Watkin Jones produced “a resilient operational performance” in its latest financial year despite difficult market conditions, its chief executive has said. Turnover for the year to 30 September 2024 at the firm – ranked 49th in last year’s CN100 – fell by 12 per cent… The post Watkin Jones slashes losses despite lower turnover appeared first on Construction News ..read more

David Pickstone is a partner and Anastasia Nourescu is a senior associate at law firm Stewarts HMRC has recently intensified its scrutiny of research and development tax relief claims, targeting inadequate submissions from rogue advisers and seeking to narrow the interpretation of the rules around… The post HMRC is aggressively scrutinising R&D tax relief claims – here’s what to do appeared first on Construction News ..read more

Construction SMEs narrowly avoided stagnation in the last month of 2024, a new survey has revealed. The latest quarterly UK Business Growth Tracker analysis from NatWest, published this morning (22 January), revealed a slight increase in activity at the end of 2024. But its seasonally… The post Construction SME activity slows as new orders decline, says NatWest appeared first on Construction News ..read more

Subcontractors and suppliers are set to miss out on £10.8m following the collapse of a major contractor. More than 70 former employees who submitted claims totalling £2m are also expected to be out of pocket, according to Blenheim House’s administrators. Documents released by administrators at… The post Supply chain to miss out on £10.8m after contractor’s demise appeared first on Construction News ..read more

Construction worker pay rose by more than 5 per cent last year, according to new official data. The Office for National Statistics revealed yesterday (21 January) the median earnings in the sector were £2,633 per month in December 2024. This was up 5.5 per cent… The post Construction employee pay up 5.5% in a year appeared first on Construction News ..read more

Norfolk County Council has announced that it has withdrawn its planning application for the £274m Norwich Western Link Road project after being unable to satisfy Natural England on how it will conserve bat populations in the area. Graham Plant, council cabinet member for highways, transport… The post Bat concerns trigger uncertain fate for Norwich road scheme appeared first on Construction News ..read more

A construction company has been fined after a 64-year-old worker plummeted to his death from a seat suspended from a church steeple. Ecclesiastical Steeplejacks, which has ceased trading, was ordered to pay £60,000 by Birmingham Magistrates’ Court last week. The firm had employed David Clover… The post Firm fined after church restoration worker falls to his death appeared first on Construction News ..read more

Three government departments are facing an “intractable” maintenance problem, with the total bill swelling to at least £49bn. Property failure is now a “principal risk” for the Ministry of Defence, Department of Education and Ministry of Justice, according to a report released by the National… The post Whitehall’s property maintenance bill ‘at least’ £49bn appeared first on Construction News ..read more

Joanna Rees is a partner at law firm Blake Morgan The collapse of ISG in September created waves across the UK’s construction industry. It served as a painful reminder of the knock-on effects that insolvency can have throughout the supply chain, and the challenges it… The post Keeping your project and supply chain afloat when a contractor sinks appeared first on Construction News ..read more

A failure to look beyond historical statistics on construction product safety when regulating the market could lead to an “accumulation of deaths”, the government has been warned. A report commissioned by the Office for Product Safety and Standards, published on Monday (20 January), says that… The post Products safety watchdog issues warning over historical data appeared first on Construction News ..read more