Joshua Stein | Construction News

Tribunal grants payout to collapsed contractor‘s staff

Joshua Stein — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 08:45:52 +0000

An employment tribunal has awarded more than 30 former employees of a collapsed contractor 90 days’ pay. In a judgment published on Tuesday (17 February), Employment Judge Dawson ruled that 31 people employed by Acheson Construction should each receive payouts after the firm failed to…

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Graham hospital job soars by £300m due to ‘construction challenges’

Joshua Stein — Wed, 18 Feb 2026 12:45:56 +0000

The cost of a Scottish hospital job where a worker died during construction has spiralled to more than £400m following “numerous” challenges and delays. Water and ventilation problems are among a number of issues that have hit Graham’s job to build both the Baird Family…

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DfT denies UK steel snub for Lower Thames Crossing

Joshua Stein — Tue, 17 Feb 2026 12:45:19 +0000

The Department for Transport (DfT) has pushed back against claims that domestic steel will not be used on the £10bn Lower Thames Crossing. A spokesperson for the department said procurement for steel had not started, dismissing claims made in The Times over the weekend. The…

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Construction is worst sector for insolvencies four years running

Joshua Stein — Tue, 17 Feb 2026 12:16:45 +0000

More construction firms collapsed in 2025 than in any other sector, Insolvency Service (IS) figures show. Almost 4,000 (3,931) became insolvent last year, accounting for 17 per cent of all cases. It is the fourth year in a row that the sector has been the…

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Search for £2.5m worth of Squibb plant drags on

Joshua Stein — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 12:59:19 +0000

Liquidators for Squibb Group are still searching for £2.5m worth of plant and machinery, two years after the firm was wound up. A report from the liquidators, both from Interpath Advisory, said they had not found any more plant and machinery belonging to Squibb, a…

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Kitemark reinstated on 14 Thomas Dudley products

Joshua Stein — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 12:45:09 +0000

A UK construction product manufacturer has reclaimed the right to display quality Kitemarks on 14 products, Construction News can reveal. Thomas Dudley, a £71.2m-turnover firm that supplies cast iron, plumbing, casting, utilities and drainage products, successfully acquired a new mark of quality after British Standards…

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Hospital project in limbo three months after Merit collapse

Joshua Stein — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 12:45:40 +0000

A former Merit job to build hospital facilities in York is at a standstill, three months after the contractor called in administrators. The £8m job to build a two-storey facility at York Hospital (pictured), including a new surgical theatre and MRI suite, went silent when…

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Construction equipment firm issues profit warning

Joshua Stein — Wed, 11 Feb 2026 13:05:37 +0000

A leading construction equipment firm has issued a profit warning following a “disappointingly muted January”. Vp Plc said current pressures in the construction and water sectors had hit activity volumes. It said it was aiming to cut 400 jobs through its transformation of Brandon Hire…

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School plan will help apprentices avoid limbo

Joshua Stein — Wed, 11 Feb 2026 12:44:26 +0000

A plan to mandate apprenticeships on school building projects could avoid issues experienced by similar schemes run by councils, according to a sector expert. The Department for Education (DfE) announced yesterday that construction firms on school building projects will need to provide apprenticeship and T-level…

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RAAC hospitals’ new-build programme ‘constrained’ by market capacity

Joshua Stein — Tue, 10 Feb 2026 12:45:52 +0000

A shortfall in construction capacity has held back the government’s attempts to remediate hospitals affected by dangerous reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), a senior health department figure has admitted. The multibillion-pound programme to replace hospitals fitted with RAAC cannot move any faster without increasing costs,…

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