Construction
Building
The building sector is continuing to bear the general burden of increased material costs, labour shortages and global economic uncertainties. Our clients are delivering new and refurbished commercial, retail and residential buildings to meet regional demands and to uphold statutory compliance. The market sector requires fast-paced quality delivery utilising established supply chains.
Contracts are generally industry standard forms yet the trend to heavily amend collaborative arrangements to create master-and-servant relationships or to pass unmanageable risk down the supply chain persists. Our experienced team helps our clients to achieve competitive margins and foster long-term partnerships through pragmatic and mutually beneficial delivery.
Mechanical & Electrical
The mechanical and electrical (M&E) sector are working closer than ever with architects, engineers and product suppliers to design, install and maintain systems to enhance the functionality of modern building’s purpose. The sector has faced material inflationary pressures, skills shortages and cashflow issues leading to liquidation since the pandemic whilst conversely benefiting from the ever-increasing need for smart buildings and infrastructure to complement our emerging digital way of life. M&E contractors ensure these composite systems are integrated seamlessly into the design and function of the project.
Contracts include technically complex plant, equipment and systems with specialist specifications requiring integration at key dates within the construction programme and relying on the prior performance of other subcontractors and suppliers and access to work areas to achieve the overall programme. Our experienced team have the required technical knowledge of mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems coupled with the estimating and commercial capability to protect the integration of the package within the main contract works.
Utilities
The utility construction sector is a critical section of the industry focusing on the installation, maintenance and repair of key infrastructure that provides essential water, electricity, gas, telecommunications and sanitation services. Investment aims are high not only to replace and upgrade aging infrastructure but the requirement to use additional green energy sources to harness wind and solar power.
Contracts require a complex set of internal and external stakeholders working through private enterprises and local authorities constrained by licences, permits and permissions and delivering at pace in the public realm. Our experienced team apply critical thinking, process and methods to drive real change for clients modernising our essential public services.
Infrastructure
Aviation
The aviation sector is set to change over the coming years with access to affordable travel across emerging economies increasing. Our clients are upgrading existing airports, expanding existing airfields and building new airline hubs to meet both the growing demand for greater freedom to travel and passenger expectations of a comfortable, entertaining and technological experience. The market sector is meeting these demands whilst overcoming the constraints of regional politics, shifting travel patterns and economic pressure on profits.
Contracts are often long-term performance driven specification agreements built upon assured process and procedures. Our experienced team ensure the performance resilience of our clients through contract, commercial and risk management on aviation projects.
Roads
Motorways, highways and roads across the world are modernising to cope with increased capacity, technological developments and the move towards electrification. Our clients are investing in more modern sustainable, environmental and digital supply chain arrangements to reduce inner-city congestion and to improve commute and traffic efficiency by upgrading and enhancing assets. The market sector has significant approved budgets to spend within prescribed timeframes across the transport network to deliver future capacity needs.
Contracts regularly require government bodies to deliver within fixed deadlines and capped budgets and for contractors to accept additional risks to deliver to these time, cost and quality constraints. Our experienced team help our clients negotiate and deliver major fixed price and target cost contracts.
Rail
The rail construction sector is dynamic and changing rapidly due to the requirement to modernise, technological advancements and constant regulatory compliance. Our clients understand that adapting new digital technologies, focusing efforts on reducing carbon footprints and ensuring safety and reliability will improve performance. The market sector has set aside substantial investment and funding to enhance the overground and underground infrastructure with new or improved lines, bridges, stations and depots.
Contracts are subject to significant cost and programme increases, risk and change management challenges and regulatory constraints. Our experienced team manage the exceptional risks associated with delivering projects in the rail industry whilst recognising the need for appropriate accountability and auditability.
Water
The water sector faces demand to provide clean water supplies and sanitation for people across the globe. Our clients have been tasked with improving water quality, protecting environments and providing innovative sustainable solutions whilst endeavouring to reduce household bills. The market sector is in a period of significant capital funding and investment to improve reputational damage and deliver to worldwide climate improvement targets.
Contracts cover capital and operational portfolios improving out-of-date networks, cleaning up waterways and delivering major water treatment works with life-cycle cost targets. Our experienced team ensure that the customer and the environment are protected whilst delivering projects funded by public and private investment to upgrade and improve the infrastructure.
Energy
Oil & Gas / Power / Mining / Renewables
The energy sector stands at the forefront of innovation and change, navigating through an era of unprecedented energy transition. Moving away from our reliance on fossil fuels towards renewable and sustainable energy sources requires significant vision and investment. The sector requires a combination of scientific, technological, economical and public policy to intertwine the impact of climate change with global energy demands.
Contracts require nuclear, hydrogen, carbon offsetting, solar and wind powered facilities with increasing future secure capacities to deliver within government timeframes, meet performance parameters and to adhere to strategic regulations. Our experienced team work on megaprojects to advise on contractual and commercial issues surrounding cost and risk management.
Defence
Capital Expense / Operating Expense
The world is experiencing tumultuous times through conflict. The Ukraine-Russia war, the Israel-Gaza war and the threat of extremist terrorism has created pressure on world governments to respond through strategic defence plans and new initiatives to combat territorial advances, cyber-attacks and new technological warfare. The UK Government has committed to increasing the spend on defence from circa £50 billion per year to circa £80 billion per year by 2030 to ensure national security and to support European security.
The approved budgets, as they are related to construction, will range from running facilities management, upgrading existing facilities and creating new environments from offices and barracks through to bases, airfields and nuclear resilience and readiness enterprises.
Contracts require strict confidentiality, security clearance, performance specifications and regulatory control in challenging live conditions. Our experienced team understand the procurement governance processes and can help improve the productivity challenges that constrain cost and performance objectives.
Shipping and Marine
Ports / Sea Defence
The shipping and marine sector combines commercial ports which form a network of busy logistic hubs servicing local, national and global supply chains and disaster management systems to protect our land from the affect of rising and sea and ocean flood waters. These longstanding and enduring projects are designed to futureproof our societal needs in expanding container terminals, increasing shipping traffic capacity, harnessing natural energy, craning and lifting vessels, providing flood walls, barriers, dams and overflow channels.
Contracts are long-term framework agreements with a focus on building commercially sustainable partnerships between owners, contractors and the supply chain through first class delivery of health, safety, environmental and quality requirements, including local community engagement and supporting net-zero port targets with the application of lean construction methodologies. Our experienced team respond and adapt in an agile way to provide collaborative informative solutions on world-class industrial complexes.
Industrial and Information Technology
Research & Development / Manufacturing
The industrial sector can be defined by some of the largest and most remote projects located in rural areas away from the urban world. Our clients are building large structures for industrial purposes such as manufacturing plants, storage hubs, warehouses, refineries and distribution centres. The sector has an increasing need for adaptable buildings with long-term sophisticated scalable plans.
Contracts are often formed between global brand businesses and specialised construction companies, including full design and build responsibility, off-site construction requirements and associated infrastructure upgrades. Our experienced team provide full project life cycle solutions based in remote locations on turnkey industrial projects.
Telecommunications
The telecoms sector is a critical construction sector underpinning the 3rd and 4th Industrial Revolutions. The market sector continues to develop and maintain network infrastructure for greater digital connectivity including towers, cables and wireless technology to meet the reliance and expectation of information and service immediacy. The evolution of telecommunication tower construction from lattice through to monopoles and on to stealth towers is enhancing connectivity, reducing space requirements, improving aesthetics and adapting to technological advancements.
Contracts involve confronting unique challenges, including technological advancements, geographical diversity, regulatory complexities and significant financial investment management. Our experienced team manage telecom construction project budgets through cost control, change management and value engineering activities.
Data Centres
The data centre sector has grown at a phenomenal rate over the past 10 years with technological advances and social lifestyle changes driving this growth for the future. Our clients are preparing for a world where Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming as normal to us as Global Position Systems (GPS) became to us in the early 2000s. Data is a valuable asset and the buildings and infrastructure we use to store this asset have become larger and more complex over time and this trend is only set to continue.
The market sector has seen a surge of activity to react to these needs meaning greater investment in future proofing power sources, cooling, storage, access and security across multiple regions. Updating existing centres and building new facilities requires experienced teams to deliver greater capacity at pace.
Contracts are often bespoke which, coupled with newly formed or one-off relationships between the parties, can create challenges. Our experienced team deliver commercial solutions on data centres across Europe and we are here to meet those challenges with you.
Giga Factories
The giga factory sector covers any factory that produces batteries at a large scale or any factory capable of end-to-end production of thousands of gigawatts through the use of batteries. The UK has not approved facilities at this scale at the rate they have been delivered in Europe, the United States and Asia, however the UK Government has identified, as the sales of petrol and diesel cars will end by 2030, the need for such facilities as critical to the automotive sector, future economic growth and Net Zero 2050 targets.
The 4th Industrial Revolution is set to usher in a new era based on emerging technologies, artificial intelligence and clean energy. Future electric automotive factories may have to be relocated or reconfigured to suit giga factory locations given the logistical challenges with transporting large quantities of high value batteries. Our experienced team are prepared to meet this new era with the necessary commercial and industry skills to deliver futuristic solutions based on past real intelligence.