10 hospital projects nearing completion
Schemes include blighted former Carillion builds, a proton-beam therapy unit and a hospital set for an early opening in response to the COVID-19 outbreak
14 Apr 2020 Comments Off on 10 hospital projects nearing completion
Schemes include blighted former Carillion builds, a proton-beam therapy unit and a hospital set for an early opening in response to the COVID-19 outbreak
12 Mar 2020 Comments Off on How a Rock is set to shake up the defence sector
Years of conservative procurement has conditioned defence estate contractors to think traditionally, but one woman is leading the charge for change with an outsider’s approach to transform the sector
05 Mar 2020 Comments Off on Davies’s plan gives Kier some breathing space
Kier reported a £41m pre-tax loss for the first half of its financial year this morning, while Kier Living, up for sale since last June, remains on its books – an albatross preventing the company from moving on so it can focus on its contracting strengths. On the face of…
24 Feb 2020 Comments Off on Kier must win old battles to restore confidence
If you invested in Kier around a month ago you’ve probably been rubbing your hands with glee over the past few weeks. In the month between 20 January and last Friday, its share price rose 63 per cent. Confidence in the UK’s most battered listed contractor appeared to be returning…
18 Nov 2019 Comments Off on Kier’s executive pay problem
A wave of discontent smashed into Kier’s board on Friday when shareholders met with the group’s executives in the offices of law firm Linklaters. In the shadow of the grey brutalist towers of the Barbican centre they voted on 15 resolutions in the annual general meeting, which followed the worst…
28 Oct 2019 Comments Off on Are specialists still on the up?
In a market where some of the biggest tier ones are struggling and undertaking painful turnaround programmes, specialist contractors are thriving. That was the message of CN's 2018 specialists index, the most comprehensive annual look at the demolition, ground engineering, concrete, structural steel, M&E, building envelope and scaffolding markets. In a…
19 Sep 2019 Comments Off on Kier’s biggest challenge is yet to come
Kier chief executive Andrew Davies completed a couple more steps from the playbook of a ‘CEO doing a turnaround’ this morning. He announced a whacking great writedown and insisted that things would be different from here on out. Aside from facing up to Kier’s problems by making the writedowns, there were other…
01 Aug 2019 Comments Off on Kier is in a race against time
There might be a few smiles at Kier HQ today. Its share price soared around 34 per cent after it met the best-case scenario for its net debt while also managing to pay suppliers a lot faster. A new chief financial officer was unveiled for good measure as well. But…
03 Jul 2019 Comments Off on A flagging economy leaves nowhere to hide
For those of us who regularly look for signals around the health of the construction market, the last few weeks have felt like an almost unrelenting barrage of negative signs. We’ve seen three reasonably sized firms collapse, including the CN100-listed Shaylor Group. Elsewhere, we heard today that the UK’s oldest…
17 Jun 2019 Comments Off on Davies needs Kier staff to buy into his plan
Kier has today unveiled a fresh attempt to try and reduce debt, shore up its balance sheet and ensure it doesn't suffer the same fate that this week befell yet another top 100 contractor in Shaylor Group. Its share price hit record lows on Friday on news it would sell…