Provided by Construction Enquirer.

NG Bailey confirmed today that it is pulling-out of the BESNA agreement following last week’s withdrawal by Balfour Beatty.

The Enquirer revealed this morning that the BESNA deal is “finished.”

An NG Bailey statement said: “The BESNA agreement relied on the UK’s leading engineering companies adopting one single agreement that would introduce a modern working environment.

“Following the announcement from Balfour Beatty Engineering Services last Friday, the future of the BESNA is now untenable.

“NG Bailey can therefore confirm it will withdraw the BESNA contracts and will continue to work to the current working rule agreements.

“The company welcomes Unite’s statement that it is committed to wide ranging talks on modernising the industry.”

Provided by Construction Enquirer

The BESNA deal is “finished” after M&E contractors decided to follow Balfour Beatty’s lead and abandon the reforms.

Balfour Beatty Engineering Services dramatically pulled-out of the BESNA deal last week following pressure from union Unite and rank-and-file sparks.

The move left the six remaining firms – NG Bailey, Crown House, Gratte Brothers, Spie Matthew Hall, Shepherd Engineering Services and T Clarke – in the lurch.

The Enquirer understands there is a split between the six over strategy.

But one source close to the situation said: “One thing is definite, BESNA is finished.

“Some of the firms will instantly follow Balfour’s lead and pull out of the deal.

“But others are standing back with a watching brief.

“We have signed-up more than 90% of workers to the new terms and conditions which will make them between £40 and £100 a week better off.

“How do you turn round and take that away from them now? We’ll leave that one to the union to explain.”

Balfour is still hoping to modernise the M&E sector and Unite has agreed to “wide-ranging talks on modernising the industry” via the trade associations.

But one industrial relations expert told the Enquirer: “Talk about modernising the sector has been going on for years.

“We nearly got there then Balfour Beatty pulled the rug with its last minute pull-out.

“This was the chance to drag the industry into the twenty first century and Balfour bottled it.

“I can’t see how they can try again after handing the initiative to Unite like that.”

Provided by Construction Enquirer.

M&E bosses plot next step after Balfour BESNA pull outGrant Prior | Mon 20th February | 7:11

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Stunned M&E bosses will plot their next move at a high-level meeting tomorrow after Balfour Beatty shocked the industry last week by pulling-out of plans to introduce the controversial new BESNA contracts.

Balfour Beatty Engineering Services was one of the leading players in proposals by seven major contractors to introduce the new pay and conditions deal.

Now Balfour’s sudden decision to dump the deal has left the remaining six contractors with a dilemma.

The Enquirer understands leaders of the six – NG Bailey, Crown House, Gratte Brothers, Spie Matthew Hall, Shepherd Engineering Services and T Clarke – will hold talks on Tuesday to thrash out a revised strategy,

Unite is calling on the remaining six firms to follow Balfour’s lead and dump the deal.

One source close to the situation said: “There’s clearly a lot to talk about before we decide the best way forward.

“Everyone is still reeling from Balfour’s decision which came totally out of the blue.”

Backers of BESNA revealed last week that nearly 90% of workers had signed-up to the new deal.

But Balfour workers had voted for strike action against the new arrangements.

The ballot showed that 295 Unite members voted for industrial action with 145 against among the firm’s 3,063 employees.

Balfour unsuccessfully applied to the High Court to have the strike vote overturned.

The firm also faced further problems when US Teamsters boss James Hoffa backed Unite and warned of potential industrial relations problems in America if Balfour introduced BESNA.

The source said: “It seems that the thought of a strike and the threat of trouble in America was enough to give Balfour cold feet.

“The unrest was also spreading to power station plants which was another headache for a firm looking to expand in that sector.”

Provided by Construction Enquirer.

Laing O’Rourke has beaten Balfour Beatty to win the £288m Alder Hey hospital contract in Liverpool.

The Enquirer understands the O’Rourke team was given the good news late last week ahead of an imminent official announcement.

A source close to the talks said: “It’s been a real battle between the two bidders but O’Rourke has come out on top and will build the hospital.”

Hospital bosses praised both firms’ final designs for the new Children’s Health Park as “absolutely outstanding” last year.

The timetable for the project has slipped several months with a preferred bidder originally due to be announced last December.

The Laing O’Rourke led Acorn Consortium will be officially confirmed shortly with construction due to get underway later this year ahead of completion in 2015.

The Acorn Consortium also contains Laing Investments, Interserve and BDP.

Provided by Construction Enquirer

Sir Robert McAlpine is being tipped to scoop a huge contract to build a new headquarters for media giant Bloomberg in London.

The firm is battling it out with Lend Lease for the construction management job after other rivals Mace and a Skanska/Tishman joint venture dropped out of the running.

A source close to the project said: “The word is McAlpine is close to a deal, but nobody is resting on their laurels.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if Skanska Tishman make another pitch. They have a strong relationship with Bloomberg in the US.”

The building has been designed by Foster and Partners and will be up to 500,000 sq ft, large enough to house modern media services, such as studios for its TV facilities.

Bloomberg’s new headquarters will be built on the site of the former Bucklersbury House, between Bank, Cannon Street and Mansion House.

It’s owners Legal and General had previously worked up a detailed scheme for the site nicknamed “Darth Vader’s Helmet”, in partnership with Spain’s largest developer Metrovacesa, but this fell by the wayside when the firm pulled out last year.

Provided by Construction Enquirer

ISG and Sir Robert McAlpine are part of a team hoping to build a new £65m indoor ski slope in Swindon.

Plans to transform the town’s Oasis Leisure Centre will go in front of the council next week.

The proposals drawn up by Moirai Capital Investments Limited involve a £65m revamp of the site to include an indoor ski slope, water park, indoor arena, hotel and shops.

Moirai , under its X-scape brand, was behind the Milton Keynes, Castleford and Braehead indoor ski slopes.

The team includes S&P architects, Adrian McAlpine from Sir Robert McAlpine, ISG, Buro Happold, LDA Design and Stace.

Councillors will be asked to approve the development so the lease for the Oasis is granted as soon as possible.

The Oasis would be refurbished to an agreed standard within 12 months of the start of the lease and all development completed by 2014.

Cllr Keith Williams, Swindon Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Leisure and Corporate Services, said: “I am delighted this proposal is being brought before the cabinet as it has the potential to be one of the most exciting developments Swindon has seen for many years.

“As we all know the Oasis is in need of refurbishment and this is a great opportunity to breathe new life into our leisure offer, bring significant benefits to the local economy and really put Swindon on the map as a major leisure destination. Our Leisure Strategy also highlighted that residents were keen to see a ski or snow dome facility in the town.

“We have also included stringent targets associated with the leases and have negotiated that the council will receive an annual income from the development.”

Provided by Construction Enquirer

Wates has won the contract to build a new £27m library in Southend-on-Sea.

Work will start this month and be completed by August 2013 on The Forum building.

Wates saw off competition from big name rivals including Kier, Willmott Dixon, Volker Fitzpatrick, Vinci and Bam.

Waes will now source up to 75% of its supply chain from within a 50-mile radius of Southend.

The Forum scheme is a joint enterprise between Southend-on-Sea Borough Council, the University of Essex and South Essex College of Further & Higher Education.

Derek Jarvis, Executive Councillor for Culture & Tourism, said: “I am delighted that we have now appointed a contractor and that work on The Forum can begin in earnest.

“A huge amount of ground work has been done just to get us to where we are today, but the appointment of Wates as main contractors brings everything into sharp focus.

“Once they take possession and people start seeing their machinery moving around the site it will all start to become very real. It‟s very exciting.”

Ian Vickers, Managing Director for Wates Construction, said: “We will deliver an exceptional building, but more importantly we will immerse ourselves in the local community.

“We have committed to using local labour where possible, and want the project to be used as an educational tool in Southend-on-Sea.

“We will be providing many work experience placements, taking on a number of apprentices, running community days, and putting local unemployed people through our Building Futures programme, which gives further opportunities of employment or training. This is a very exciting time for the local community, and we are proud to be part of it.”

Provided by Construction Enquirer

Outline planning has been granted for a £150m mixed-use redevelopment of Shepherd’s Bush Market in West London.

Joint venture developers Orion Land & Leisure and Development Securities are hoping to rejuvenate the 98-year-old market as part of an ambitious project that will also include 194 luxury apartments up to seven-storeys high, a new row of 13 terraced houses, and piazzas.

The redevelopment of the 1.9 hectares site will include 140,000 sq ft of non-residential floor space to include up to 6o,000 sq ft of retail and market space, 40,000 sq ft of food and beverage uses.

A rejuvenated Shepherd’s Bush Market will be at the heart of the mixed-use development.

Today’s planning outcome follows on from this week’s announcement regarding the receipt of a resolution to grant planning for a food store-anchored mixed use scheme at the Wick Site, Littlehampton.

Provided by Construction Enquirer

Work is due to get underway on a stalled £80m tower in Aldgate on the edge of the City of London.

Sir Robert McAlpine was confirmed as contractor on the Aldgate Developments scheme last April but the job has been in limbo since after a planned pre-let with a law firm fell through.

The 17-storey project will now go ahead as a speculative development with work due to get underway during the first half of the year.

Provided by Construction Enquirer

ISG has signed a deal to build and fit out a new £100m data centre for banking giant Santander in the East Midlands.

Work at Narborough will involve construction of two identical buildings, each with an individual gross floor area of over 161,000 sq ft, that will be delivered concurrently.

The technically complex fit out of the buildings includes a highly resilient services installation, enabling full maintenance of the 24/7 operating facility.

David Lawther, ISG Chief Executive, said: “We are delighted to announce this contract win. We have been focusing our efforts on the data centre market, bringing together a highly skilled technical team.

“We expect further growth in this area as we focus on our multinational clients and on their increasingly demanding technical requirements.”