The UK construction industry should beware insolvencies as demand weakens and margins are squeezed, warns UK consultant Turner & Townsend. Its latest market analysis points to falling demand, rising input costs and lower margins, and notes that the number of construction insolvencies far outstrips those in retail. The confusion over
Over 200 social homes in Manchester have received refurbishments from one of the largest privately-owned construction companies in the UK, Wates. A total of 62 previously vacant properties were fully refurbished with a further 151 properties receiving facelift works. The revamped homes in Ben Street in Clayton have been delivered
Aggregate Industries’ coloured asphalt solution was the choice of Nottinghamshire’s new £5 million Sherwood Forest visitor centre. The project was developed by an RSPB-led consortium and Nottinghamshire County Council and it includes flagship facilities such as a shop, a café with an outside terrace, an amphitheatre as well as a
A new housing development in Edenbridge is set to throw open its showhome’s doors to home-hunters in the area. The Aldwych showhome at Bellway’s Oakley Park development, off St Johns Way, is being unveiled to the public on Saturday, February 2. This outstanding four-bedroom property will showcase all that’s best
Building and civil engineering company Britcon has secured a £1 million contract to deliver new speculative industrial premises in phase two of a new development at Markham Vale in Derbyshire. Britcon has been appointed to build the 15,000 sq ft unit, along with 1,500 sq ft of integral offices, by
The UK construction industry should beware insolvencies as demand weakens and margins are squeezed, warns UK consultant Turner & Townsend. Its latest market analysis points to falling demand, rising input costs and lower margins, and notes that the number of construction insolvencies far outstrips those in retail. The confusion over Brexit keeps persisting and contractors expect tender prices to increase 2.9% in 2019, outstripped by increasing materials costs of 5.3% and labour costs rising 4.5%. Only 28.4% of contractors expect the market to improve, against 42.1% prior to the Brexit vote in June 2016. According to official data, construction witnessed the highest insolvency rate of any UK economic sector, with 2,924 insolvencies recorded in the 12 months to the end of September 2018. This figure is 28.8% higher than the UK’s struggling retail sector. Turner & Townsend thinks that the underlying cause is weakening demand in construction. Despite a small 3.4% rise on the previous quarter, new orders in Q3 2018 were down almost a third (30.8%) on the high levels seen in 2017. As a result, Turner & Townsend’s latest UK market intelligence report finds that half of contractors (50.5%) surveyed were experiencing lukewarm tendering conditions, reporting increased competition and moderate price growth. The trends are hurting profit margins. The analysis shows median margins for tier one contractors standing at 3% and 5% for tier two contractors. Since the start of 2016, median tier one margins have shrunk by a quarter and tier two margins by half, leading Turner & Townsend to warn of a heightened risk of insolvency. “So much rests on the Brexit withdrawal agreement and there remain risks of further decreases in demand, coupled with increases in the costs of materials and labour from the continent and elsewhere. Contractors’ already-thin margins could clearly come under further pressure, ” said Paul Connolly, UK managing director of cost management. “It’s essential for clients to be proactive about these risks – monitoring for warning signs, undertaking wide-ranging due diligence during procurement, and using project controls to pre-empt and correct problems at an early stage. It’s about checking and challenging the supply chain, but also collaborating – understand suppliers’ pressures and concerns, as well as holding them to account,” he added. Turner & Townsend’s report outlines the steps clients should take in terms of watching for warning signs, due diligence, pre-emption of problems, and creating a resilient client-supplier dynamic.
Over 200 social homes in Manchester have received refurbishments from one of the largest privately-owned construction companies in the UK, Wates. A total of 62 previously vacant properties were fully refurbished with a further 151 properties receiving facelift works. The revamped homes in Ben Street in Clayton have been delivered by Wates Living Space four weeks ahead of schedule. The refurbishments include re-roofing, energy efficiency upgrades, fully-fitted kitchens and bathrooms, flooring and carpeting as well as the installation of new heating systems. The facade works involved replacing all existing windows and doors with modern UPVC, improving guttering and cleaning brickwork plus the refurbishment of communal alley space and external walling. “The work delivered by the Wates Living Space team at Ben Street is truly transformative. To take homes that have laid empty for 20 years and bring them up to this standard of quality is a task of great care and expertise and it is truly heartening to see the difference that this has made to residents,” said David Morgan, Managing Director of Wates Living Space. “Our work at Ben Street was above all things about the community. The project team should rightly be very proud of the ways in which they have engaged with local residents, community groups and neighbouring schools to ensure the positive legacy of this important work becomes a catalyst for lasting community spirit for generations to come,” he added. Delivered on behalf of Manchester City Council, the refurbishments brought to life the 200 properties that are now up to decent home standards. “First and foremost, I would like to welcome the new east Manchester tenants in to their new homes. These are some of the luckiest residents in the city as the first to access the refurbished housing at the Ben Street regeneration area. Wates has done a remarkable job turning these properties into high-quality family homes,” commented Cllr Suzanne Richards, Manchester City Council’s executive member for housing and regeneration.
Aggregate Industries’ coloured asphalt solution was the choice of Nottinghamshire’s new £5 million Sherwood Forest visitor centre. The project was developed by an RSPB-led consortium and Nottinghamshire County Council and it includes flagship facilities such as a shop, a café with an outside terrace, an amphitheatre as well as a play area for children. The Edwinstowe centre, which opened at the end of August 2018, provides information on the area’s rich wildlife and woodland as well information on the Robin Hood legend. In order to complement the resin bond golden gravel used on the rest of the site, contractors Woodhead Construction and RN Surfacing were required to source asphalt. They selected Aggregate Industries’ SuperColour Ultra. “Due to the high profile nature of this project, it was vital for us to work with a supplier offering innovative asphalt solutions, with extensive colour and performance capabilities. I’d like to thank Aggregate Industries for delivering a first class service throughout – by providing us with bespoke samples of their natural coloured asphalts, we were able to practically test out and decide on the best possible solution to help us meet the client’s unique aesthetic brief,” explained Amy Stamford, Quantity Surveyor at Woodhead Group. The Aggregate Industries solution is a range of distinctly coloured asphalts, which uses a translucent penetration grade, resinous hydrocarbon binder. The special binder is readily pigmented and provides a wide range of asphalt colours. Overall, Aggregate Industries supplied 60 tonnes of SuperColour Ultra in natural colour. “As an area of outstanding beauty, it was important for the new visitor centre at Sherwood Forest Country Park to be in keeping with the natural surroundings, including the materials used for landscaping and surfacing. With a selection of high performance asphalt materials at our disposal, including different colours and performance properties, we’re delighted our bespoke SuperColour Ultra succeeded in achieving the naturally appealing look and superior performance the client was after,” said Victoria Smith, general manager of Express Asphalt at Aggregate Industries.
A new housing development in Edenbridge is set to throw open its showhome’s doors to home-hunters in the area. The Aldwych showhome at Bellway’s Oakley Park development, off St Johns Way, is being unveiled to the public on Saturday, February 2. This outstanding four-bedroom property will showcase all that’s best about the spectacular mix of two, three, four and five-bedroom houses as well as one and two-bedroom apartments at the development. Work on Bellway’s landmark site began in late 2017 and will be made up of 300 homes. The development will also feature public open space featuring a children’s play area, walkways and wildlife areas. Mark Harrop, Sales Director for Bellway’s Kent division, said: “We are very excited to be opening our new showhome at Oakley Park on February 2. “It will give people seeking their dream home an excellent insight into the beautiful properties we are building here. “It looks set to be very busy on the launch day because there has been such intense interest in Oakley Park from people keen to move into the area and we’re gearing up to meet high demand. “Our development offers a wide range of homes to suit everyone from first-time buyers looking to get on to the property ladder to families who’d like more room and those looking for the ideal place to downsize. “Our properties at Oakley Park have already been going down well so I’d urge anyone interested in making this their home to come along and view our showhome so that they don’t miss out.” Bellway will be ploughing almost £1.5 million into local infrastructure and facilities as part of the Oakley Park planning agreement. There is currently a range of two-bedroom apartments and three, four and five-bedroom houses available to buy. Prices for two-bedroom apartments start at £264,995. More information on the homes being built at Oakley Park can be found at bellway.co.uk.
Building and civil engineering company Britcon has secured a £1 million contract to deliver new speculative industrial premises in phase two of a new development at Markham Vale in Derbyshire. Britcon has been appointed to build the 15,000 sq ft unit, along with 1,500 sq ft of integral offices, by development partnership Priority Space. Britcon has already delivered 13 SME units in phase one on the site which is now 75% sold. The scheme sits within the Markham Vale flagship regeneration zone which is a 200-acre business and distribution park at Junction 29A of the M1 motorway. Lee Buchanan at Priority Space said, “We have already invested £2.5 million into the business park with phase one which was delivered to exacting standards by Britcon. With strong interest from owner occupiers we are confident in progressing phase two with Britcon to build out a significant detached unit that would suit a larger operator requiring self-contained facilities.” Paul Clarkson at Britcon said, “We are pleased to secure this second commercial building contract at Markham Vale for which we are providing a full design and build turnkey solution. We are also extending infrastructure works in partnership with our sister company Specialist Surfacing on this fast-track project which is to be completed by the end of January 2019.” Britcon’s commercial sector experience includes the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in Sheffield, Treleigh Industrial Estate in Cornwall, and Langage Science Park in Plymouth. It has also recently completed a £2 million expansion of premises for packaging firm CEPAC. Established for more than 30 years, Britcon is £47 million turnover business headquartered in Scunthorpe and directly employs 110 people on its project sites across the UK. Key contracts secured in the last 12 month includes Key contracts secured in the last 12 months include a £5 million project for McCain Foods, a £13.5 million contract to deliver a new anaerobic digestion (AD) plant in Dagenham for food waste recycler ReFood (UK) Ltd, a series of new developments, extensions and refurbishment projects valued in total over £20 million for Lidl, and contracts worth over £4 million for global chemicals business Kemira. @Britcon_Limited
