Listed business misses out on chance to deliver major residential development
Construction group Kier has failed to win the tender to build a major development in central Leeds.
The firm had bid to deliver the Moda Living phase of Caddick Developments’ £300m mixed-use scheme at Quarry Hill, where work was due to start this summer. The first stage will include a pair of 16-storey blocks, comprising more than 500 flats, named New York Square.
But a spokesman for Moda Living, a subsidiary company of Caddick, today confirmed: “Kier took part in a tender process on Moda’s New York Square development at SOYO (SOuth of YOrk road) but were not appointed on this occasion.”
A spokesman for Kier, which is headquartered in Bedfordshire but employs workers at bases across Yorkshire, said: “MODA Living has been an excellent client to work with throughout the tender phase of the SOYO scheme, and we look forward to seeing this exciting regeneration scheme develop in Leeds.
“We have a strong pipeline of work in Kier Regional Building Northern; we look forward to completing our flagship project, St Albans Place, and continuing work on other projects across the region, including Park Hill in Sheffield and Dixons Sixth Form Academy in Bradford.”
The Construction Enquirer website this morning reported that Caddick is understood to instead be looking at completing the work for its Moda Living rental arm at SOYO using its in-house construction team.
In news relating to a separate scheme which also involved Kier, another big developer, British Land, has decided not to proceed with Kier on its £300m Norton Folgate scheme near London’s Spitalfields Market. Kier had already delivered the pre-construction phase at the site.
Commenting on this project, the Kier spokesman said: “We have been working closely with British Land and are pleased to have completed the design and pre-construction phase of the Norton Folgate development. We have mutually agreed not to proceed with the main build element of the project and wish them every success with the development.”
In March of this year, Kier Group reported a loss of more than £35m for the second half of 2018.
For the six months ending 31 December 2018, the group reported statutory pre-tax losses of £35.5m, while underlying operating profit also fell to £51.8m from £60.6m the previous year. Kier’s underlying revenue, however, slightly increased during this period, marking a 2% rise from £2.1bn to £2.2bn.
