HS2 ‘still vital’ despite ballooning £88bn price tag, say businesses September 3, 2019 HS2 is at risk of costing the public £88bn and could be delivered seven years behind schedule, but businesses still believe the project is worth the time and money. Allan Cook, the chairman of HS2, today revealed his cost and timetable projections for the troubled high speed line, including that the project is could now [...]
Silver miner Fresnillo’s shares slide as profit plunges July 30, 2019 Profit at FTSE 100 miner Fresnillo tumbled by more than two-thirds in the first half of the year, it said today. The company blamed production problems and lower prices for the precipitous fall. Profit for the six months to 30 June fell 69 per cent compared to the same period last year to $70.9m (£58.2m). [...]
Business calls for clarity and collaboration after MAC report January 28, 2020 Businesses have called on the government for clarity and collaboration in building the UK’s new immigration system, after an influential report was published this morning. The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) this morning recommended a two-pronged approach combining the Australian-style points system so beloved of Brexiters alongside a salary threshold. However the MAC argued that the [...]
Sajid Javid: My pitch to the businesses of Britain November 18, 2019 Britain’s 6m businesses are the lifeblood of our economy. They have driven employment to record highs, with wages outstripping inflation. And they have made our country a hotbed of furious innovation in products and services. We would all like to see higher economic growth — after a decade of recovery from the last Labour government [...]
Industry slams Labour plan to bring outsourced public services in-house July 21, 2019 Business leaders have pilloried a Labour policy announcement to bring local council jobs like construction, bin collection and school dinners in-house. John McDonnell this weekend said the party wants local councils to carry out the services themselves rather than pay companies to do it. The Confederation of British Industry’s chief UK policy director Matthew Fell [...]
HS2 main civil works costs are £1bn over budget June 12, 2018 Costs for main civil works on the government’s controversial High Speed 2 (HS2) project are coming in £1bn over budget. HS2 currently has a target for construction costs of £6.6bn, while its overall budget for the project is £56bn. The New Civil Engineer has reported that interim costs submitted by contractors are currently above the [...]
The unexpected consequences of gorilla conservation in Uganda December 11, 2019 Standing in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, I’m dodging a light hail of fruits being thrown down by gorillas in the trees above. The animals climb down and gallop through the undergrowth. While they roly-poly down the steep slopes, we chase them in a less dexterous fashion, slipping onto our backsides and hoping we don’t roll in [...]
Cost overruns mean London may suck up benefits of HS2 and short-change the north, Lords warn May 16, 2019 London risks reaping all the rewards from HS2, leaving the north "short-changed", a stinging House of Lords report has warned today. The costs of the £56bn railway "do not appear to be under control" and the government must find ways to reduce them so that the second phase of the railway, based in the north, definitely gets built, [...]
UK construction sector shrinks for second consecutive month April 2, 2019 Britain’s construction sector contracted in March for the second month in a row, it was revealed today, as a slowing commercial market and Brexit uncertainty weighed on the sector. The construction purchasing managers’ index (PMI) stood at 49.7 in March compared to 49.5 in February, the first back-to-back fall in output since August 2016. A score of [...]
Japanese property giant strikes £90m deal with Urban Splash to build thousands of new homes across the UK May 14, 2019 Japan’s largest housebuilder is entering the UK property market after signing a £90m deal with developers to deliver thousands of new homes across the country. In a joint venture with Homes England and Urban Splash, leading modular builder Sekisui House is planning to deliver 2,000 new residential homes a year for the next decade. Read [...]