Contractors Focus
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Features
‘This industry is absolutely fine…’ Andrew Davies on the naysayers, rescuing Kier and what the firm plans to do next
The contractor’s chief executive goes in to bat for construction. It’s a good time to be in the business, he tells Dave RogersÂ
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Features
‘It was always the plan ...’ Keltbray’s Brendan Kerr on selling infrastructure and what he’s going to do next
The specialist contractor’s owner talks to Dave Rogers about going back to building, succession planning and why he never intends to quit
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Features
‘It’s madness what the industry goes to work for’… Sisk’s Paul Brown on margins, making the right decisions and working on Man City’s stadium
‘The last two or three years in the UK have been the toughest I’ve experienced,’ the Irish contractor’s Liverpool-born chief executive tells Dave Rogers
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‘The contracting model needs to change’ – Permasteelisa’s boss on why the industry can’t go on like this
Liam Cummins joined the cladding specialist in 2023 after years working for main contractors. He talks to Dave Rogers about unsustainable margins, working for some formidable CEOs and why London is still the place to do business
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Features
Key takeaways from the ºÚ¶´ÉçÇø the Future Conference and Housing Today Live
Church House in Westminster yesterday played host to two back-to-back conferences on construction and housing attended by hundreds of professionals from the built environment. Here is a round-up of the key talking points from the event, run by ºÚ¶´ÉçÇø and Housing Today.
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Features
‘Bid for everything, always haggle’: The life and times of John F Hunt’s John Hall
The founder of the specialist contractor turned 75 over the summer. He tells Dave Rogers about nearly going under, having the gift of the gab and why he did well out of the Cardiff Millennium Stadium
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Features
‘I’m at a loss about what to make of it all’ – Will Lendlease disappear from UK construction, and what would that say about the state of the sector?
A sale has to happen quickly or staff will leave and jobs will disappear, say rivals. Dave Rogers looks at the implications of the decision to sell up – or shut down
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Features
‘On some levels, it’s a straightforward industry but it has significant challenges’ – Wates’ new(ish) CEO on what he’s learnt so far
Wates boss Eoghan O’Lionaird has been in post for just over a year. He tells Dave Rogers about the challenges facing the industry, its razor thin margins, his belief in purpose over profit – and why he gave up golf
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Features
Pre-election briefing: What can we expect for investment in the NHS estate?
The first of Boris Johnson’s promised 40 hospitals will open this month. But huge delays to the £22bn programme mean that, months before an election, procurement for most of the work hasn’t even begun and there is no certainty that Labour will push ahead. Joey Gardiner asks what it all ...
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Features
‘Perfect, see you Monday’ … McLaren’s Paul Heather on tier ones and being headhunted on holiday
From a teenager wondering what a QS does to running a £1bn business, the firm’s construction boss talks to Dave Rogers about industry ups and downs – and being offered a job by Kevin Taylor
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Features
‘They needed this’ – McAlpine’s new boss wins plaudits as industry prepares for firm to reset
Neil Martin is expected to ring the changes and take the blue-blooded contractor back to centre-stage. Dave Rogers reports
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Features
‘He liked a whisky and a cigar late at night, chewing the cud’… The life and times of Sir Martin Laing
The death of the businessman just after Christmas recalls a bygone age in contracting
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Features
Top 150 Contractors and Housebuilders 2023: Optimism is there if you look for it but familiar worries dog year ahead
High-profile collapses and astonishing losses at Laing O’Rourke mean firms are cautious about what’s coming in 2024
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Features
As Buckingham teeters, rivals wonder what has gone wrong
A firm with a turnover of £700m is on the brink of collapse. How? Dave Rogers reports
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Features
‘The day I convince myself I know everything is the day I go’: an interview with Bam’s John Wilkinson
The firm’s well-travelled COO on margins, a changing industry and the Iron (Scunthorpe United to you and me)
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Features
Marginal gains: Why contractors need help to make a bigger profit
For years, margins have barely shifted much beyond 3% and, to some, talk of 5% and above seems fanciful. But others believe that mandating a figure like that would turn the industry on its head
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Features
Has Ray O’Rourke’s successor been under his nose all along?
Rivals hail appointment of son Cathal as plan about who will take over at UK’s biggest private contractor seems, finally, to be emerging
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Features
It’s hard to let go: Laing O’Rourke and the problem with succession
The latest man tipped to replace Ray O’Rourke is leaving after less than a year. Dave Rogers considers why the septuagenarian founder is still at the helm of his firm
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Features
Can we make demolition greener?
With refurbishment rather than new-build seen as climate friendly, demolition firms need to clean up their act – and some are doing just that
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Features
Construction is bucking gloomy predictions, but for how long?
Recent statistics show remarkable sector resilience but experts warn the squeeze on firms’ finances is set to tighten