Daily News: 20/10/2025
Legal & General plans a £2bn impact investment by 2030 to drive UK regional growth, create 24,000 jobs, and deliver 10,000 social and affordable homes. Legal & General Group
Vico Homes has reported a rise in turnover and surplus for the year ending March 2025, with turnover increasing from £194m to £209m as part of a decade-long growth trend. Housing Today (register)
Fitch Ratings has affirmed Notting Hill Genesis at ‘A-’ with a Stable Outlook and short-term rating ‘F1’. Meanwhile, Fitch Ratings affirmed A2Dominion Housing Group at ‘A’ with a Negative Outlook and short-term rating ‘F1+’. Fitch Ratings, Fitch Ratings
Housing Secretary Steve Reed said his job should be “on the line” if the government fails to deliver 1.5m new homes, though experts doubt the target will be met. Meanwhile, Labour MPs are urging ministers and London Mayor Sadiq Khan not to cut affordable housing quotas, while a report found five Labour-run council firms issued nearly 200 no-fault evictions, drawing claims of “housing hypocrisy”. BBC, The Guardian, and The Guardian
A total of 54 contractors have been appointed to LHC Procurement Group’s £285m Roofing Systems and Associated Works (RS5) framework, supporting public sector roofing projects across the UK. At the same time, Lambeth Council is seeking a replacement contractor for its £15.7m non-residential retrofit programme after energy efficiency specialist Cenergist entered administration. Housing Executive, Construction News (register)
Global private equity firm Aurelius has agreed to acquire Cromwell, a major UK supplier of maintenance, repair and operating products with revenues exceeding £230m, as its US owner withdraws from the UK market. Meanwhile, offsite construction specialist Merit has filed a notice of intention to appoint an administrator for its main trading operations. Construction Wave, Construction Enquirer
The construction sector remained the hardest hit by insolvencies despite a slight fall in August, with one in six company failures in England and Wales coming from the industry. At the same time, a new RICS survey highlighted deepening skills shortages across the surveying and construction professions, while the Home Office ruled out tagging or marking construction machinery and tools-drawing criticism for siding with manufacturers over builders and police concerns. The BPF has called for tax reforms in next month’s Budget to help reverse the recent decline in new home construction. Construction News (register), The Construction Index, The Construction Index, and Housing Today (register)
Councillors are set to vote on proposals outlining where up to 2,100 new homes could be built, In Glasgow, a new partnership-backed scheme aims to deliver 1,500 homes on one of the city’s largest derelict sites, and in Devon, developers have moved forward with groundwork for 1,200 homes on protected wetland despite environmental concerns. Meanwhile, Bloor Homes is planning 515 homes on farmland near the A34 in Stoke-on-Trent, with plans also lodged for 192 homes on greenfield land in Hedge End and 116 homes along a road described as “extremely dangerous” in Wells. Nation.Cymru, Glasgow Times, The Guardian, StokeonTrentLive, Daily Echo, and Somerset Live