UK construction output fell in October, failing to build on September growth December 9, 2016 Construction output suffered a surprise slowdown in October, new figures out today show. The sector shrank by 0.6 per cent between September and October, falling below analyst expectations. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that the biggest downward contribution came from infrastructure, while repair and maintenance showed no growth. Read more: It's not all [...]
A hard Brexit could be “crippling” to housebuilding in London, Sadiq Khan has warned February 27, 2017 London mayor Sadiq Khan has warned almost a quarter of London's construction workforce is facing an uncertain future ahead of Brexit negotiations. Pressing the case for retention of skilled workers as a key priority in Brexit talks, Khan today argued the loss of London's 95,000 European construction workers would have “a seriously detrimental effect” on [...]
How health tech is revolutionising the NHS March 2, 2017 Establishing the NHS in 1948 was, in modern speak, a paradigm shift. Much has changed since 1948 however, not least the ageing population: the number of people aged over 65 is predicted to hit 10.8m by 2032, a 39 per cent sector rise since 2012, according to the King’s Fund. With the Government hotly pursuing £20bn of savings [...]
Housebuilder Crest Nicholson’s shares fall – despite rebuffing Brexit blues June 14, 2016 Nothing can dampen the profits of a housebuilder, not even Brexit – housebuilder Crest Nicholson this morning posted healthy results despite the uncertainty about the outcome of the UK's upcoming referendum. The figures In its half-year report this morning, Crest Nicholson announced pre-tax profits at the firm were up 26 per cent in the six months [...]
Who are Grand Theft Auto’s new contenders on the block? February 27, 2017 Imagine inventing an awesome digital game. It then reaches global domination in sales. The fruits of becoming a billionaire might even be incidental to the sheer satisfaction of creating a global best-seller. And especially so when you work hard and play even harder. £4.2bn in UK consumer spend The UK game industry is booming: According to the Association for [...]
Brexit research group calls for bespoke equivalence deal to give financial sector access to Single Market January 12, 2017 A Brexit research group is calling for the government to consider striking a bespoke equivalence agreement as part of the EU departure deal to maintain access to the Single Market for the financial sector. In a report published today, which was compiled by law firm Norton Rose Fulbright on behalf of the Financial Services Negotiation [...]
The big winners of the housing white paper: Housebuilders’ and estate agents’ shares are climbing February 7, 2017 If you work in residential property, today is a good day – share prices went up across the board after the government published its long-awaited housing whitepaper. On the FTSE 100, Persimmon was the big winner, with shares rising 2.3 per cent to 1,983p in mid-afternoon trading. That was followed by Barratt, which rose 1.7 per [...]
Charles Woodburn has been confirmed as BAE Systems’ new chief executive February 22, 2017 Charles Woodburn will replace Ian King as chief executive of BAE Systems, the company has confirmed in a statement. Currently BAE's chief operating officer, Woodburn will replace the retiring King effective 1 July. Woodburn joined the firm in May 2016 with 20 years of international experience in senior management positions in the oil and gas industry. His appointment to [...]
Green belt reform drops off the agenda as ministers issue long-awaited housing proposals February 6, 2017 Ministers have steered away from a liberalisation of building on so-called green belt land, despite acknowledging the worsening housing crisis in many parts of the country. The government had been expected to introduce reforms to free up protected land, but proposals released today after months of delay have instead abandoned any reference to easing restrictions. Instead, [...]
The UK’s construction sector just had its best month since March January 4, 2017 Output in the UK's construction sector showed a surprise jump in December – causing the industry to enjoy its best month since March. Markit's purchasing managers' index (PMI) for the sector rose to 54.2 in December, up from 52.8 in the previous month – despite economists expecting the figure to be flat. Any number above [...]