Business confidence dips but the UK ‘has what it takes to deliver growth’ January 31, 2025 Overall business confidence slipped in January, although it was driven down by poorer sentiment about the wider economy rather than about individual businesses. Overall business confidence dipped two points to 37 per cent, with just over half of businesses positive about their own trading prospects and just under a quarter positive about the wider economy. [...]
‘The Slab’ redevelopment begins construction on London’s South Bank January 30, 2025 A mixed use construction scheme on London’s South Bank has been given the green light after developers won a court battle against a campaign group last December. Mitsubishi Estate was granted planning permission by the High Court last December for the redevelopment of 72 Upper Ground, the old headquarters of ITV, after over a year [...]
Manchester set to become ‘global capital of football’, says Burnham January 29, 2025 Manchester will become “the global capital of football” following a major regeneration project centred around a new Manchester United stadium, says the city’s mayor Andy Burnham. The government and Trafford Council have pledged to support the wider revamp of the area, which is set for a transformation like that catalysed in Stratford by the London [...]
How football stadia became the new battleground for top clubs January 25, 2025 It’s no coincidence that Real Madrid have strengthened their position as football’s richest club in the year that they fully reopened their Santiago Bernabeu stadium after a £1bn revamp. Stadia – or rather, how to make more money out of them – are a growing battleground among top clubs eager to mine new sources of [...]
Marshalls: Recovery in construction to ‘build throughout the year’ January 21, 2025 Housing industry supplier Marshalls has said it expects the construction industry to recover in 2025 after struggling over the past few years. But the firm still said its outlook remained “cautious” due to “continued market uncertainty” as well as the impact of an increase in costs from higher National Insurance contributions. Marshalls faces a £3m increase [...]
Galliford Try: Shares rise as construction firm continues hot streak January 15, 2025 Galliford Try has continued to its strong streak of performance over recent years, reporting profit and cash ahead of analyst expectations. The construction firm had £210m in cash by the end of 2024, while its order book had grown from £3.7bn to £3.9bn throughout the year, it said in a trading update today. In early [...]
Construction momentum fades amid fragile consumer confidence January 7, 2025 Construction activity in the UK economy fell to a six-month low in December, a new survey shows, with momentum slowing across the sector. Housebuilding activity slipped deeper into contraction, according to S&P’s construction purchasing managers’ index (PMI), while growth in commercial and civil engineering work slowed compared to the month before. This meant that the [...]
Persimmon boss warns triple Budget hit will add billions for housebuilders December 16, 2024 Persimmon chief executive Dean Finch has warned that higher costs from new levies will add around £40m in annual costs and add “billions” in expenses across the housebuilding sector. He claimed that the taxes would hurt the government’s ambitious target of building 1.5m homes by 2029, telling The Times that there was a “disconnect” between [...]
Fresh legal twist in Wimbledon expansion saga December 11, 2024 Wimbledon chiefs have begun a legal process in a bid to see off any lingering threat of a challenge to their £200m expansion plans for the world famous tennis club. Opponents of the scheme want to use an obscure law to quash the planning permission finally granted last month, three years after the plans were [...]
Keir Starmer: Planning regime ‘suffocating aspirations of working families’ December 6, 2024 Writing in the Times, Starmer said the planning system had become "increasingly ruinous" and was "suffocating the aspirations of working families".