Another contractor has been cleared after a high-profile raid by immigration officials on a site in Wales last month. The Home Office briefed the media following the raid on the Shotton Mill site in Deeside, north Wales warning that precast concrete specialist McCann and frame contractor Adana Construction could face fines of up to £225,000 after 13 people were arrested. Immigration officials decided to take no action against FP McCann earlier this week. And now Adana Construction has also been issued with a “No Action Notice” from the Immigration Enforcement division of the Home Office after ..read more

Worcestershire builder Benniman weathered a lull in the shed building market last year to maintain profit levels. The warehouse market slowdown saw revenue drop by around a fifth to £130m, but Benniman managed to keep pre-tax profit level at £8.4m. The shed builder also managed to end the year with stronger net cash at £55m, up from £38m in the year before. Steven Smith managing director of Benniman, said: “The industrial and logistics market has been challenged through 2023 compared to 2022, although Benniman has been sustained by a strong pipeline. “The company’s longstanding approach to ma ..read more

McAleer & Rushe is looking to expand its supply chain of specialist subcontractors and suppliers following a series of recent contract wins including a £102m student tower in the City of London. The firm is holding a ‘Meet the Buyer’ event on Wednesday May 1 at the County Hall, Westminster in London. McAleer & Rushe said it is a prime opportunity for new companies to find out how to become a valued member of its supply chain and benefit from its strong pipeline of live and upcoming projects across the UK. The event follows several contract awards including the £102m student accommodat ..read more

Manchester University has named its new line-up of contractors to deliver its ongoing works and expansion programme. The new build framework will be used to deliver the University’s next five-year investment strategy. It has been divided into four lots that will also cover demolition, refurbishment, decoration and landscaping, up to a total value of £260m. Twenty firms secured places on the framework although details of the winners for each of the four project value lots are still to emerge. Manchester University Framework Winners Aspire Construction Project John Graham Constructio ..read more

Contractor Geoffrey Osborne has filed a notice of intention to appoint an administrator. The famous industry name was founded in 1966 by civil engineer Geoffrey Osborne and its main shareholders are still the Osborne family. Latest published accounts for the firm showed a turnover for the year to September 30 2021 of £325.8m generating a pre-tax profit of £2m while employing 800 staff. Last year group chief executive Mark Hoyland stepped down after just one month in the top job while its offsite business Innovaré was sold to Bowmer & Kirkland. The expanding Cardo Group also bought Osborne ..read more

Manchester developer Salboy’s building contractor Domis has started work on its 26-storey residential tower block project in the Greengate area towards the north of the city centre Salboy’s tenth central Manchester development in seven years, the £50m-plus building project, previously known as Trinity 2 and now renamed Obsidian, will deliver 250 flats and around 1,000 sq ft of ground floor commercial space at the Trinity Way and Willam Street site. Designed by architect Studio Power, the scheme also includes a resident’s gym, cinema room, private meeting space, and a co-working area. The Obsi ..read more

A West Midlands housing association has restarted the hunt for contractors/developers and professional advisers to deliver its new build programme. Worcester-based Community Housing Group estimates the framework could be worth up to £1.3bn over four years across the Wyre Forest and the areas surrounding Worcestershire and West Midlands The larger value lots covering construction and development work on projects over £10m and specialist demolition and enabling works will be open across the whole of England and Wales as a national lot. Community Housing Group framework Construction and developm ..read more

Firefighters battled for six hours to rescue a man trapped in a collapsed trench at a construction site in south London on Tuesday. The trench, approximately twelve metres long and four metres deep, collapsed and trapped a man up to his waist in sand and clay at the site in Charlton. Five Fire Rescue Units formed part of the brigade’s response, deploying specially trained Urban Search and Rescue crews to the scene working alongside the London Ambulance Service Hazardous Area Response Team, who coordinated medical care throughout the incident. Crews methodically excavated sand and clay from th ..read more

Contractors have until early next month to submit applications for places on a major works framework for the University of Greenwich. The University is planning a £300m programme of works covering a mix of refurbishment, rebuild and new build at its three campuses. Three to five firms will be selected to deliver the 2030 masterplan with projects expected to vary in value between £50m and £250m. The mix of properties within scope include scheduled monuments, listed buildings, buildings of various ages and new construction. This includes the delivery of a new learning, research, and enterprise ..read more

Developer Delancey has submitted plans to build 200,000 sq ft of research and laboratory space overflying railway tunnels close to the surface on a brownfield site near London’s King’s Cross station. Situated in the growing Knowledge Quarter and Innovation District, the constrained site is located next to the disused York Road underground station, The innovative design for 176-178 York Way was drawn up by architect Kohn Pedersen Fox with structural engineer Arup to avoid loads on three Network Rail tunnels and two Piccadilly Line tunnels running as close as 4.5 metres below the surface. The b ..read more