The Pegasus Report #267

A word from Paul

Welcome to this week's Pegasus Report!

Following the slowdown pre Autumn budget, Q3 has seen a positive uplift in construction output, driven by a surge in new projects across residential, infrastructure, and commercial sectors. Hopefully this growth highlights renewed confidence in the market!

Read more below....

New work drives Q3 construction output uplift

Construction output increased by 0.8% in the third quarter with growth coming solely from a 2% increase in new work, as repair and maintenance fell by 0.6%. Read more

Mace to complete construction of ISG neuroscience centre

Mace has been awarded the contract to complete a neuroscience building in central London for UCL where work stopped when original builder ISG collapsed. Read more

Infrastructure to get ￡80bn boost from public sector pensions

Public sector pension ‘megafunds’ will be created to unlock ￡80bn of investment in infrastructure projects. Read more

Kier being asked to look at ISG’s government jobs as firm takes on dozens of staff from stricken contractor

Chief executive Andrew Davies says company not interested in collapsed company’s private sector work. Kier has been sounded out about taking on some former ISG jobs left stalled by the firm’s collapse nearly eight weeks ago. The FTSE 250 firm’s chief executive Andrew Davies also told Building it had taken on around 70 former ISG staff as well. Read more

‘They look like homes for rich people’: why Britain should look to Europe for its council housing revolution

On the continent, stylish, sustainable, community-minded social housing is a given, and nowhere more so than in Spain – from an elegant Barcelona women’s refuge to cool, solid stone houses in Mallorca. Read more

Motts/Jacobs JV to design ￡2.5bn West Yorkshire Mass Transit

Consultants Jacobs and Mott MacDonald have secured the job to design the ￡2.5bn West Yorkshire Mass Transit Programme. Read more

United Utilities names water and waste water design consultants

United Utilities has named the consultants it will use as it prepares for the largest investment in water and wastewater infrastructure in the North West for a century. Read more

Inheritance tax changes spell ‘death of the plant-hire industry’

Plant equipment owners have warned that inheritance tax changes set out in the chancellor’s Autumn Budget could put their firms at risk of closure. The Construction Plant-hire Association (CPA) and Scottish Plant Owners Association (SPOA) said changes to inheritance tax relief, announced on 30 October, could lead to firms going out of business. Read more

Up close with the 300 tonne driverless trucks

Fifty of these giant driverless trucks work in the Greater Nammuldi iron ore mine. Read more

Energy digital twins: cutting cost and carbon on a hospital project

Using energy digital twins could be key to reducing costs and carbon for both new and existing buildings, says Mott MacDonald’s Santiago Velez. Read more

World’s first smart construction helmet launched

A ‘smart’ construction helmet has been launched that can detect falls and impacts, discern the likely consequences and automatically call for help if necessary. Read more

How are modern technologies revolutionising the construction industry?

We are entering a ground-breaking era where advanced innovations fundamentally change how construction projects are executed. Read more

Mott MacDonald and Gensler handed senior roles on first phase of Saudi megaproject

Pair working on 170km long Saudi scheme which is part of wider Neom development Gensler and Vienna-based practice Delugan Meissl Associate Architects have been handed key roles on the first phase of The Line in Saudi Arabia. Read more

Peru’s ‘transformational’ Chancay Port opens for business

China’s Cosco Shipping opened the first phase of its new Chancay Port in Peru yesterday after a two-year construction period. The complex 78km north of Lima will now begin handling up to 1.5 million twenty-foot-equivalent containers and 6 million tonnes of general cargo a year. Read more

China starts connecting world’s biggest offshore solar farm to grid

China Energy Investments today connected the first instalment of its 1GW offshore solar farm to the grid. Lying some 8km off the coast of Kenli District in Shandong Province, northeast China, it will be the biggest of its kind once complete. It will have nearly 3,000 platforms spread over 1,200ha of ocean surface. Read more

Manchester City installs 2,800 solar panels on Joie Stadium

Manchester City has completed the installation of 2,878 solar panels on the roof of Manchester City Women’s Joie Stadium. Read more

Green roofs can help developers achieve biodiversity net gain

In early 2024, the UK government introduced biodiversity net gain (BNG) legislation to address the ongoing decline in biodiversity caused by urbanisation, infrastructure development, and other human activities. Read more

Effective storytelling is crucial for construction’s sustainability goals

Less than 12 hours after Sir David Attenborough joined?Instagram, he had more than 1.2 million followers. His message was clear: “Saving our planet is now a communications challenge.” Read more

Wellbeing is among top organisational priorities in the US – how does the UK compare?

Study finds just one in five workers think their employer cares about their health, highlighting gap between wellness offerings and employee experience. Read more

3 ways to create a more useful to-do list

As we approach the holiday season, your calendar is probably filling up. And undoubtedly your to-do list is as well. If you’re nearing the point of overwhelm, it might be time for a to-do list refresh. Read more

Most managers fail to notice employee dissatisfaction

Research by UKG revealed that workplace culture drivers such as staff morale and job satisfaction are poor, with three in five (60%) of UK frontline workers unhappy with their current employee experience. Read more

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Until next week...

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