M&A

As a pre-action legal letter is sent to the MoJ, CN asks if project bank account agreements are worth the paper they’re written on

Penny Rinta-Suksi is a partner at law firm Blake Morgan If the government’s latest Spending Review is anything to go by, the momentum behind the next generation of public-private partnerships (PPPs) is showing no signs of slowing.   “Those of us who provide legal advice on PFIs see the same mistakes…

Max Hayes is a research associate at investment bank Cavendish For years, UK construction has been perceived as a risky sector, with high-profile corporate collapses reinforcing investor sentiment that risks outweigh the rewards. Today, the sector’s fundamental risk profile is undergoing a transformation and the markets have yet to catch…

Geraint Lewis is a VAT director with Moore Kingston Smith A flurry of recent cases has shown that the construction industry is in HMRC’s crosshairs. The tax body appears to be pursuing compliant businesses for sums owed by others. This initiative is part of a battle between HMRC and fraudsters…

Rob Driscoll is the director of legal and business at the Electrical Contractors’ Association The government’s latest proposals to tackle late payments represent the most ambitious legislative overhaul in over a century. For the construction industry, where withheld retentions, long payment terms and cascading insolvencies are routine, this could be…

The government’s Infrastructure Strategy, released in early June, attempts to ride two horses at once on public-private partnerships (PPPs). The first is fiscal: the need to fund new infrastructure while staying within tight public spending limits. “A well-designed PPP model can bring in private sector discipline to reduce deliverability risk,…

Construction News explores how a string of high-profile insolvencies have made it harder for contractors to obtain bonds. But hope could be on the horizon.

Professional indemnity insurance premiums have only just started falling after their post-Grenfell peak. But some fear new building safety laws could spark another insurer backlash In the years after June 2017’s Grenfell Tower fire, many contractors found professional indemnity (PI) insurance difficult to obtain, or watched their premiums soar in…

Rudi Klein is a barrister. He was formerly chief executive of the Specialist Engineering Contractors’ Group I have a question. Has anybody seen a diminution in the demands for retention monies? Feedback I receive from firms is a definite NO! There is a reason for asking. Cast your minds back…

Leo Quinn, whose departure as Balfour Beatty chief executive was announced today, has had a major impact on transforming his firm – many would argue on the construction industry in general. In a LinkedIn post today, the man who turned round the struggling firm called his role “the best job…