Financial

A former subbie took a £3m hit when ISG was kicked off a project in spring 2024 – months before the main contractor's administration. Hampshire-based glazing specialist Vitrine Systems went into administration itself in November, blaming the prior collapse of ISG. The assets of the £8.8m-turnover firm were sold to…

Construction figures are warning of a “severe and long-lasting impact” from proposed inheritance tax reforms, which are causing a "groundswell of anger" among family-run businesses in the sector. The Home Builders Federation and Builders Merchant Federation are among 32 trade associations that have signed an open letter to chancellor Rachel…

10. Balfour chasing ‘outstanding sums’ as luxury-flat developer collapses In January it emerged that Balfour Beatty was chasing “outstanding sums” relating to a £200m super prime residential scheme in Mayfair, after its former client entered administration. The contracting giant completed the project in May 2023, five years after its appointment,…

CJ O’Shea made a loss on its construction work in its latest financial year. Newly released accounts for the north London-headquartered contractor show that it made a pre-tax loss of £1.6m in the year to 31 March 2024. In the prior 12 months it made a £3m pre-tax profit on…

Bedfordshire-based contractor SDC has attributed a modest increase in turnover and profit to two-stage contracting and a strong market in Oxford and Cambridge. The CN100 firm’s profit grew by 15 per cent in the year ending 30 September 2024, to £2.63m. SDC, which claims to be the first British construction…

Water contracts have boosted revenue and profits at a Midlands infrastructure specialist. Barhale Holdings revealed frameworks for water firms had helped lift revenue up to £176.6m from £133m in 2023. The statement for the full year to June 2024, also revealed the pre-tax profit had doubled to £8.4m from £4.2m…

More insolvencies hit construction than any other sector in the year to November, according to new official figures. The latest data from the Insolvency Service revealed that 4,208 construction firms became insolvent in the year to November 2024. It means the sector represented 17 per cent of liquidations, administrations and…

Higgins Group has bounced back to profit after it “robustly” performed in the face of higher inflation and interest rates, and building safety costs. The Essex-based contractor also confirmed legal provisions of £10m for building safety, including for an unspecified claim around water ingress and fire safety regulations. It recorded…

A family-run construction firm is back in the black after fixed-price contract pressures eased. London-based Jerram Falkus Construction reported its turnover in the year to July 2024 was £47.6m, up from £45m the year before. The full accounts statement, published on 13 December, revealed a pre-tax profit of £37,000 against…

The collapse of the UK’s sixth-biggest contractor, the Grenfell Inquiry phase two report and the change in government all had a massive impact on the industry this year – and will continue to do so in 2025 How will the construction industry remember 2024? Perhaps it will go down as…