beneath the endless conferences and diplomatic niceties, at root international diplomacy is always the handmaiden of power politics. As the 16th century English diplomat, Sir Henry Wotten, so aptly put it, an ambassador can be defined as ‘an honest man sent to lie abroad for the good of his country.’ But the eternal contest for [...]
The modular model: Can factory-built homes solve the housing crisis? September 26, 2019 picture a vast warehouse somewhere in the north of England. Workers in hard hats are poring over intricate plans against a background of humming machinery. Robot arms slice through sheets of metal and wood as they pass by on a conveyor belt, precisely cutting out shapes that look like huge versions of Airfix models. Across [...]
Moving Mountains: How the biggest Alpine construction project in 20 years has transformed Val d’Isere January 17, 2020 The venue is Cocorico, a packed Val d’Isere après ski bar where the music is pumping. BBC Ski Sunday presenter and five times Olympic skier Graham Bell is regaling us of the time he broke the Guinness World Record for the fastest towed speed on skis. Dragged by a Jaguar XF Sportbrake in Sweden, he [...]
Bovis Homes agrees £1.1bn deal for Galliford Try housing business November 7, 2019 Bovis Homes has agreed to snap up Galliford Try’s housing arm for almost £1.1bn. The housebuilders have shaken hands on a deal that will see Bovis stump up £300m cash and £675m in shares to acquire Linden Homes and Galliford Try Partnerships & Regeneration. Read more: Uncertain times are leading to London property microclimates The [...]
Heathrow Airport to be penalised if expansion goes over-budget December 1, 2019 Heathrow Airport will be penalised by Britain’s transport watchdog if it fails to build its planned third runway efficiently. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has placed a new clause into the airport’s licence due to concerns the project could go over-budget. Read more: British Airways passengers face huge delays after technical issue The clause is [...]
Petrofac shares drop as order book shrinks December 17, 2019 Petrofac shares fell over six and a half per cent today after the oilfield services company’s order book continued to shrink. New orders to date for the firm total $3bn (£2.3bn), down from nearly $5bn at the same time last year. Read more: Petrofac warns revenues will shrink after SFO prove hinders new work The [...]
DEBATE: Is the focus on modern methods of construction to increase housebuilding misplaced? June 24, 2019 Is the focus on modern methods of construction to increase housebuilding misplaced? Chris Stanley, housing manager at Concrete Block Association, says YES. The current media excitement around modern methods of construction, particularly modular, is largely a result of favourable public funding schemes. To solve the housing crisis, the government needs a far more considered, holistic [...]
Housebuilder stocks facing a Brexit wrecking ball? September 16, 2019 The construction sector seems to be freezing ahead of a potential Brexit. Are investors right to be fleeing housebuilder stocks? The housing sector has been affected throughout the Brexit process, with demand, supply, prices and overall transactions shaken up in the wake of the 2016 referendum. It has not been a straight path for the [...]
HS2 needs government support, not more dithering and debate November 21, 2019 Last week, a leaked draft of the HS2 review revealed recommendations that the controversial project should go ahead as planned. This has sparked some debate, with opponents citing the project’s escalating costs and delays. Yet, when builders’ timescales and budgets for even small-scale domestic construction projects are almost always optimistic and therefore taken with a [...]