Balfour Beatty and Carillion have signed a new agreement with the government which will allow banks to speed up their suppliers’ payment terms.

The two are joined by a number of high-profile UK firms, including Babcock International, Tata Steel and Marks & Spencer, who have agreed to “actively evaluate” the implementation of, or continuing support for, ‘Supply Chain Finance’.

The scheme will see Balfour Beatty and Carillion notify banks that that an invoice has been approved for payment; the bank is then able to offer a 100 per cent immediate advance to the supplier at lower interest rates, knowing the invoice will ultimately be paid by the large company.

EDF Energy’s chief executive has insisted Hinkley Point C is “shovel-ready”, but CN has learned that the supply chain believes main construction work at Hinkley Point C could be delayed until the middle of 2013.

A source close to the project told CN that it had been told to expect main construction by the middle of 2013, but that further delays beyond that are not envisioned.

The Tarmac Pavement Solutions division is being launched within Tarmac’s national contracting business to produce and supply cement-bound and recycled materials.

Its aim is to counter the soaring price of bitumen, which has risen 60 per cent in two years.

The move follows a backlash from contractors in March against the formulas used in contracts to determine the price of building materials.

Exclusive: Bouygues UK has beaten Balfour Beatty and ISG to a £35m contract in the City of London to redevelop and extend 71 Queen Victoria Street, Construction News has learned.

Bouygues clinches £35m Queen Victoria St contract

Bouygues was appointed by private investors QV Unit Trust who have received funding from the owners of the building, Investec Bank.

Galliford Try has announced financial close on a deal to build a new development including a casino and hotel at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham.

The Resorts World project includes a new casino, a 176-bed four/five-star hotel and spa, conference facilities, a factory outlet centre, a cinema complex, food and beverage retail space and parking for 480 cars.

The procurement of 42 capitally funded priority schools has drawn closer after contractors were invited to a bidding day with the Education Funding Agency this week, Construction News has learned.

Contractors to attend priority schools bidders' day

The £2.4 billion programme is split into two pots with £2bn of work to be procured through private finance, and £400m worth of capitally funded projects, which will be procured through the academies framework.

The cost of building secondary schools under the Priority Schools Building Programme will be cut by an average of £6 million each under new design standards issued by the Department for Education.

Cost reductions of 30 per cent will be applied to the £2 billion PFI part of the £2.4bn PSBP, when compared with the scrapped £55bn BSF programme.

Network Rail has awarded Carillion the job to deliver a £43m expansion of Peterborough station building extra platforms and new footbridges.

The project will start in April and see two new platforms constructed on the west side of the station for use by trains travelling on east-west routes, freeing up the existing platforms for north-south services.

The Stoke-on-Trent based construction firm has been appointed to a four-year construction framework agreement by Staffordshire County Council

Projects on the framework include schools, sports facilities, care homes, as well as extensions and refurbishment projects for existing buildings.

Peel Ports has named Lend Lease as the main contractor for its £300 million deep-water container terminal at the Port of Liverpool.

Peel Ports launched the search for a principal contractor for Liverpool2 in March.