Supply Chain

An increased number of construction-related businesses collapsed in September, Construction News can reveal. Data provided to Construction News by Creditsafe suggests that 21 contractors entered administration during the month. This was one more than in August, when 20 firms collapsed. It represents a slight uptick in business failures, but is…

Lendlease’s £325m restoration of Manchester Town Hall is facing a significant £17m overspend. Work on the Grade I-listed building, which is halfway through the construction phase, is facing shortages of steel, plaster, stone and timber, in addition to uncertainty around energy costs and a “flight” of specialist labour. In a…

Construction activity has risen for the first time in three months, official figures show – but experts have warned of the coming impact of high interest rates on future output. September saw a “modest increase” in output, according to the latest Purchasing Managers’ Index, largely down to a “boost” in…

Hull-based framework provider Pagabo has alerted firms to a £1bn refit and refurbishment framework. The four-year-long framework, in its second generation, will replace the current framework that ends in February next year. The new edition of the scheme will start two months afterwards, in April. Pagabo is tendering on behalf…

Annual construction price inflation has fallen for the second month in a row, latest figures from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) show. Statistics for all new work showed that prices had risen by 17.8 per cent in the year to August 2022, compared to the same…

The Factory art centre project in Manchester is running almost £100m over budget, official papers reveal. The 12,000m2 development in Walter Street had a £111.6m price tag when it was approved in 2017. The scheme, which is being developed by Allied London and Manchester City Council, includes a 7,000-capacity venue and was…

British Steel’s owner has asked the UK government for a £500m cash injection to keep its furnaces in Lincolnshire burning. Chinese firm Jingye, which bought British Steel out of administration in 2020, said the cash would ensure its Scunthorpe furnaces remain viable, according to the Financial Times. It has asked…

Close to 17,000 construction-related businesses are at “significant risk” of insolvency, research suggests. Spiralling construction costs coupled with high inflation and rising interest rates on debt have contributed to a 54 per cent hike in the number of firms that are financially stressed, data from tax advisory firm Mazars has…

Plans for a huge underground nuclear waste disposal facility could create more than 4,000 jobs, a government report says. The paper published by Nuclear Waste Services (NWS), a government agency, said works to build a geological disposal facility (GDF) – the location of which is yet to be decided –…

Mace’s turnover for the coming year will have a £60m hole due to projects affected by the fallout of the invasion of Ukraine, the firm's chief executive has revealed. The initial period of Russia's war with Ukraine – between March and June – was “really challenging” for the firm, Mark…