ACS / Hochtief – stability needed
Want a lesson in shareholder value destruction? Look no further than the sorry tale of ACS, the Spanish construction company chaired by Real Madrid football club president Florentino Pérez Rodríguez,…
Pension funds lose PFI test case
A group of 22 pension funds that sued Henderson Equity Partners, an infrastructure fund, were dealt a blow on Friday when a High Court judge ruled against them on preliminary…
Anglo American and Lafarge in Mittal sale
Anglo American and France’s Lafarge have agreed to sell some of their UK construction materials operations to Lakshmi Mittal’s family investment vehicle for as much as £272m as a condition…
CBI chief calls for £1.5bn growth package
The head of the UK’s biggest business group is urging George Osborne to adopt a £1.5bn growth package in his Autumn Statement to capitalise on stirrings in the economy, especially…
UK schemes to boost Barratt profits
Barratt Developments, the UK’s largest homebuilder by volume, said it was on track for higher profits this year, with a quarter of sales backed by government schemes aimed at boosting…
Olympic construction generated £7.3bn
Construction of London Olympic venues generated an economic boost of £7.3bn to the UK, but much of the benefit was felt in London and the south, according to an independent…
Anglo reveals $2bn overrun at Brazil site
Anglo American, the mining company hit by the resignation of its chief executive and continuing wildcat strikes at its South African operations, said costs at a large iron ore project…
CRH cuts forecast as Sandy hits US unit
CRH has lowered its 2012 earnings forecast because of disruption at its US operations caused by Hurricane Sandy and continued weakness in European markets. The Irish-based building materials company, a…
Ikea: Against the grain
©Alamy Flatpack empire: Ikea is planning to increase the number of its stores worldwide, like this one in Dubai, by 50 per cent by the end of the decade. At…
Protest vote hurts Redrow director
Shareholders warned Redrow chairman Steve Morgan against any attempt to buy the housebuilder on the cheap after one of the biggest protest votes against a senior non-executive director this year…
Government schemes lift UK housebuilders
Government incentives to boost housebuilding are paying off for Taylor Wimpey, Redrow and Bovis Homes, which all said sales prices were improving in a stable market. Although mortgage lending remains…
Redrow investors take aim at director
Investors will on Monday register one of the biggest protest votes this year, in a move against Redrow’s senior non-executive director because of his failure to block an attempt to…
Dearth of cranes reflects construction fall
The number of cranes on the British skyline has dropped to its lowest point in more than two years, providing further evidence of the slowdown in construction activity. Only 413…
New future for Filton as development looms
The west of England airfield where the British-made Concorde was assembled and which witnessed the last flight of the supersonic airliner is to close at the end of next month.…
Latin America a gold mine for Europeans
It is a culmination of the so-called “reconquest”, which in the 1990s saw European companies invest heavily in Latin America. What then seemed risky bets are now proving to be…