Author Archives: Matthew Davies

McGee has blamed delays to project starts for a more-than-halving of its profit. The specialist engineering group, which came fourth in the CN Specialists Index 2024 for demolition contractors, said it had been hit by “planning setbacks” faced by its clients. While turnover rose from £121.8m to £151.4m for the…

Balfour Beatty’s UK construction arm has shattered its own 3 per cent margin target 12 months earlier than expected, according to the company’s first-half (H1) results. Operating profit at the construction division jumped from £34m in H1 2024 to £56m in the six months to the end of June this…

Does the government’s £625m pledge on construction skills training stand up to scrutiny? 

Building, roofing and landscaping-products company Marshalls has posted a 4 per cent rise in half-year (H1) revenue to £319.5m but a 46 per cent drop in pre-tax profit to £11.7m. The group’s landscaping division served as the main drag on the numbers in the six months to the end of…

Construction figures have welcomed today’s Bank of England decision to cut its main interest rate from 4.25 per cent to 4 per cent, the fifth reduction since last August. The rate is now at its lowest level since March 2023. “Today’s decision should be seen as a green light by…

Brickmaker Ibstock’s profit margin was squeezed in the first half (H1) of the year by price competitiveness and the firm’s plan to reactivate production capacity for a forecast upturn in demand. In the six months to 30 June, Ibstock, which has a 40 per cent slice of the UK brick…

Travis Perkins is focusing on “stabilising business performance”, the UK’s largest building materials supplier announced as it released its half-year (H1) results this morning (5 August). Group revenue declined by 2.1 per cent year on year to £2.3bn in the six months to 30 June, but like-for-like sales at its…

Sales of ready-mixed concrete have fallen to levels not seen since the early 1960s, adding to fears that business confidence and investment in construction are falling, according to Mineral Products Association (MPA) figures. Ready-mixed concrete volumes dropped by 11.5 per cent to 2.7 million cubic metres in the second quarter…

A new report commissioned by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has found that 95 per cent of Levelling Up Fund (LUF) projects in rounds one and two are running behind schedule, with unexpected costs and inflation being the main reasons cited. Systra and Frontier Economics were tasked…

A Hertfordshire conservatory firm has been fined £40,000 following an incident where an employee fell through the roof of a first-floor orangery home extension. Leslie Baker was one of several employees of Atrium Conservatories Ltd working on the extension at a house in Abberley in Worcestershire in February last year.…