Mon 20 November

Back from a break and what have I missed? Well more of the same from the looks of it - more consolidation, more changes at Bovis and more gnashing of teeth over the Olympics. I read a piece on the Financial Times during my time off which crystallised my thoughts somehwat. Apparently the recently installed FT editor Lionel Barber has selected 20 core ongoing stories that the newspaper should focus on in its business coverage, including globalisation, the rise of China, e-commerce etc. In our much smaller world of construction, and the managing and pricing of it, I think we have about four:

1) Consolidation. Boy is it happening. Project manager Hornagold & Hills was the latest to succumb to a buy, selling up for £11m last week. "The consolidation that's happening is unbelievable," one experienced practitioner tells me today. I've always thought it would happen, but not at this pace.

2) Globalisation - see number 1. Again the pace of growth of UK firms abroad is pretty amazing.

3) People, people, people - It's a given for every firm, regardless of size, that there's a severe lack of them.

4) Procurment/technology - The industry is wondering whether the bold and bright new Latham/Egan world is just a mirage. And at the same time the digital world is sure to introduce profound change to the sector in the rest of the decade.

5) The Olympics - it will dwarf every other project in the UK. Hardly fair but true.

The best a man can have

Touching news reaches us from Brazil. Architect Oscar Niemeyer tied the knot at the ripe old age of 98. Niemeyer, best known for designing Brazil's futuristic capital, Brasilia, wed longtime aide Vera Lucia Cabreira, nearly 40 years his junior, at his apartment in Rio de Janeiro's Ipanema district. "The best a man can have is a woman by his side and then let it be God's will. Woman is indispensable," he has said during his life.

Source

QS News