A major credit rating agency has upgraded its outlook for building materials firms in 2025, as demand for construction projects recovers from recent lows. Fitch upgraded its outlook for EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) building materials firms in 2025 to ‘neutral’, having rated the sector as ‘deteriorating’ in 2024.…
The new post-Grenfell dutyholder regime could cause insurers to slash professional indemnity insurance (PII) coverage, a Construction Leadership Council (CLC) lead has warned. Insurers may carve out more exclusions within PII coverage as new obligations for the principal contractor (PC) role create uncertainty over liability, insurance veteran Samantha Peat told…
The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) will take a “harder” stance on building control applications to tackle delays, one of its directors has said. The regulator had engaged in too much conversation with applicants on their submissions in its first few months of operation, which then delayed other applications, BSR deputy…
Construction output grew in the third quarter (Q3) of this year, although new orders declined by more than a fifth, according to government figures. Output rose by 0.8 per cent from July through September compared with the previous three months, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).…
Mace is sticking to strict sustainability criteria on its latest project in London Bridge Client: Edge Technologies Project value: £230m Architect: Pillbrow and Partners Site size: 25,548 square metres Piling: Cementation Skanska Concrete frame and basement: Morrisroe Steel and CLT: Severfield NI Facade: Permasteelisa Twin lifts: TKE MEP: Shepherd Engineering…
A Greater Manchester-based contractor has restarted work on a £50m Bristol high-rise delayed by Mid Group’s collapse. The Boatyard, a 152-unit affordable housing scheme, had sat unfinished for more than two years after contractor Mid Group went into administration in July 2022. The project has now kicked off again after…
The Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) has announced changes to its unskilled worker certification in a bid to encourage site operatives to take up training. Executive director of operations Gary Mortimer said reducing how long Labourer cards are valid would encourage new industry entrants to apply instead for a ‘red…
The costs of a landmark Lendlease project in Manchester have spiralled by nearly £100m amid “hyperinflation”, dozens of subcontractor claims and unexpected nesting falcons. Lendlease’s mammoth restoration of the Grade II* listed Manchester Town Hall was originally due to complete by June this year. In a report this month, Manchester…
A key steel reinforcement supplier is “considering its next steps” after ministers declined to call in a decision to redevelop its only UK production site. Steel giant ArcelorMittal, which claims to produce 30 per cent of the country’s steel reinforcement, told Construction News in May it would pull out of…
Chancellor Rachel Reeves used her Budget speech to announce more than £1bn for cladding remediation, alongside further billions to support housebuilding. Government investment in removing unsafe cladding, including new funds for social housing remediation, will exceed £1bn in 2025/2026, budget documents show. Construction News understands the investment will be spread…
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