Balfour Beatty rejects Carillion takeover

[twowheelsgood]

It's only a matter of time before this happens, following which there will be cost cutting and dumping of unprofitable departments, with 'Living Places' no doubt first in line. And then where will be ? It'll be the Jarvis/Amey stitch up all over again. Or do the sensible (and cheapest) thing and revert to direct labour?

 

http://www.adjacentgovernment.co.uk/housing-building-construction-planning-news/balfour-rejects-carillion-takeover/

 

Carillion by the way are currently claiming £1.3m compensation from Edinburgh City Council after bad weather prevented the Niddrie Burn Restoration Project from completing on time … yes - builder sues council for allowing bad weather. 

[bobby47]

They're all a bunch of stinkers as far as I'm concerned. Course, both are there to save us millions and create a thousand local jobs so I don't suppose I should moan.

As for Carillion they'll get what they want and we'll pay what we are told to pay and round and round we go feeding the beast that sucks the life out of everything. I hate the Council. The notion of turning the clock back and reverting to providing Direct Services will happen. But before it bloody does, some tw.at who once rode the gravey train and now wants redemption for their past sins will need to tell some tw.at who's higher up the pole than they ever were, saying 'we are wasting millions. We are not saving millions. Go back to Direct Services'. Then one day, many years or even decades from now, they'll cry, 'hoorah! Direct Services. This'll save you millions' and they'll be right. It will save us millions and we'll then ask, 'why didn't we do this years ago?' And I'll say, 'because back then, during those dark years, we didn't want to save millions. Back then, we wanted to waste millions and at the same time fatten up the few and make them rich beyond their wildest dreams'.

Course, nobody is going to ask me anything. Why would they?

[megilleland]

The Guardian, Monday 29 September 2014

Balfour Beatty shares plunge 25% after forecast profits dive by £75m

 

KPMG instructed to investigate after internal reviews at troubled construction firm unearth extra losses and write-downs

 

Shares in Balfour Beatty plunged by almost 25% as the infrastructure group issued its fifth profit warning in two years following the discovery of a £75m shortfall in expected profits at its UK construction services business.

 

Balfour’s executive chairman, Steve Marshall, is also stepping down. The group has brought in KPMG to conduct a review of the construction services’ business. The accountants will analyse commercial controls, contract value forecasting and project-level reporting for contracts at the division. KPMG’s review follows an internal probe last year that found overruns and overspends.

 

Internal reviews over the last few days found extra losses and write-downs at the UK construction operation. Projects in London make up £50m of the shortfall.

 

Balfour’s shares crashed 25% in early trading to 170.25p.

 

Marshall will leave when a new non-executive chairman is found. He took over the company when Andrew McNaughton quit as chief executive in May following an earlier profit warning.

 

Marshall said: “This latest trading statement is extremely disappointing. The board has appointed KPMG to undertake a thorough review across the contract portfolio within construction services UK. There has been inconsistent operational delivery across some parts of the UK construction business and that is unacceptable. Restoring consistency will take time and it has our full focus.â€

 

The company blamed late completion, skill shortages, cost pressures and poor project management. The number of problem contracts rose to 25 from 21.

 

Balfour also said it would review its final dividend in light of its decision to sell its Parsons Brinckerhoff consultancy business.

 

Balfour has been trying to rally shareholder support after rejecting a merger offer from its rival Carillion last month. It has struggled since the the recession prompted a downturn in large UK construction projects but analysts have said its problems are the result of bad management and not the wider market.

 

So our Council will still be paying £20 million a year to prop this lot up.

 

[twowheelsgood]

They'll be taken over sooner or later - the writing was on the wall long before this Council decided to 'partner' with them (a simple internet search would have shown decision makers that). Yet again - bad judgment and advice by over paid Officers, bad decision by Councillors (no doubt bullied by Officers), we pick up the bill and suffer the consequences - just another day at Herefordshire Council.

[Ubique]

As a layman who knows very little about anything - it amazes me that the Council haven't learnt about the advantages of Direct Labour - doubt if they are to young to remember the advantages . Surely if you are paying the Piper you have 100% control over him/her , could go on with what appears to be more advantages to the Council but Lunch is served at the Gun Pit !

 

Should of added that when I say that I know very little about anything - that's not strictly true - I do know a bit about some things but when one reaches my age it's of no use at all .

[megilleland]

Should of added that when I say that I know very little about anything - that's not strictly true - I do know a bit about some things but when one reaches my age it's of no use at all .

 

I know what you mean Ubique. My get up and go has got up and gone.

[Jonny]

Direct services provided by direct labour will never happen under a conservative administration, even if it's better and cheaper it goes against every fibre of Tory philosophy. WE MUST GET PROFIT INTO THE HANDS OF PRIVATE BUSINESS they will say.

[twowheelsgood]

BB are the absolute pits - they claim to respond in 10 working days - 10 WEEKS later I get this after complaining to the Council about lack of response - "Once a dropped kerb application is passed through to Balfour Beatty Living Places (BBLP), Herefordshire Council no longer have any active involvement in the process and unfortunately we are aware that they have recently been taking longer to process applications." In other words, don't bother us. So, the Council wash their hands of it, BB don't respond, the only way to contact BB is through the Council - they have no phone or email contact - and the Council don't want to know. We all go round in circles, nothing is done. Immensely frustrating.

 

Prior to this ridiculous privatisation, I could have phoned Fred in Highways and sorted it in 10 minutes. How can that not be cost effective?

[twowheelsgood]

I have submitted a formal complaint to the Council about the lack of direct contact details for BB and other issues relating to them - "We will acknowledge your complaint within three to five working days."

[dippyhippy]

It is a ridiculous situation, Two Wheels.

 

I can feel the frustration in your post.

 

Would this not be a situation where the Locality Steward would be the best placed person to ask? Dropped kerbs seem to be on their weekly "jobs to do" list.

 

I'm sure in one of the threads, it states they meet directly with members of the public. Perhaps worth a try??

[Denise Lloyd]

Losses continue in chief executive Leo Quinn’s first set of results

 

Balfour Beatty has slumped to a £150m half-year pre-tax loss, in chief executive Leo Quinn’s first set of results as boss of the troubled contracting giant.

The £150m pre-tax loss for the first half of 2015 compared to a £58m pre-tax loss for the same period last year. Over 2014 as a whole Balfour made a £304m pre-tax loss.

Balfour’s UK construction services business made a £145m operating loss in the first half of 2015, compared to a £59m loss in the first half of 2014.

The US construction services business joined its UK counterpart in the red, posting a £41m operating loss, compared to a £12m operating profit last year.

Balfour said the overall loss was in line with market expectations as set by a £150m profit warning issued last month - its seventh in three years.

Balfour sought to reassure investors that it expects 90% of its historic problematic UK contracts to be resolved by the end of 2016.

Quinn (pictured) said: “Inevitably the headline numbers set out the consequences of the historic issues that are now being tackled.â€

He added that despite the ongoing losses his “conviction†was that the firm would achieve “superior returns†in the “medium termâ€.

He said the firm’s ‘Build to Last’ transformation programme was “on course†to meet its 24-month targets to generate £200m of extra cash and cut £100m of cost.

The firm’s overall revenue was down marginally to £3.47bn, down from £3.56bn last year, while UK construction services revenue also dipped slightly to £1.12bn, down from £1.14bn.

[DanGuerche]

I live in an area where BBLP has been re doing the path ways after re doing our road - great you say - and so do I.

 

However - they have done the road, which needed doing.

The path - well its been dug up and left half finished.

 

A neighbor tells me that BBLP have literally run out of money for the job - as such we have half done pavements and cones all around our road.

 

These are strange times we are in - thats for sure.

[twowheelsgood]

They've hung on for a year since my original post, but it's coming.

 

Balfour Beatty cuts 400 staff to drive down costs

As part of its drive to cut costs Balfour Beatty has announced 400 staff members will be made redundant…

Chief Executive of Balfour Beatty Leo Quinn revealed yesterday that 400 members of staff will lose their jobs in an attempt to cut costs across the business.

The firm has had a turbulent 12 months and sold off numerous assets including consultancy branch Parsons Brinckerhoff and Blackpool Airport in a bid to regain control of its finances.

 

http://planningandbuildingcontroltoday.co.uk/planning-development/balfour-beatty-cuts-400-staff-drive-costs/19545/