Costain

The UK should change its procurement rules after Brexit, Crossrail chief executive Mark Wild has said. Wild, a former managing director of London Underground and CEO of Public Transport Victoria in Australia, described current procurement rules as a “big barrier” for clients. Speaking at a Railway Industry Association conference panel…

Amey has fallen behind Siemens and Balfour Beatty as Network Rail’s largest supplier, Construction News can reveal. Network Rail’s total supplier spend was £8.2bn in the 12 months to October 2020, up from £7.5bn last year. The top 20 suppliers accounted for £3bn of the total. In 2018/19, Amey Rail…

Costain chief financial officer Tony Bickerstaff is to leave the contractor after 14 years in the role. The firm said Bickerstaff will stay in post until 30 November subject to a new appointment, and that the search for his successor is ongoing. Bickerstaff was hired by then chief executive Andrew…

The movement to decarbonise the UK economy could bring financial benefits to the construction industry, according to Costain chief executive Alex Vaughan. Speaking at the CN Decarbonising Construction online conference, Vaughan said: “There is a huge opportunity for us as a sector to benefit from the drive to reduce carbon.”…

Commercial models must change if the construction industry is to successfully meet decarbonisation targets, according to a Costain manager. Lara Young, the firm’s head of carbon, said there is a risk that meeting decarbonisation aims are a requirement set by the client and then passed down the supply chain, much…

Costain has announced a pre-tax loss of £90.4m for the six months to 30 June 2020. The contractor blamed two legal disputes over problem projects for the loss. The National Grid Peterborough & Huntingdon gas-compression station contract, which the firm agreed to exit in June resulted in a £49.3m balance…

Balfour Beatty has appointed Tracey Wood as its new legal chief. Wood takes on the role of group general counsel and company secretary. She joins Balfour Beatty after 14 years at Costain, where she was responsible for legal, company secretariat, HR and internal audit and risk. Wood will report directly…

Costain has lost a battle with the Welsh Government over its contract to build the £321.1m A465 Heads of the Valleys road. The final arbitrator’s decision was revealed by Costain in a market update this morning. The dispute was over who was responsible for design information on the project and…

Gatwick has confirmed that the largest plank of its airport construction programme has been suspended until at least 2022. The planned doubling in size of Pier 6, one of the buildings where aircraft dock, has been put on hold as a result of declining income due to the coronavirus crisis.…

Costain has delayed publication of its half-year 2020 results while it awaits an arbitration decision on a long-running dispute with the Welsh Government. The verdict will be the latest development in the dispute over the A465 Heads of the Valleys road project, which is likely to cost £100m more than its…