The collapse of a developer behind a planned super-prime residential scheme on London’s Victoria Embankment has left main contractor Ant Yapi and consultants owed over £2.6m. A special purpose vehicle, Doulton Development, was set up by Australian developer Thirdi to buy the existing Westminster Tower building so that it could be redeveloped into 28 luxury flats. The SPV enlisted the professional team and last June signed up contractor Ant Yapi to advance the 18-storey project, marketed as offering some of the most desirable flats along the Thames with views over the Palace of Westminster. By ..read more

Procure Partnerships has started the race for its second-generation professional services framework for public works promising places for smaller firms. The new professional services agreement will run for four years alongside its established national contractor framework and is estimated to be worth up to £800m. The body has been operating and delivering successful frameworks across England for the past seven years, supporting the delivery of over 400 public sector projects. The tender documents have now been released after a successful market engagement session was delivered on 22 April, at ..read more

Main contractor JJ Rhatigan has selected G&H Group to deliver a £20m+ mechanical, electrical, and public health (MEP) design and build package at the Crown Trading Centre in Hayes. The £109m scheme in West London on the Grand Union Canal for property manager Greystar will consist of 407 build to rent, affordable rent and shared ownership apartments, commercial spaces, amenity areas, car and cycle parking, and landscaped areas. G&H Group’s 100-strong team will start on site next month to deliver a complete MEP design and build including installing energy saving air source heat pump tech ..read more

Waste Management contractor Sweeptech has acquired road sweeper hire specialist Go Plant after the firm went into administration last week. The pre-pack deal was completed by administrators from Alvarez & Marsal Europe who sold a number of depots to Go Plant saving 116 jobs. Not all of Go Plant’s depots were sold with some shutting resulting in redundancies at the firm which employed over 400 staff. Sweeptech provides a broad range of services including waste management, high pressure jetting, drainage maintenance and cleansing, CCTV surveys and road sweeping, Martin Smith, CEO of Sweepte ..read more

Online retail giant Amazon has confirmed plans to build a £500m super-shed at the the giant SEGRO Logistics Park site near junction 15 of the M1. The decision marks Amazon’s return to the Big-Box building market in the UK after expansion plans went on hold two years ago in a belt-tightening exercise. Amazon said the new building offering around 2m sq ft will be the latest generation fulfilment centre, with three floors of robotics where goods will be stored and customer orders will be picked using advanced technology. Winvic has been carrying out enabling works for the wider site which has pl ..read more

Costain’s key account director for National Highways Paula Gough has left the contractor to join engineering design consultant Buro Happold. She has taken the role of UK Development Director for Infrastructure after two and a half years as part of Costain’s Highways Senior Leadership Team. Gough will lead Buro’s infrastructure growth strategy for the UK public sector, leveraging the extensive global expertise within the business. She aims to expand and enhance key highway and rail related services delivered for UK public sector clients. Her appointment forms part of the practice’s growth stra ..read more

Traffic management specialist SRL Traffic Systems has appointed Mark Eburne as chief executive officer. The seasoned CEO has 25 years’ senior leadership experience and has worked extensively throughout the utilities, hire and construction sectors. He will bring considerable commercial expertise, which will be beneficial to SRL as it continues its growth journey. Eburne joins SRL from tool, fixings and building supplies retailer, FFX Group, where he was CEO. He said: “I am joining SRL at an extremely exciting point in its development and look forward to working with its team to elevate the comp ..read more

Conquip has developed a new excavation method that significantly enhances the efficiency and safety of construction projects. Conquip BulkX can handle large volumes of material, discharging into muck bays or directly into muck away trucks, rapidly and safely. The Smart-Release BulkX is the latest addition that Conquip launched this year. Fully-electric and remote-operated, this versatile system reduces plant-people interface and can be discharged in muck bays, barges, trucks or stockpiles. The dynamic discharge options that are available when using the Smart-Release BulkX make it ideal for a w ..read more

Construction buyers reported another rise in business activity in April with commercial building work leading the way. The bellwether S&P Global UK Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index posted 53.0 in April, up from 50.2 in March. The index was in positive territory for the second month running and signalled the strongest pace of expansion since February 2023. Commercial building (index at 53.9) increased for the first time since August 2023 and was the fastest-growing area of construction activity in April. Survey respondents commented on rising workloads and a turnaround in customer d ..read more

Three construction contractors have been recognised in the King’s Award for Enterprise for their efforts in promoting sustainable development. Northern Ireland’s Henry Brothers, privately-owned building contractor Willmott Dixon and offsite specialist ZED Pods all won recognition in the Sustainable Development category. Willmott Dixon has been recognised in the prestigious business accolade for the second successive year after last year winning an award in the category of Promoting Opportunity. Its is the fifth time Willmott Dixon has achieved this accolade since 2014, and the third time in re ..read more