Severn Trent to launch market engagement for up to £25bn capital design and delivery frameworks
Severn Trent Water is preparing to launch a pre-market engagement notice to initiate early engagement with the supply chain for a new generation of capital delivery framework(s), representing up to £25bn of investment over the next 8–15 years across the Midlands. The framework(s) will act as Severn Trent’s primary commercial and delivery vehicle, supporting the delivery of future regulatory outcomes across AMP9, AMP10 and AMP11, while providing a flexible platform to respond to evolving customer, environmental and resilience requirements. The programme forms part of England’s Big Upgrade: the largest investment in water and wastewater infrastructure for a generation. Through this investment, Severn Trent aims to improve resilience, meet growing demand, protect the environment and deliver better outcomes for customers and communities across the region. The notice forms part of Severn Trent’s ongoing procurement and market engagement activities in support of its previously communicated long-term investment programme and does not represent the announcement of additional investment. In parallel with the capital delivery framework procurement, Severn Trent will also be undertaking the Design Services tender process. This is a critical and integrated component of the overall project lifecycle, ensuring a joined-up approach to design, delivery and supply chain collaboration from project inception through to construction. Procurement is expected to commence in early 2027, with the framework(s) designed to engage a diverse range of partners; from major international contractors to regional and local SMEs; ensuring the capability, capacity and innovation required to deliver one of the most significant infrastructure investment programmes in the UK water sector. The framework(s) will be structured to support all AMP9 transition activities and associated expenditure, enabling continuity of delivery as Severn Trent moves between regulatory periods. The approach will also ensure that the majority of AMP8 investment continues to be delivered through incumbent partners, maintaining programme momentum, preserving critical capability, and providing stability for customers and the supply chain during the transition. As part of this engagement, potential partners will be invited to attend a dedicated market engagement event, where they can learn more about Severn Trent’s plans, pipeline and evolving commercial approach. Organisations will be able to express interest and follow updates via the pre-market engagement process. Severn Trent is keen to work collaboratively with the market to help shape its future delivery model, exploring approaches that support earlier supplier involvement, innovation, improved outcomes and long-term value creation for customers, communities and the environment. The new framework model will build on the success of Severn Trent’s existing delivery approach, strengthening long-term partnerships, encouraging early supplier involvement and advanced procurement, and supporting investment in skills, innovation and capacity across the region. Paul Baxter, Capital Delivery Director at Severn Trent, said: “This is a major opportunity for the market to partner with Severn Trent on one of the UK’s most ambitious water infrastructure programmes. We’ve achieved strong results with our existing partners, and we’re now looking to build on that success through a more integrated and collaborative delivery model that creates better outcomes for customers and communities. Through this framework, we are creating a long-term platform that will support delivery across AMP9, AMP10 and AMP11, while providing the flexibility, resilience and innovation needed to meet future challenges.” Daniel Foster, Head of Capital Commercial at Severn Trent, added: “Our ambition is to create a high-performing supplier ecosystem that combines the strengths of established partners with the innovation and capability of new market entrants. The framework will support the AMP8 to AMP9 transition, provide certainty for the supply chain and create opportunities for suppliers to invest in people, skills and innovation over the long term. We want this to be more than a procurement exercise. We want to create a platform for collaboration, regional growth and lasting value that delivers benefits for customers, communities and the wider Midlands economy.” The framework(s) will be structured to promote long-term strategic relationships, with performance, capability and capacity central to future work allocation, providing greater certainty for suppliers and supporting the development of regional skills and supply chain resilience. Through this programme, Severn Trent aims to deliver essential infrastructure while also creating lasting economic, environmental and social benefits across the Midlands. There will be UK2 notices issued to the market shortly, which will set out full details of the forthcoming market engagement day. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Patricia Sowsbery-Stevens appointed Chief Executive Officer of DHF
Door & Hardware Federation (DHF) has announced the appointment of Patricia Sowsbery-Stevens as its new Chief Executive Officer, following the retirement of Bob Perry. Patricia takes up the role after more than ten years with the federation, during which she has played a leading role in its growth and development. Since joining DHF in 2015 as UK Marketing Manager, she has progressed through a number of senior leadership positions, including Commercial Manager, Head of Commercial Operations, Commercial Director and, most recently, Deputy CEO. A Chartered Marketer and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, Patricia has helped shape many of DHF’s most significant achievements over the past decade. She has led the federation’s rebrand, expanded its industry-leading training and qualifications, introduced CSCS card schemes and played a key role in developing industry competence frameworks. Her work has strengthened DHF’s position as the leading trade association representing the UK’s door, gate, shutter and building hardware industries. As CEO, Patricia will lead the federation’s strategic direction, working closely with the Board, Executive Committee, members and industry partners to continue raising standards across the sector through technical guidance, training, advocacy and member support. “Whilst we are very sorry that Bob Perry is standing down as the DHF CEO, we are delighted to appoint a very capable successor,” explains Chairman of DHF, Paul Browne. “Patricia has played a central role in the development of DHF over the past few years in terms of the growth of our membership and the range of services and benefits that the DHF offers its members. Given her outstanding track record and knowledge of DHF she is very well placed to lead the growth and development of DHF in the future. We wish Patricia every success in her new role, which she so deserves.” “I am absolutely delighted to be taking on the role of CEO at DHF,” says Patricia. “Having been part of the federation for more than a decade, I know first-hand the difference we make to our members and to the industries we represent. It is a real privilege to lead such a knowledgeable and dedicated team. Our purpose remains clear; to help businesses succeed while raising standards across the industry. We will continue to champion competence, professionalism and compliance, expanding our training and qualifications to meet the changing needs of the sector. We already deliver training that aligns with BS 8670-1 and the National Occupational Standards, and I look forward to building on that work as we support the development of BS 8670-2 and continue helping both individuals and businesses demonstrate the highest standards of competence. “The industry is changing rapidly, with increasing expectations around safety, compliance and professional standards. DHF is well placed to support our members through those changes, and I am excited about the opportunities ahead. I look forward to working closely with our Board, our members, our partners and the wider industry as we continue to strengthen the federation and build on the excellent foundations already in place.” Under Patricia’s leadership, DHF will continue its commitment to supporting members through trusted technical advice, accredited training, industry guidance and advocacy, while helping drive higher standards of competence, safety and professionalism across the UK’s door, gate, shutter and building hardware sectors. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Briggs & Stratton appoints new Business Development Manager for Electrification
Briggs & Stratton, one of the world’s leading providers of power solutions has announced the appointment of Jamie Bailey as the company’s New Business Development Manager for Electrification, leading Briggs & Stratton’s electrification strategy across EMEA. Jamie steps into the role following five years of successful development within Briggs & Stratton, having progressed from Service Technician within the UK market to Regional Technical Service Leader for Central Europe, later expanding his responsibilities to include Southern Europe, the Middle East, Africa and India. In his new position, Jamie will lead efforts to support and accelerate Briggs & Stratton and Vanguard Battery Systems’ electrification initiatives across the EMEA region. He will help identify new business opportunities, strengthen customer relationships and support the continued growth of the company’s evolving power solutions portfolio as it progresses its transition towards electrification and new technologies. Over the course of his career at Briggs & Stratton, Jamie has built strong relationships across the business and developed extensive technical knowledge of a wide range of products and applications. Through his close work with OEMs, distributors, and dealers throughout the region, he has also gained valuable commercial insight and a strong understanding of customer needs across multiple markets. Philipp Deubel, Senior Director of Sales at Briggs & Stratton EMEA, added: “Jamie brings a rare combination of technical expertise, commercial awareness and strong customer relationships to this role. He understands both our products and our markets extremely well, which will enable him to play an important role in supercharging our growth and electrification ambitions across EMEA.” Commenting on his appointment, Jamie Bailey said: “I’m really excited to begin this next chapter with Briggs & Stratton. Electrification is a fast-moving and important area for our industry, and I’m looking forward to working closely with our customers, partners and teams across EMEA.” The appointment reflects Briggs & Stratton’s commitment to advancing electrification and innovative power solutions across EMEA. Leveraging his extensive experience, Jamie will support the company’s efforts to deliver customer-focused technologies and drive long-term growth across the region. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Embodied carbon moves centre stage: Why EPDs are becoming essential for construction products
A recent joint webinar between FIS and Recolight looked at the drive to reduce carbon emissions in the built environment is rapidly shifting beyond operational energy performance and towards the carbon embodied within the products and materials used to create buildings. EPDs: The foundation of carbon measurement Historically, the construction industry has focused on operational carbon, emissions from heating, cooling, lighting and powering buildings. However, as buildings become more efficient and the UK’s electricity grid continues to decarbonise, embodied carbon is becoming an increasingly significant part of a building’s total impact. Flavie Lowres who has a dual role of Sustainability Champion for FIS and Recolight explained: “As buildings become more energy efficient, the grid decarbonises, and buildings become less dependent on gas, the proportion of operational and embodied carbon will change. Therefore, it is important that we start to look at embodied carbon emissions as well.” Embodied carbon covers emissions generated throughout a product’s lifecycle, from raw material extraction and manufacturing through transport, installation, maintenance and end-of-life disposal. Central to this transition is the Environmental Product Declaration (EPD). Flavie described an EPD as: “An independently verified and registered document, based on a Life Cycle Assessment that provides transparent and comparable information on the environmental impact across a product lifecycle assessment.” While creating an EPD requires investment, manufacturers do not necessarily need an EPD for every individual product. As Flavie noted: “You don’t have to worry about doing one EPD for every single permutation of your products.” Using product families and scaling methodologies can often provide a practical route to delivering meaningful environmental data without excessive cost. Carbon budgets are becoming standard practice One of the most striking messages from the webinar was how quickly embodied carbon is becoming embedded in mainstream design processes. Rachel Hoolahan, from architectural practice Orms, explained that carbon budgets are now increasingly being set at the earliest design stages and used throughout project development. “When we start with carbon, we’re thinking about it from the very start of any project.” She described how carbon is now treated much like project finances: “We have a base budget set and then a developing budget, where we’re looking to reduce carbon in key areas.” Later in the discussion, she confirmed how widespread the practice has become within her practice: “All of our projects, no matter how big or small, have a carbon budget at this point.” From sustainability claims to evidence For contractors, the demand for reliable environmental data is growing rapidly. James Upstill-Goddard from Willmott Dixon explaines that the sector is moving beyond sustainability marketing claims. “There’s been a shift from claims to evidence.” He highlighted how EPDs help provide confidence in the environmental performance being reported to clients: “It enables us to move more from making generic assumptions about how a product or building will perform to using product-specific data.” The value of EPDs, he explained, extends beyond measurement: “EPDs help us move from just reporting carbon to carbon reduction – actually being able to do something with it.” Frameworks are driving market demand James also highlighted the growing influence of public sector procurement frameworks in accelerating embodied carbon measurement. He noted that the Department for Education’s latest framework represents a significant step change. “The DfE expect that 85% by mass of all materials and products in that school will have an EPD available.” He described this as: “A huge undertaking … but that’s clearly where the industry is going.” As more frameworks and clients adopt similar requirements, manufacturers able to provide verified environmental data will be better positioned to compete. What does this mean for FIS members? The Q&A helped underpin why this is important for FIS members, particularly those supplying fit-out and interiors products, the importance of embodied carbon is only increasing. Ian McIlwee highlighted how fit-out’s relatively short replacement cycles make the issue particularly relevant: “We fit out such a fast cycle. Every five, every seven years, we’re stripping stuff out. We’ve got to be thinking longer term about the decisions that we’re making.” At the same time, speakers stressed that EPDs should not become a barrier to innovation. Rachel cautioned against excluding products solely because they lack an EPD: “The EPD is not the be all and end all.” Whilst it provides the best framework, she added: “I certainly don’t want to stifle innovation.” James reminded agreed, whilst recognising the benefit of consistency, he reflected, the goal is to understand real impacts and support better decisions in the most consistent way possible. Looking beyond carbon The discussion also touched on the next stage of environmental assessment. Rachel suggested that future attention will increasingly focus on wider ecological impacts beyond carbon alone: “We’ve been in a carbon-blinkered world for the past couple of years.” She highlighted growing interest in embodied ecological impact, including factors such as water consumption, pollution and biodiversity. Circularity was another recurring theme. Encouraging manufacturers to think beyond product sales, Rachel urged businesses to consider reuse and refurbishment models: “Circularity is a huge growing piece.” The direction of travel is clear The overall message from the webinar was that embodied carbon is rapidly becoming a key metric alongside cost, programme and quality. Public sector frameworks, client requirements and emerging standards are all pushing the industry towards greater transparency. For manufacturers and suppliers, environmental data is increasingly becoming part of market access. For designers and contractors, it is becoming essential for informed decision-making. As James concluded: “The real value in EPDs is when the important decisions are made.” For FIS members, now is the time to engage with embodied carbon, understand the role of EPDs and prepare for a market where verified environmental performance is no longer optional, but expected.
Awarded construction projects reach £19.8 billion in the first two quarters of 2026
Supply chain management solutions firm Once For All, home to Constructionline, reports regional growth in high-value projects awarded Combined data from Once For All’s Marketplace platform reveals a strong start to the first half (H1) of 2026, with total signed contracts awarded reaching £19.8 billion. A significant portion of the total was driven in the first quarter, which saw £12.75 billion in awarded contracts—a nearly 59% increase from the previous quarter (Q4 2025). Although Q2 had a lower total value of £7 billion, a year-on-year comparison showed a positive trend. Specifically, Q2 2026 experienced a 77% increase in total value compared to Q2 2025 (£4 billion), along with a steady rise in volume (4.3%) compared to the same period in the previous year. The trillion-pound pipeline Looking more broadly at projects added to the future pipeline, the report shows a record-breaking boom in the total value of UK construction opportunities published across H1 2026, peaking at a potential £1.3 trillion listed in Q2. This figure is largely driven by several newly published national infrastructure frameworks in the North West dedicated to naval defence infrastructure. Housing remained the top sector for volume of projects added to the pipeline in H1 2026. Yet in Q2, outside of the major defence infrastructure framework, high-value published pipelines emerged in Harbours and Waterways (£7.3 billion) and Air Transport (£2.1 billion) compared to £1.3 billion for housing. Several major new projects were published in Q2, the top three being: Regional growth continues A defining trend of the first half of 2026 is the regional diversification of awarded construction projects outside of the capital. The data highlights that construction buoyancy is spreading outside of the South of England, with Wales and Scotland showing exceptional strength in both project pipelines and contracts awarded. Wales claimed the highest-value projects awarded for Q2 2026, totalling £983 million across 22 projects. This includes an extension to Margam Substation in Port Talbot and a new-build arena and hotel in Cardiff. Scotland maintained its strong growth trajectory from 2025 into the first half of this year. Securing £568 million across 29 projects in Q2, Scotland cemented its position as a top-three regional leader for project awards nationwide in both quarters, consistently tracking alongside London, Wales, and the North West. Commenting on the H1 2026 data, Andrew Preston, Director of Marketplace, Once For All, said: “The data from the first six months of 2026 reveals high-value contracts continuing to dominate the UK construction market. A trend we started to see unfold last year. “The impressive £1.3 trillion pipeline highlights a promising future for the North West. However, it also underscores the increasing need for contractors and their supply chains to possess the necessary financial and compliance credentials to capitalise on available opportunities. “Although housing continues to dominate high-volume activity, other regulated industries are emerging as higher value, including air transport, education, harbour and waterways, so a focus on supplier pre-qualification and compliance remains paramount.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
GB Bank secured a facility on a £33m London asset to enable a wider portfolio acquisition in just seven days
GB Bank has supported the first stage of financing a £33 million mixed-use property portfolio across London, completing a structured funding solution in just seven days to help an experienced property investor meet a demanding exchange deadline. Working alongside SHC Capital, GB Bank provided an initial lending facility to be secured against an unencumbered portfolio of stabilised, income-producing assets, unlocking equity to support the borrower’s exchange on the wider acquisition within the same tight window. The structure created a clear funding pathway across the transaction, securing favourable commercial terms from the outset. The transaction was structured to support the borrower’s longer-term acquisition strategy, demonstrating GB Bank’s ability to deliver flexible funding solutions that help experienced investors execute complexed property transactions at pace. The borrower is an established property investor with a long-standing track record and ownership of more than £500m worth of real estate. Security for the facility comprised of a well-performing, income-generating portfolio with strong occupancy levels, enabling GB Bank to act quickly while maintaining its disciplined and prudent approach to lending. The transaction highlights GB Bank’s ability to combine responsive decision-making with structured funding expertise, supporting complexed and multi-asset transactions while maintaining robust lending fundamentals. GB Bank would like to thank Simon Noonoo, Partner at Seddons, for his legal support throughout the transaction, and Simon D’Archy at Savills for acting as valuer within the strict timelines. Pankaj Thukral, Chief Lending Officer and Deputy CEO at GB Bank, said: “This transaction demonstrates the value of combining speed, flexibility and commercial understanding to help clients seize significant opportunities. By working closely with Tony Tadros at SHC Capital, we were able to structure a solution that unlocked equity from an existing portfolio, enabling the borrower to exchange on the wider acquisition within just seven days. “Complexed transactions require more than fast decisions – they require a funding partner that understands the bigger picture. Our relationship-led approach allowed us to support the client’s wider acquisition strategy from the outset, providing certainty of funding while maintaining the prudent underwriting standards that underpin every deal we complete.” Hardik Gogia, Relationship Manager at GB Bank, said: “Understanding a sponsor’s wider strategy is what allows us to structure funding that works today and tomorrow. In this case, we were able to release equity from an existing, well-performing portfolio at pace, giving our client the certainty they needed to exchange on the next stage of their acquisition. “It’s a good example of how a relationship-led approach and disciplined credit process aren’t mutually exclusive. Working closely with Tony Tadros at SHC Capital, and with strong support from Simon Noonoo at Seddons and Simon D’Archy at Savills on valuation, we delivered both speed and structure on a genuinely complex transaction.” Tony Tadros, Director at SHC Capital, added: “We consider GB Bank a long-term partner, and once again they delivered under significant pressure. This was a complex transaction with a demanding timeline, requiring all parties to move quickly. Throughout the process, the GB Bank team remained responsive, pragmatic, and solutions-focused, ensuring a successful outcome. Simon Noonoo at Seddons and Simon D’Arcy at Savills were first class at every step.” For more information, please visit gbbank.co.uk Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals