Building in the media

Reports carried by other media on stories broken by Building’s team of specialist journalists - as well as mentions, credits, briefings and appearances of Building’s team as expert commentators.

January 2018

October 2017

July 2017

  • Building’s coverage of Chelsea Football Club’s £500m stadium redevelopment was picked up by The Telegraph. The application for a judicial review of Hammersmith & Fulham council’s approval was thrown out by a High Court judge.

August 2016

  • A story from Iain Withers on how construction firms needed to warn Pokémon Go players against trespassing on construction sites was referenced by the Standard.
  • The Standard also picked up Louise Dransfield’s scoop on Chelsea FC’s run in with Hammersmith and Fulham council over its new £500m stadium and a hibernation roost for endangered bats.

May 2016

  • The Standard picked up Building’s exclusive on Chelsea FC considering buying a brickworks to supply the six million bricks required for the facade of its new stadium.

June 2015

  • Yoosof Farah’s story revealing that the Shangri-La hotel chain was to sue contractor John Sisk & Son over delays to its Shard hotel, which ultimately opened a year late, was picked up by both the Times and the Standard.

April 2014

February 2014

January 2014

December 2013

November 2013

September 2013

August 2013

May 2013

April 2013

  • Will Hurst’s exclusive that Wates chief executive Paul Drechlser was standing down from the firm was widely picked up in the business press.

March 2013

February 2013

January 2013

December 2012

  • Will Hurst’s exclusive on Crossrail being dragged into the blacklisting scandal was picked up by the Guardian.
  • Building was first to break the news that former boss of blacklisting organisation the Consulting Association Ian Kerr had died - the story was picked up by major news outlets and the specialist press.

November 2012

  • Reuters picked up Allister Hayman’s scoop on the move by the High Court to order the developer of the stalled Pinnacle tower to pay Brookfield £16m and the contractor’s threat to take out a winding up order. The story was also picked up by the Guardian, the Independent, City AM, The London Evening Standard as well as the specialist press.
  • Senior reporter Vern Pitt’s exclusive on how the European Commission is initiating legal action against the UK government for failing to deliver a key set of green building committments was picked up by BBC Radio 4 and a wide range of the trade press.

October 2012

September 2012

  • Senior reporter Vern Pitt’s exclusive on insulation industry leaders warning ministers over job losses due to delays to the Green Deal was picked up by the Telegraph as well as the specialist press.
  • News editor Allister’s Hayman’s exclusive that work through the Green Deal had been delayed until February 2013 was widely picked up across the national and specialist press and led to questions in parliament on the issue.
  • The Sunday Times business section splashed with a report on Building’s exclusive analysis of the accounts of Olympic delivery partner CLM (‘Bonanza for Olympics contractor’, 2/9/2012), which showed it achieved 33% margin, with £162m profit.The paper also picked up Will Hurst’s earlier exclusive on how the fees paid to CLM have risen to £650m and how the hike in fees it is set to be investigated by the Public Accounts Committee.

August 2012

July 2012

  • The Guardian picked up assistant editor Will Hurst’s story on how architects have been banned from entering Olympic buildings into awards due to strict 2012 marketing rules. The paper also cited Building’s ongoing campaign on the issue.
  • The Evening Standard picked up (“Builders abandon free school project”, 9/7/12) Allister Hayman and Joey Gardiner’s story on how contractor Apollo left Toby Young’s free school project in West London after conlcuding that the project could not be delivered for the cost.
  • The Independent picked up news editor Allister Hayman’s exclusive on how the Ministry of Defence quadrupled the value of its contract for a private sector partner to manage the defence estate.This story was also widely reported in the trade press.
  • The BBC covered the issue of how restrictive Olympic marketing rules are preventing firms from capitalising on their London 2012 sucesses, and mentioned Building’s ongoing campaign on the issue, quoting assistant editor Joey Gardiner. The issue was also covered on Radio 4’s Today programme.
  • The Guardian picked up news editor Allister Hayman’s exclusive on a buried government report which revealed that schools built under the previous Labour government improved learning and attendance.

June 2012

May 2012

April 2012

  • Assistant editor Joey Gardiner was interviewed by Al Jazeera for their tea-time news bulletin to discuss the impact of the decline in construction output on the UK’s slide back into recession. Gardiner was also quoted in Professional Manager magazine on the economic situation.
  • Assistant editor Will Hurst’s scoop on the Pensions Regulator investigating architect RMJM’s pensions contributions was picked up by the Times (“Architects’ firm investigated over shortfall in pension contributions”, 6 April)
  • Assistant editor Joey Gardiner wrote a piece for the News Statesman on how the prime minister’s U-turn on the so-called ‘conservatory tax’ has left the government’s flagship Green Deal scheme in tatters.
  • Building was first to break the news that contractor Sir Robert McAlpine had won the lucrative and highly sought after contract for the new US embassy job in London. This was widely picked up across the specialist media. It followed an earlier exclusive that the contractor also won the prestigious Bloomberg HQ job in London, which was again widely picked up.

March 2012

  • Assistant editor Joey Gardiner wrote a piece for the News Statesman on the confusion at the heart of the government’s planning reforms and on the overall reception to the reforms.
  • Gardiner also wrote a piece for the News Statesman on the construction industry’s reaction to the Budget.
  • Building’s architecture correspondent Ike Ijeh was interviewed by Channel 4 for a documentary on the building of The Shard.
  • The Daily Telegraph ran with assistant editor Joey Gardiner’s exclusive on problems with NewBuy, the prime minister’s flagship mortgage guarantee scheme (“NewBuy mortage scheme in crisis as lenders fail to support it”), 29 March). The paper also ran a comment piece on the troubled scheme. The story was also picked up across the specialist media (“NewBuy scheme is poorly constructed and lays no foundation for recovery”, 29 March).
  • Building was first to break the news of Balfour Beatty’s major UK restructure, with 12,000 staff in the firms construction services divisions put on notice. The story was first picked up by Reuters and then made all the major national dailies, including the Financial Times and the Daily Telegraph, as well as regional and specialist press.
  • News editor Allister Hayman’s exclusive report on fresh blows to the Green Deal, the government’s flagship energy efficiency scheme, received wide coverage across the specialist media and prompted parliamentary questions from shadow climate change minister Luciana Berger.
  • Building’s ongoing campaign against the overly strict marketing rules imposed on firms working on the London 2012 Olympic construction project prompted a question in parliament by shadow Olympics minister Tessa Jowell. The campaign has received widespread support and has prompted the government to consider easing the rules.
  • Building’s exclusive report on a major delay to the government’s flagship school building programme was widely picked up in the specialist press and prompted a parliamentary question from shadow business minister Iain Wright.
  • Assistant editor Will Hurst’s report on troubles at architect RMJM’s Hong Kong office, part of a wider and ongoing problems with the firm, was picked up by the Scotsman.
  • The Financial Times reported (“RBS office accident at centre of £10m suit”, 16 March) on assistant editor Will Hurst’s exclusive on how a “major” oil spill delayed the occupation of a landmark London office building by more than five months and sparked a £10m High Court claim against four construction firms including Lend Lease and Carillion.

February 2012

January 2012