191: The Budget, Octavius and Komatsu

After two hundred episodes and six (and a bit) years, Bishop and Taylor gracefully bow out from their responsibilities on the Re:Construction podcast.  Don’t worry - they still manage to fit in some last bits of construction industry news relating to a change in the top at Vistry and the latest goings on at Strabag.  

Bishop and Taylor discuss proposals to finally ban the use of retentions. Plus they ask why is the government  consulting on proposals to cut consultations? And who is Fatty Acid Methyl Ester?

Bishop & Taylor discuss the extent to which a much anticipated imminent recovery in UK construction is likely to have been hit but the latest turn of world events. They also chat about the impending departure of Vistry CEO Greg Fitzgerald and the election of a plumber to the House of Commons.

Bishop & Taylor are joined again by barrister Rudi Klein, who for more than 30 years was chief executive of the Specialist Engineering Contractors’ (SEC) Group, to discuss progress – or lack of – in construction industry payment reform.

In this episode Bishop & Taylor discuss the latest in the ongoing saga of the physical deterioration of the Palace of Westminster.  They also talk power tools, with the relaunch of a redesigned range of JCB-branded tools. And they talk soil recycling, with specific reference to house-builder Persimmon’s latest money-saving initiative.

This episode sees Bishop & Taylor discuss the state of labour relations in the UK construction industry, the rationality of sentences for health & safety breaches and the precise definition of ‘a Tier One contractor’.

With the demise of Versarien, the company behind Cementene, Bishop & Taylor discuss whether graphene admixtures will ever take root in the construction industry. They also talk about the landmark Supreme Court ruling in the case of Providence v Hexagon and a young plant hire company in the northeast making a tidy 40% pre-tax profit margin.

The Single Construction Regulator Prospectus dropped shortly before Christmas – with some astonishing content. And the Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) has published the interim report of its civil engineering market study. Much food for thought here for Bishop & Taylor to discuss. And, prompted by a new appointment at Kier, they ponder: what does a chief of staff actually do?

Were you paying attention in 2025 or closing your eyes at the back of the classroom? Bishop & Taylor are here to remind you of some of the UK construction industry news highlights of the year, or maybe tell you what you missed.

After a brief look at Birmingham City’s bonkers stadium plan, Bishop & Tayor discuss this week’s budget news, RSK’s latest acquisition and major developments in plant and tool hire, including the sale of Marubeni-Komatsu and the repositioning of Brandon Hire Group