Kier

10 hospital projects nearing completion

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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

How a Rock is set to shake up the defence sector

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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

Davies’s plan gives Kier some breathing space

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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…

Kier must win old battles to restore confidence

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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…

Kier’s executive pay problem

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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…

Are specialists still on the up?

Skanska UK to sell Cementation piling business

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…

Kier’s biggest challenge is yet to come

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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…

Kier is in a race against time

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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…

A flagging economy leaves nowhere to hide

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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…

Davies needs Kier staff to buy into his plan

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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…