Supply Chain

Parliament is to be recalled tomorrow (Saturday 12) so MPs can vote on whether to nationalise British Steel. Last month, Jingye, the Chinese owner of the UK’s only remaining blast furnaces said they were consulting on plans that could see the Scunthorpe steelmaking facility, which it said loses £700,000 per…

There are just over two weeks left for the industry to help shape the design of a British Standard for inclusive personal protective equipment (PPE). The British Standards Institute (BSI) consultation on its new standard is seeking feedback on its current ideas. Katherine Evans, mining geologist and founder of Bold…

A groundworks, civils and plant-hire firm has been sold to a connected company after being hit with a winding-up order by HMRC for a £4.3m tax bill. Cheshire-based TPS Plant & Groundwork was sold for £390,000 to TPS Civil Engineering & Plant Hire. Both companies are owned by Phillip Skyrme.…

Brick deliveries rose by almost a quarter in February compared with the same month last year, new official data shows. The latest monthly Building Materials and Components report from the Department for Business and Trade (DBT), published yesterday (9 April), showed brick deliveries increased by 22.6 per cent on a…

A London-based fit-out specialist has become employee-owned to secure its future as an “independent business”, its chief executive has said. BW Interiors’ owners sold their shares to an employee ownership trust (EOT) in March after 25 years of trading, according to its latest accounts. The firm’s chief executive Steve Elliot…

Erith has paid its £17.6m bid-rigging fine two and a half years earlier than agreed, it has announced in its latest accounts. The London-based contractor, which is the holding company for Erith Construction, posted turnover of £255m for the 12 months to 30 September 2024. This was up 12 per…

The owner of a construction machinery firm has expressed frustration after a major order was cancelled days before shipping because of US president Donald Trump’s controversial tariff campaign. Construction News spoke to Richard Finch, director at Suffolk-based Plant Parts, described himself as “irritated” after a wholesaler with depots across the US…

A scaffolding supply firm has won the latest round of its court battle to protect the patent of its trestle designs. Wembley-based SafeStand had designed a new trestle system to comply with changes in the safety regulations for working at height and went to court over infringement of its work.…

Government plans to address gaps in the construction products regime have been branded a “real disappointment” by one of the experts who led the independent review into the sector’s regulation. Former government chief construction adviser Paul Morrell warned that the measures contained in the construction products green paper would fail…

This story was written with AI assistance from Harmsworth Who is Harmsworth? Contractors building the roads serving the Lower Thames Crossing have launched three new early-stage tenders as the project moves ahead following government approval last week. Last week, transport secretary Heidi Alexander granted development consent to the UK’s largest…