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Reverse VAT could send countless construction sub-contractors out of business as their cash flow is sent into negative territory on 1 October this year under government rules that will impose reverse charge VAT on the construction industry.

The British Constructional Steelwork Association (BCSA) joins the 15 UK construction bodies in calling for a six month delay to the implementation of reverse VAT.

BCSA is also asking the government to use this time to review its decision to impose reverse VAT.

BCSA has calculated that for an average subcontractor turning over £15 million, reverse VAT will mean increasing negative cash flows, peaking at £262,500 in month three of the change.

‘This could be the end for many subcontractors who are already experiencing late payment, difficulties in agreeing final payment amounts and other additional costs such as the apprenticeship levy and increased pension contributions’, said Sarah McCann-Bartlett, Director General of the BCSA.

BCSA believes that the government does not fully understand the implications of yet another financial blow to subcontractors and has not communicated the changes sufficiently to industry. This is borne out by data collected by the Federation of Master Builders that shows that over two-thirds of construction SMEs (69%) have not even heard of reverse charge VAT.

‘The potential damage to subcontractors’ cash flow is significant, which is why BCSA is calling for the delay plus a review of the actual decision to impose reverse VAT’, said Sarah McCann-Bartlett.

I often use this column as a soapbox for issues facing the structural steelwork sector, who wouldn’t? But this month’s column is all about celebration. Celebration of the incredible industry that is structural steelwork. An industry that I’ve worked in for 15 years. When I’m walking around the City of London and look up to see one of the many great buildings I’ve worked on over the years, I feel a rush of pride as I tell myself , I helped create that. And happily for me, I’m able to travel the length and breadth of the UK and more often than not, I will come across one of ‘my’ projects.  Of course, these projects aren’t really mine. They belong to the whole team; from the client to the designers to the specialists who took a concept and made something out of it. They also belong to the people who live, work or play in that building or structure. Every time I cross the Forth, I look at those three beautiful bridges lined up one next to the other. The grandfather, the father and the son. I think of the people who designed them, who built them, and those who maintain them today. All of them servicing a need, and each of them a fantastic piece of engineering and construction in their own right. And they will all still be there, serving our community long after I’m gone. Of course, it would have been far better for UK Plc if the main span of the Queensferry Crossing had been made by a UK steelwork contractor,  see I really can’t keep off my soapbox, because UK steelwork contractors, and in particular, BCSA members, really are the best in the world. Continue Reading →

I often use this column as a soapbox for issues facing the structural steelwork sector – who wouldn’t? But this month’s column is all about celebration.
Celebration of the incredible industry that is structural steelwork. An industry that I’ve worked in for 15 years. When I’m walking around the City of
London and look up to see one of the many great buildings I’ve worked on over the years, I feel a rush of pride as I tell myself – I helped create that. And happily for me, I’m able to travel the length and breadth of the UK and more often than not, I will come across one of ‘my’ projects.

Of course, these projects aren’t really mine. They belong to the whole team; from the client to the designers to the specialists who took a concept and
made something out of it. They also belong to the people who live, work or play in that building or structure.

Continue Reading →

BCSA is pleased to welcome the following steelwork contractor company into membership:

G.R. Carr (Essex) Ltd

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It has been announced that British Steel has gone into compulsory liquidation. The company continues with business as usual while the Official Receiver looks for a buyer. The appointment of the Official Receiver creates a period of stability while a new buyer is sought for the trading business. BCSA’s first thoughts are with British Steel employees. We are hopeful that this key part of the UK’s proud industrial heritage can be saved.

The UK structural steelwork sector is in good shape. Demand for structural steelwork is steady, and UK steelwork contractors have the capacity and capability to deliver the future pipeline of work.

The UK has an efficient and mature stockholder and distribution sector, and steel stocks in the UK remain healthy as stockholders had already been preparing for a no deal Brexit.

The Official Receiver has said that British Steel will continue to trade as normal; taking orders, producing steel and despatching while they look for a buyer. Notwithstanding the current challenges, British Steel continues to be a key supplier to the UK construction sector and the company could return to profitability and have a long-term future should a buyer be found, or necessary funding be secured.

The major European mills supplying steel to the UK, along with other high quality international mills, have the capacity to fully service the needs of the UK structural steelwork market, if required. There are also other UK steel mills producing a variety of other products for the UK construction sector.

The structural steelwork sector and its supply chain will continue to offer the construction sector the high level of service they expect.

This magazine provides engineers, architects, main contractors and clients with an enormous amount of information, technical guidance, news and case studies every month. It also showcases structural steelwork and shows the industry the range of benefits that designing and building in steel can bring.

Steel’s high strength-to weight ratio delivers the most efficient designs and allows for the design of longer, flexible internal column-free spaces. It also
delivers spectacular buildings and structures with ease. Steel buildings are highly adaptable and flexible, offering future-proofed design solutions.

Steel is the most cost-effective framing material for buildings and structures of all types. Cost savings in steel buildings start at the foundations, where the loads imposed by a steel frame are up to 50% less than those of a concrete alternative. AECOM’s most recent cost study shows that on a typical city centre office building, the frame and upper floors cost of the cellular steel composite beam and slab option was 7% lower than the concrete alternative.

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Most of us already know that the government wants construction and infrastructure projects to incorporate greater levels of offsite manufacturing. But more recently, government has said that it also wants to take a more standardised approach to design, including componentisation. They refer to this as a platforms approach.

With the majority of the value add for structural steel already occurring offsite – in some cases up to 90% the structural steelwork sector is well placed to be an early adopter of these new approaches.

Key to the success of this approach will be the ability to lock down the complete design. The current construction delivery model does not allow the design to be fixed and drives late changes to design driven by individual sub-contractors as they are engaged. This lack of design certainty is the biggest issue facing steelwork contractors today and one of the largest drivers of cost. BCSA believes late and incomplete design, design errors, and ongoing design changes could currently add up to 15% – 20% in cost to a construction project. Continue Reading →

BCSA is pleased to welcome Farrat Isolevel Ltd into Industry Membership. The company manufacture and supply Farrat Structural Thermal Breaks to the UK & Overseas industries.  See http://www.farrat.com

BCSA is pleased to welcome the following steelwork contractor company into membership:

North Linc Structures Ltd, based in Scunthorpe – http://www.northlincsstructures.com

With the 2019 Spring Statement due on 13 March, and the UK currently scheduled to exit the EU at the end of March, all eyes are on the UK economy this month. But what does this actually mean for the structural steelwork sector?
Every year, Construction Markets undertakes what is believed to be the largest survey of its kind, surveying specifiers and analysing the responses against government data in order to calculate the current and future consumption of structural steelwork in the UK, and the market share of the key framing materials.

The most recent data has just been released, including forecasts to 2021, and as most of us would have expected, in 2018 the consumption of structural steelwork in the UK remained fairly flat at 895,000 tonnes. Overall, Construction Markets is forecasting more of the same in 2019 (up 0.5%) and then stronger growth overall in 2020 (up 2.3%) before a levelling off again in 2021. By 2021, the UK’s consumption of structural steelwork should have reached 920,000 tonnes.
But the interesting reading really comes when we delve into the details of some key sectors.

Continue Reading →