Civils

Tunnelling is set to start this week on the HS2 link between Old Oak Common and Euston. The Skanska Costain Strabag (SCS) joint venture will be launching the first of two tunnel boring machines (TBMs), named Madeleine and Karen, from the eastern end of Old Oak Common station. The first TBM, Madeleine,…

HS2 bosses raised worries over contractors’ health and safety performance just months before a serious near-miss incident paused work on London tunnels, it has emerged. Newly released minutes from a series of HS2 board meetings from 2025 show that five RIDDOR incidents took place across the line in February that…

A government minister has declined to put on a date on when the revived Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) project might be finished, but warned that railway improvements “take a very long time”. Speaking in a House of Lords debate on Monday (19 January), rail minister Lord Peter Hendy said the…

A regulatory shake-up announced today is set to reshape the water industry’s capital delivery, offering contractors greater visibility over future workloads and smoothing the transition between investment cycles. The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs today (20 January) released its water white paper, which it described as “once-in-a-generation reforms”…

Tier one contractor Kier has been named on British Airways’ newly established framework to deliver upgrades across the airline’s estate. The framework runs for an initial three-year term with an option to extend for a further two years. It forms part of British Airways’ multimillion-pound Better Buildings programme to modernise…

The Scottish Government has published a draft 10-year infrastructure strategy and pipeline, outlining its intention to harness new models to leverage private finance. A consultation document covering infrastructure planning, investment and delivery between 2027 and 2037 was announced alongside yesterday’s Scottish Budget for 2026/27. The strategy, aimed at three key…

Lagan boosted its turnover as growth in its international airports-focused businesses outstripped its activity elsewhere. The Lagan Specialist Infrastructure Group, the parent of civils firms Lagan Aviation & Infrastructure Group and Charles Brand Group, saw its revenue reach £168.8m in the year to 31 March 2025, recently released accounts show.…

A year-long slump in construction activity has begun to slow as business confidence began to show small signs of recovery, latest figures show. The S&P Global purchasers’ managers index (PMI) registered 40.1 in for December, up from 39.4 in November, but still short of the 44.1 figure from October. A…

Workers at the Sellafield nuclear plant in Cumbria have launched a fresh wave of strike action over an ongoing pay dispute. Employees from subcontractors Altrad, Enigma and Kaefer walked out again today (6 January) for 10 days and further strike action is planned in the coming weeks. The industrial dispute,…

Civils contractor Alun Griffiths has halved its pre-tax loss amid a rejig to focus on smaller contracts, as it battles soaring costs on large projects. The firm tabled a pre-tax loss of £48.9m in the year to 31 December 2024, down from £95m, as it continued to combat “significant loss…