Balfour Beatty, Bam, Carillion, Costain – just a few of the major contractors that have released financial results this month. In case you missed them, here are eight highlights not to be missed. Balfour Beatty chief executive Leo Quinn warned that increased health and safety penalties could bankrupt small companies.
Nottingham-based consulting engineers Howard Ward Associates (HWA) has been appointed to work on a major £20M student accommodation scheme on Westwood Way, Warwickshire. The site of the planned 380-bed student accommodation project is currently occupied by an office building, which has been vacant for more than four years. When works
SLADEN Estates and Peveril Securities have announced the start of the speculative development of two high-quality industrial and distribution buildings located in Nimbus Park, Doncaster. Construction work on the two buildings, measuring 164,000 sq ft and 106,202 sq ft, is due to commence later this month, with the completion date
Construction work has started on a £32 million West Suffolk waste hub. The developments aims to streamline waste services on a single 16 acre site at Hollow Road Farm, in Fornham St Martin, to offer a waste transfer station, household waste recycling centre, vehicle workshop and re-use shop. Contractor Morgan
Construction work is under way at the new £16 million marine science centre in Lowestoft, which will see new headquarters built for the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) at its site on Pakefield Cliffs. The ground-breaking ceremony was attended by funding supporters from Defra and the New
MC Construction has completed a revamp of the reception and business conference area at the Manchester Marriott Victoria & Albert Hotel. The £500,000 project creates a new welcome experience for guests at the 148-bedroom, four-star hotel in Spinningfields. The scheme involved renovating the hotel reception, lobby, conference foyer and bar
Balfour Beatty, Bam, Carillion, Costain – just a few of the major contractors that have released financial results this month. In case you missed them, here are eight highlights not to be missed. Balfour Beatty chief executive Leo Quinn warned that increased health and safety penalties could bankrupt small companies. He was talking to CN after the group revised its reserves for potential liabilities for H&S incidents in its H1 2016. Bam Construct executive director James Wimpenny said Bam would be “constantly looking for new opportunities” through its property arm. The support services division at Carillion accounted for 60 per cent of its total underlying operating profit of £112.7m for H1 2016, at the same time revealing a £10.5m charge in expectation of compensation to victims of the blacklisting scandal. Costain chief financial officer Tony Bickerstaff said the firm expected its Manchester waste legacy contract to be completed early next year despite not yet knowing the full extent of the work that needs to be done. Henry Boot’s CEO John Sutcliffe also had a good chat with CN this month. He was confident the company will deliver a boosted development pipeline despite having longer-term concerns after the EU vote. Construction margins at Lendlease slid to 0.4 per cent in its European business, although managing director of construction for Europe Neil Martin said the group had a healthy outlook. The senior team at Morgan Sindall had a lot to be smiling about after posting a 21 per cent jump in pre-tax profit for the first half of the year. The following week, CEO John Morgan purchased £3.2m-worth of additional shares in the company. Tarmac owner CRH’s profit was up €344m in H1 2016 results but it said UK construction activity was “modest” – although sales volumes of cement, aggregates and ready-mixed concrete were ahead of expectations. Source link
Nottingham-based consulting engineers Howard Ward Associates (HWA) has been appointed to work on a major £20M student accommodation scheme on Westwood Way, Warwickshire. The site of the planned 380-bed student accommodation project is currently occupied by an office building, which has been vacant for more than four years. When works start towards the end of 2018, the building will be demolished to make way for the new sustainable residential scheme to be built. The Oaks, which received planning permission in April, is due for completion for the 2020/2021 academic year. HWA has been chosen to work on the scheme on behalf of McLaren Property to provide advice and a range of engineering services, including civil and structural engineering and pre-planning engineering services such as ground investigation, transport planning and flood risk assessment. Dan Bailey, partner at HWA, said: “We have a long-standing relationship with McLaren Property having worked on numerous student accommodation schemes across the country since 2013 with them, which is why we are very pleased to be working with the team again on this exciting bespoke project. “This is an interesting residential project within the education sector that incorporates a historic watercourse running through it. The watercourse has dried up but needs to be maintained throughout the development in case flows are able to be restored, meaning it has become an interesting landscape feature. “Both Coventry and Warwick University continue to see an increased demand for student accommodation, so we are pleased to be able to help fill that gap in the market locally and to be helping to deliver a high-quality scheme.” The Oaks will feature a number of social learning spaces as well as fitness facilities, onsite bicycle storage, excellent pedestrian links and easy access to local bus services when complete. Bruce Ruddle, development director at McLaren Property, said: “We are delighted that planning permission for our new student accommodation scheme on the site of 1 The Oaks has been approved by Coventry City Council. “The building has been vacant for several years and we are looking forward to regenerating the site and providing high quality student accommodation close to existing educational establishments. “It is anticipated that construction of the scheme will commence later in 2018, with the scheme expected to be completed for the 2020/2021 academic year.” HWA is also working on a number of other high-end projects in the West Midlands, including two other student accommodation projects in Birmingham, a distribution park and church in Dunchurch, and is currently undertaking roof inspections on a commercial premise in connection with PV solar panel installations. The firm, whose head office is located on Walkers Yard, Nottingham, delivers construction engineering consultancy services across a range of sectors, including education, healthcare, emergency services, commercial and residential across the country.
SLADEN Estates and Peveril Securities have announced the start of the speculative development of two high-quality industrial and distribution buildings located in Nimbus Park, Doncaster. Construction work on the two buildings, measuring 164,000 sq ft and 106,202 sq ft, is due to commence later this month, with the completion date scheduled for March 2019. The main contractors for this development are Bowmer & Kirkland. Located just minutes off J6 of the M18 at Thorne, Doncaster, Nimbus Park offers excellent connections to the national motorway network. “Regional and national occupiers appreciate the benefits that Doncaster has to offer – particularly Thorne – due to the excellent labour availability,” said Rachel Wood of Sladen Estates. NP164 and NP106 will have clear internal heights of 15 metres and 12 metres respectively and both units will benefit from generous and fully contained secure yards and high quality office accommodation. “It is great to see activity on Nimbus Park, with the development of two high quality buildings at a time when there is increased occupier demand and focus on the South Yorkshire market,” said Rachel. “With the likes of The Range and BMW choosing to locate in Thorne for their national distribution hubs it demonstrates the strength of the location and it is a trend we only see continuing as other occupiers look towards the area,” she added. CPP and Moriarty & Co are retained as agents for the buildings, which are available on a leasehold basis. Sladen Estates is a commercial property development company specialising in industrial and commercial development throughout the UK and has offices in Derbyshire and Manchester. Peveril Securities is the property division of Bowmer and Kirkland – one of the largest privately-owned construction groups in the UK.
Construction work has started on a £32 million West Suffolk waste hub. The developments aims to streamline waste services on a single 16 acre site at Hollow Road Farm, in Fornham St Martin, to offer a waste transfer station, household waste recycling centre, vehicle workshop and re-use shop. Contractor Morgan Sindall is getting the community involved and has already developed a community engagement programme to work throughout the project with a Community Liaison Group. “The local community has held this project to account from the outset, and through its activism and tenacity has influenced the design and delivery of the site,” said Cllr Sarah Broughton, chair of the Community Liaison Group and St Edmundsbury Borough Council ward member for nearby Great Barton. “Construction will bring its own challenges and I welcome the contractor’s commitment to engaging with residents through the Community Liaison Group, to keep them involved and informed.” The developers of the site include St Edmundsbury Borough and Forest Health District Councils, together with Suffolk County Council. “We would like to assure residents that we will be doing everything in our power to ensure minimal disruption while work on-site is carried out,” mentioned Saul Humphrey, managing director for Morgan Sindall’s East region. The chairman of Fornham St Martin cum St Genevieve, Great Barton and Fornham All Saints parish councils has welcomed efforts to work with the community. Philip Reeve, of Great Barton, said: “It’s essential with a big project that there’s community involvement.” Michael Collier, of Fornham St Martin, said: ” We want to do everything we can to make sure things are as smooth as possible and they’re aware of our concerns.” Howard Quayle, of Fornham All Saints, said: “It’s a channel of communication.”
Construction work is under way at the new £16 million marine science centre in Lowestoft, which will see new headquarters built for the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) at its site on Pakefield Cliffs. The ground-breaking ceremony was attended by funding supporters from Defra and the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership, alongside local councillors, residents, staff and contractors. To commemorate the occasion, a time capsule containing recent Cefas scientific papers, letters to the future from young Cefas apprentices, a reusable water bottle – reflecting organisational commitments to reducing marine plastics, and other artefacts were buried. “I thank Defra, New Anglia LEP, local councillor and the many others for their support for our exciting new Lowestoft headquarters development,” said CEO Tom Karsten. “This will be a vital step in realising our vision of a new era of Cefas and Defra leadership in providing world class science to manage the marine and freshwater environment.” “Cefas has played a leading role in the UK and Lowestoft’s marine history over the past 116 years. The renewal of our Lowestoft headquarters represents an important chapter in this history and future opportunities for our continued development,” he added. Cefas secured the final piece of funding in January 2018 and with the new centre on the way, the firm could save up to £2 million a year in running costs and would safeguard 440 jobs at the Pakefield Road site as well as enabling it to employ 12 to 15 apprentices a year. “We are pleased to be officially marking the start of construction on this important development, which will provide Cefas with outstanding facilities to support their globally-relevant research and anchor our region as a centre for marine science excellence in the UK,” said Saul Humphrey, managing director of Morgan Singall’s East region. “Our team is already making good progress and we look forward to working closely with Cefas and the wider project team as we deliver this landmark centre,” he continued. Building work on the new office is due to begin shortly, with the completion date set for May 2020.
MC Construction has completed a revamp of the reception and business conference area at the Manchester Marriott Victoria & Albert Hotel. The £500,000 project creates a new welcome experience for guests at the 148-bedroom, four-star hotel in Spinningfields. The scheme involved renovating the hotel reception, lobby, conference foyer and bar area to create an open-plan space, a more relaxing check-in environment and a ‘Power-Up Pod’ workspace with charging points for laptops and mobile phones. Salford-based MC Construction was chosen as the contractor in a tendering process, partly because it makes a point of employing local people, which the V&A also does. The V&A, which lies on the banks of the River Irwell, is housed in Grade II listed buildings constructed in 1844 as warehouses. The exposed original brickwork, cast-iron columns and vintage wooden beams were retained as part of the upgrade. Peter Hill, the hotel’s general manager, said: “Manchester is an ever-changing city – the opening of the nearby St John’s Quarter is close with three new residential blocks at the Slateyard also opening right across the river next year. “This means the requirements of the guests we welcome through our door are changing. At the V&A, we always want to be a hotel that is ready for the next few years, and so, with this refurbishment, we as a hotel are also changing so that we continue to meet their requirements. “We are particularly proud of this refurbishment too, as we have kept the 19th century feel of the original building but have added all the 21st century amenities our guests expect. Our guests are at the centre of everything we do, and we’re sure they will find everything they need as part of our new welcome experience.” David Lowe, managing director of MC Construction, said: “The Manchester Marriott Victoria & Albert Hotel is a prestigious addition to our growing client base in the hospitality sector and it was great to be recognised in the selection process for our commitment to sourcing local labour. “This successful project follows on from contracts such as the multi-million pound upgrade at Chancellors Hotel at the University of Manchester, and we look forward to further strengthening our presence in the sector in the future.” The architect for the scheme was 3D Reid, and SDA Consulting was the quantity surveyor and project manager.
