All articles by Alastair Stewart – Page 2

  • Alastair Stewart
    Comment

    Kier results: Bellwether sounds the alarm

    2013-03-14T00:00:00Z

    Kier’s results for the last six months of 2012 were more robust than many of its competitors’, but in fact they show what dire trouble the industry is in

  • Alastair Stewart
    Comment

    Dubai: A place in the sun

    2013-02-04T11:51:00Z

    Alastair Stewart’s recent trip to Dubai opened his eyes to a surprising amount of construction activity going on, although margins are slimmer and clients tougher than ever before

  • alastair stewart
    Comment

    Outlook for construction is bleak

    2012-11-30T00:00:00Z

    A flurry of trading statements downplaying the gloominess of the market can’t disguise the ominous outlook for the year ahead

  • alastair stewart
    Comment

    Landmark projects: How to spot a flop from 100 yards

    2012-10-19T00:00:00Z

    Projects likely to lose a contractor millions of pounds don’t always have ‘failure’ written all over them, but there are warning signs that should make anyone pause

  • alastair stewart
    Comment

    Cash flows and the supply chain

    2012-09-21T00:00:00Z

    Cash is king - but with less of it around, contractors are taking different approaches to their supply chain

  • alastair stewart
    Comment

    PFI: Road to nowhere

    2012-07-27T00:00:00Z

    The coalition’s attempts to attract private finance to infrastructure projects merely postpones the inevitable return to PFI

  • Alastair Stewart ipad
    Comment

    Regional strength: Those who can, reach

    2012-04-27T00:00:00Z

    It may look like big beasts Bouygues and Balfour Beatty are adopting radically different UK strategies, but both know the importance of regional strength, says Alastair Stewart

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    Comment

    The outlook for outsourcing

    2012-03-16T00:00:00Z

    Services groups that don’t share Kier’s pessimism about public sector outsourcing might do well to remind themselves exactly how local politics works

  • Alastair Stewart
    Comment

    The year in tweets: Predictions for 2012

    2012-01-27T00:00:00Z

    So much to say, so little space to say it in. Alastair Stewart, a temporary convert to cyberspace brevity, tweets his thoughts about the likely shape of the year ahead

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    Comment

    Foster's flying circus grounded: Thames Estuary airport

    2011-12-09T00:00:00Z

    Plans for an airport on the Thames Estuary have been around almost since the invention of the airplane. So let’s not get too carried away by the latest reincarnation, says Alastair Stewart

  • Alastair Stewart
    Comment

    Safety in numbers

    2011-11-04T00:00:00Z

    Nobody is safe from the acquiring arms of foreign firms (apart from architects), but is this the grisly end of UK independence or just small companies fighting for survival?

  • Alastair Stewart
    Comment

    PFI: Going private

    2011-09-16T00:00:00Z

    PFI has had a bad press, but with its combination of risk put on the private sector, predictable cashflow and growing demand, you could be seeing a lot more of it around

  • Alastair Stewart
    Comment

    Wining contracts: Confidence trick

    2011-07-29T00:00:00Z

    Winning contracts is no longer a matter of being a big company, or even offering the lowest price. What bidders must offer clients is a sense of security

  • Alastair Stewart
    Comment

    (Nuclear) Reaction time

    2011-07-01T00:00:00Z

    The Fukushima disaster has put pressure on Europe’s politicians to act expediently, says Alastair Stewart. But the signs are that the UK government will stick to its guns and go nuclear

  • Alastair Stewart
    Comment

    ONS statistics: Open your eyes

    2011-06-10T00:00:00Z

    Everyone has been quick to blame the ONS for inaccurate output statistics, says Alastair Stewart. But what about the industry’s responsibility to provide the information?

  • Alastair Stewart
    Comment

    OFT could pay for being over-keen

    2011-03-18T00:00:00Z

    According to directives from Europe, the OFT’s fines are levied on the basis of companies’ global turnover, not profit

  • Alastair_Stewart
    Comment

    Contractor results: A turn up for the books

    2011-03-11T00:00:00Z

    The latest City updates by contractors reveal a surprisingly healthy outlook, says Alastair Stewart. Order books are good shape and margins are rising … among the heavy weights at least

  • Alastair Stewart
    Comment

    Consolidation is the name of the game

    2011-01-20T00:00:00Z

    A major bout of consolidation is under way, marked by a shrinking band of suppliers and a growing list of casualties. Alastair Stewart looks at the players in a game of musical chairs

  • Alastair Stewart
    Comment

    How to spot the next Rok

    2010-12-03T00:00:00Z

    Rok’s spectacular collapse seemed like a bolt from the blue, but in fact it followed in the footsteps of other once admired but now failed big names. What are the warning signs?

  • News

    View from the City

    2003-04-25T00:00:00Z

    Alastair Stewart, analyst at Seymour Pierce, uncovers what Ferrovial will get for its money