Building: leading the news

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

• The Telegraph picked up Building’s Women in Construction survey, revealing that more than half of women in construction have been harassed during their career.

October 2017

• The Sunday Telegraph picked up Sarah Richardson and Mark Leftly’s story revealing that the restoration of the Palace of Westminster is set to be pushed back due to a deal giving MPs elected at the next general election the chance to make a maiden speech in the House of Commons.

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

• The Guardian referenced Building’s exclusive on the first new build project on Kensington Palace Gardens in 100 years in a wider piece on luxury housing in London.

February 2014

• The Observer picked up Will Hurst’s story on how local councils are appointing their own architects to improve the designs of their Crossrail station amid an ongoing row about design quality.

January 2014

• Joey Gardiner’s interview with John Armitt, in which the chair of the Olympic Delivery Authority warned over the UK’s energy crisis was picked up by the Guardian, as well as the Daily Mail and the Daily Telegraph.

December 2013

• Will Hurst’s exclusive reports on Crossrail design were picked up in a full page lead in The Observer
• Iain Withers’ exclusive update on the stalled £1bn Pinnacle tower development was picked up by the Independent.

November 2013

• An exclusive report by Iain Withers on plans being developed by a British firm to build more ‘humane’ accomodation for construction workers on the Qatar 2022 World Cup project was picked up by the Guardian.
• Senior reporter Vern Pitt’s exclusive on cost overruns in the design and engineering phase of the HS2 project was picked up the Telegraph.

September 2013

• Will Hurst’s report on the Welsh Government’s anti-blacklisting procurement plans was picked up by the Guardian with a joint bylined story and a credit for Building. Hurst was also interviewed on BBC Radio’s Good Morning Wales programme on September 11th.
• Iain Withers’ exclusive report on problems on the £40m fit-out job at the luxury Shangri-La hotel in the Shard was picked up by the Times.

August 2013

• Allister Hayman’s exclusive report on the impact of botched basement excavations on the industry was picked up by the Financial Times.

May 2013

• Vern Pitt’s exclusive on the the collapse in cavity wall insulation installations under the Green Deal was picked up by the Guardian, the Financial Times, the Telegraph and the Times, as well as the wider trade press.
• Vern Pitt’s exclusive story that EDF had delayed its decision to go-ahead with investment in its Hinkley nuclear power station project until autumn was picked up by the Guardian.

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

• Vern Pitt’s exclusive that contractor Carillion was doubling its maximum payment terms to suppliers to 120 days was widely picked up by the trade press as well as the Sun and the Financial Times. It also led to questions in parliament as well as trade organisations lobbying ministers and the prime minister.

February 2013

• Iain Withers’ story on moves to redesign the Pinnacle tower in the city of London as an ‘austerity tower’ was picked up by the Times.
• Will Hurst’s exclusive on the police watchdog’s move to announce an investigation into claims of police collusion in the blacklisting of construction workers was picked up by the Guardian, the Times as well as Channel 4 News and a range of specialist titles.
• Iain Withers’ exclusive on the appointment of EC Harris and Mace as project managers on the tallest tower in the world - the Kingdom Tower in Saudi Arabia - was picked up by Reuters, the Guardian, the Evening Standard and by a range of other news outlets and the specialist press.

January 2013

• Building’s Green for Growth campaign prompts an early day motion in parliament, tabled by Conservative MP Zac Goldsmith and Liberal Democrat MP Andrew Stunell.
• News that the Olympic marketing ‘gag’ which prevented firms that worked on the games from promoting their sucess, had been lifted - a key part of Building’s 2012 campaign than ran all last year - was picked up by all the major news outlets and the specialist press.
• The Guardian picks up Will Hurst’s scoop on the decision by the Metropolitan police not to investigate claims that officers supplied information to the construction blacklist.
• The Times takes on Iain Withers’ exclusive that the stalled Pinnacle tower in the City of London could be knocked down and rebuilt from scratch following a review of the project to make it more viable in the current market. The story was also picked up by the Financial Times.
• Will Hurst’s report on how Balfour Beatty made blacklist checks of employees looking for work on its Olympic games projects was picked up by The Observer.
• The Guardian reports on Building’s Green for Growth campaign, which prompted a letter from the industry to the chancellor calling for action to boost the green economy.
• Assistant editor Joey Gardiner writes in the New Statesman on Building’s Green for Growth campaign.

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

• Assistant editor Will Hurst’s report on accusations that Olympic stadium builder Sir Robert McAlpine engaged in blacklisting during the Olympic construction project was picked up by the Times as well as other specialist media.
• The Financial Times picked up news editor Allister Hayman’s scoop on contractor Brookfield suing the stalled £1bn Pinnacle development for breach of contract and £16m in unpaid fees. The story was also picked up by City AM, the Sunday Times as well as the specialist media.

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

• The Scotsman picked up Will Hurst’s story on how two of the most prominent former staff at troubled architect RMJM are suing the company for unfair dismissal and unpaid wages.

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

• Reporter Iain Withers’ exclusive on a delay to the practical completion of the Shard was picked up by the Telegraph (‘Point Break: Delay to Shard’, 22/6/12) and the Evening Standard.
• The Financial Times covered the issue of how restrictive Olympic marketing rules are preventing firms from capitalising on their London 2012 sucesses, and quoted directly from Building’s coverage of the issue, which Building has made a key part of its Building 2012 campaign.
• Assistant editor Will Hurst’s story on how Colin Firth’s wife lost a planning battle to have solar panels installed on the roof of their home was covered in the Evening Standard. The story was also followed up by The Telegraph.
• The Independent 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 editor Sarah Richardson.

May 2012

• Senior reporter Vern Pitt’s exclusive on how David Cameron has commissioned an urgent report on the Green Deal in order find ways to make it viable was picked up by the Guardian, the BBC as well as other specialist titles.
• Assistant editor Joey Gardiner’s scoop on how the number of PFI projects in the UK has plunged 85% since the government put PFI under review was picked up the Financial Times.
• Assistant editor Joey Gardiner wrote a piece for the New Statesman on why the rejection of city mayors across England’s regional cities was bad news for construction.
• Emily Wright’s interview with architect Lord Rogers, in which he attacked mayor of London Boris Johnson, was picked up by the Evening Standard.
• Assistant editor Will Hurst’s exclusive on the collapse of historic builder Killby & Gayford hitting construction of the UK’s first centre for black history and culture made it into The Guardian.
• Reporter Iain Withers’ scoop on how The Shard architect Renzo Piano was set to be appointed to design a major new extension to Selfridges was picked up by the The Times (“Shard man has designs on Oxford Street store”, 4 May), as well as the Evening Standard and across the specialist media.

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

• The Evening Standard picked up on Hansom’s tale of of how reporter Iain Withers, on a trip to Colombia, mingled at the British ambassador’s house with the man who “ordered the killing of Pablo Escobar”.

January 2012

• The Times picked up assistant editor Will Hurst’s coverage of a court battle between supermarket Ocado and contractor Carillion over flaws in the construction of the retailer’s main distribution centre(‘Ocado puts legal battle on the slab’, 23 January)..
• The Sunday Telegraph also ran the story (‘Concrete reasons for poor results’, 22 January, 2012).
• The Daily Telegraph picked up news editor Allister Hayman’s story  on the delay to the procurement of around £5bn in Ministry of Defence construction contracts (‘Armed Forces housing upgrade put on hold’, 14 January).
• The story was also picked up by the Evening Standard (‘Construction hit by freeze on MoD contracts’, 13 January) and was widely reported in the regional and trade press.
• The Guardian covered in depth assistant editor Joey Gardiner’s report on how the government’s flagship green policy appears doomed after its own figures show it could bring about 93% decline in loft lagging (‘Green Deal suffers set back as loft insulations set to plummet’, 13 January). The story was also widely reported in the regional and trade press.
• Channel 4 News also ran the story. Quoting our figures, the programme got climate change minister Greg Barker to respond to the concerns raised in our articles.