At the end of a very busy year, here’s a reminder of the stories that stood out for our readers
Every week Building publishes the big impact stories that affect companies working in construction.
Here are some of the long-running stories that have demanded our attention at multiple points during the year.
Gateway 2 and the Building Safety Regulator
A running sore for the industry throughout the year has been dealing with the ramifications of the Building Safety Act – in particular, getting approval under the series of gateway stages required by the legislation.
Getting gateway 2 approval from the Building Safety Regulator (BSR), the group which makes sure applications on residential buildings over 18m are meeting the rules, has been a fraught experience for many.
The BSR had promised to make decisions with 12 weeks but the reality has been very different. Decisions have taken months and months with some applications going beyond a year. It has put a huge brake on the crucial London housing market with, at times, the industry and regulator seemingly at war with each other.
But, as 2025 draws to a close, there is optimism that things are changing, that waiting times to get gateway 2 approval will start to come down. Much of that is down to the new chairman of the BSR, Andy Roe, who told attendees at Building’s Building the Future conference in October exactly how he would tackle the backlog. Many came away convinced that things were, finally, moving in the right direction.
Here’s how Building covered the story this year:
>> High-rise decision delays caused by outsourced delivery model, says building safety regulator
>> Problems getting building safety sign-offs spooking investors, Quintain boss tells Lords
>> London’s housing delivery in ‘major crisis’, HBF warns in damning report
>> Vistry and L&Q secure first gateway 2 approvals after 13-month wait
>> Piling contractor blames ongoing building safety delays for drag on trading
>> Nearly half of new build gateway 2 cases now handled by Building Safety Regulator’s innovation unit
The Spending Review and the Budget
The two big fiscal events of the year were the spending review in June and last month’s Budget.
The construction and housing sectors broadly welcomed many of the investment commitments made by the chancellor Rachel Reeves in the summer, as she promised to “deliver Britain’s renewal” by allocating the £113bn she has set aside for capital projects.
What optimism generated by the event was accompanied by the sound of air hissing out of the balloon as the chancellor grappled with the Budget. Its run-up was marked by a series of leaks and seeming U-turns with the drip-drip of what might or might not be in the Budget being increasingly cited by firms in the autumn as putting the brakes on growth. British Property Federation chief executive Melanie Leech spoke for many when she said: “There wasn’t a single thing said in the chancellor’s speech that wasn’t leaked in its chaotic build up.”
Here’s how Building covered the story this year:
>> Five things to watch out for in the spending review
>> Housing and infrastructure emerge as big winners as Reeves divides up £113bn in spending review
>> Critical maintenance spend to rise to £10bn a year in decade-long infrastructure strategy
>> Budget speculation has put industry in ‘limbo’, Core Five warns
>> Budget 2025: Reeves commits final £900m of government support for Lower Thames Crossing
>> Budget 2025: mixed industry reaction to £26bn tax raising Budget
Planning reforms and housing targets
One of the key areas the government has been keen to overhaul is the planning system. It wants builders, not blockers, to use Kier Starmer’s rather well-worn phrase, in order for it to meet a host of pledges, not least building 1.5 million homes and a suite of infrastructure schemes.
In the past few weeks, it’s made a big show of pressing on with expanding Heathrow Airport (remember the Davies Commission? It said building a new runway at Heathrow was a no-brainer; that was in 2015).
Meanwhile, housing and communities secretary Steve Reed last month approved a film studios plan in Buckinghamshire that had been rejected because of concerns over the Green Belt. And he’s quite fond of saying things like “build, baby, build”. But is it working? Well, the total number of new homes delivered in England in 2024/25 has fallen by 6% from 2023-24, according to new government statistics. On that basis, then, the answer is no.
Here’s how Building covered the story this year:
>> Chancellor confirms backing for third runway at Heathrow
>> Planning and Infrastructure Bill sets out radical shake-up of committee system
>> Government unveils plans to simplify planning and Biodiversity Net Gain rules for smaller sites
>> Starmer announces AI tool to speed up planning system
>> New housing secretary urges sector to ‘build, baby, build’
>> Nuclear taskforce says regulatory reform needed to cut cost of building plants
Firms going bust
A constant, like every other year, has been an age-old problem: firms going out of business.
While there was no firm going under on the scale of last year’s ISG collapse, the total number of construction businesses becoming insolvent in the 12 months to the end of September was 3,933. This was an 8% decrease on the 4,276 insolvencies recorded in the year ending in September 2024 but a 22% increase on the 3,221 in pre-pandemic 2019.
Last month, accountant EY-Parthenon said listed construction and materials firms had by Q3 issued nearly three times the profit warnings they made in the whole of 2024.
Residential market weakness, commercial uncertainty, budget constraints and delays caused by new safety regulations were among the reasons given.
A couple of noteworthy mentions: the administration of Ardmore Construction – blamed directly on the provisions made in the Building Safety Act – has led to concerns that more companies will be affected in this way; and the demise of offsite and modular companies is eye-catching as well.
The government wants more efficiencies in construction but firms in MMC seem to be at just as much mercy from economic vagaries as traditional contractors.
Here’s how Building covered the story this year:
>> Potential £50m cost of cladding claims helped send insulation specialist under, administrator says
>> Failed modular contractor lost more than £20m in first four months of this year
>> Loss-making London jobs blew £20m hole in collapsed M&E firm’s accounts as creditors facing £18m hit
>> Offsite specialist that had ambitions to be £450m turnover business goes into administration
>> Timber supplier National Timber Group goes into administration
In other news…
Here’s a reminder of 10 more of our most popular stories that stood out for our readers this year:
1. Former ISG chief executive Zoe Price takes up senior role at Mace Consult
Published November
Zoe Price has been appointed managing director of Mace Consult’s Europe arm, Building can reveal.
Click here to read the full article
2. Aecom rings changes as firm replaces Europe boss under wider shake-up
Published February
Aecom has confirmed that its chief executive for Europe has left the business as part of a wider shake-up at the firm’s global business.
Click here to read the full article
3. Worries grow over Building Safety Regulator’s plan to clear gateway 2 backlog after building control firm collapses
Published November
Fears were growing this morning about the impact on the Building Safety Regulator’s (BSR) plan to clear the backlog of gateway 2 approvals by January next year after building control firm Assent Building Compliance confirmed it was set to go into insolvency.
Click here to read the full article
4. William Hare sold to entrepreneur brother of Take That singer
Published June
The country’s second biggest steelwork contractor has been sold to a Manchester-based entrepreneur who is the older brother of former Take That singer Jason Orange, Building can reveal.
Click here to read the full article
5. Former Wates COO Dave Smith dies aged 65
Published April
Tributes have poured in for former Wates chief operating officer Dave Smith who has died aged 65.
Click here to read the full article
6. Goldman Sachs moves in to take majority stake in Mace’s consulting business
Published July
Mace is selling a majority stake in its consulting business to Goldman Sachs after a deal was announced this morning following months of negotiations.
Click here to read the full article
7. Balfour Beatty severs ties with labour supplier Danny Sullivan Group
Published July
Balfour Beatty has said it is severing ties with labour supplier Danny Sullivan Group after saying the firm “misinformed” it over “the provision of Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) workers instead of PAYE employees”.
Click here to read the full article
8. Lendlease officially renamed Bovis after £35m sale to US private equity firm completes
Published March
Lendlease has officially been renamed Bovis after the deal to buy the Australian firm’s UK contracting business was completed today by new owner Atlas Holdings.
Click here to read the full article
9. Laing O’Rourke throws hat into ring for Manchester United work
Published March
Laing O’Rourke has become the first major contractor to publicly declare an interest in building Manchester United’s new ground.
Click here to read the full article
10. Nicholas Grimshaw dies aged 85
Published September
Nicholas Grimshaw has died at the age of 85, his practice has announced.
Grimshaw, the firm which Grimshaw founded in 1980, said this afternoon: “It is with deep sadness that the partners and practice of Grimshaw acknowledge the death of our founder, Sir Nicholas Grimshaw.”
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