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Posted: Wed Mar 07, 2018 12:25 am
by lutonlagerlout
the EU thing is a bit odd,and this probably isnt the right place but my auld fella said that they voted to join the common market,not the EU!
As usual this has been manipulated by politicians for their own ends.
it worries me greatly that we are not and have not been self sufficient in food for over 100 years
why french milk,danish pork ,new zealand lamb and canadian wheat is cheaper than ours, makes me wonder about globalisation's benefits?
As said the sun has shown its face and got a few calls,usual craic 
LLL
Edited By lutonlagerlout on 1520382362
Posted: Mon Dec 03, 2018 4:51 pm
by bobbi o
saw this today in construction news. what a shambles.
Kier's net debt at the end of October 2018 was £624m. The board said that rights issue was needed because the risks associated with operating with such big debts had increased since the collapse of Carillion. It said that the government would not give work to firms that look like they might go bust; banks have gone shy on the construction industry; and it can no longer get away with shafting its suppliers.
Posted: Wed Dec 05, 2018 10:40 pm
by lutonlagerlout
I worked for Kier in the 80s ( as a subbie) not sure how the big crowds can get like this?
guess a lot of it is down to low margins on big contracts
LLL
Posted: Sun Dec 16, 2018 1:20 pm
by Tony McC
Look at what they pay to the vultures at board level!
These are not really construction firms, they are BIG businesses, all about maximising what the shareholders and board can squeeze out of the company, and bollocks to everyone else. It's highly unlikely that anyone at board level has ever held a saw, a trowel, a pipe wrench, and definitely NOT a maul! They have no empathy or real understanding of construction: they are finance people, bean counters, fecking parasites every last one of them!
The board borrows against the alleged "strength" of the company so that they can splash out on multi-million quid pay deals for themselves and dole out super-attractive dividends for the shareholders. And the banks are complicit in this because, all too often, it is they that are the bleeding shareholders. Lending money so they can grab it back as a dividend, and then get it back again as loan repayment plus make a profit via the interest charge. This is 21st century capitalism at its most incestuous.
Meanwhile, who is it that gets screwed when the company hits the infamous "cash flow problems"? The small, independent, defenceless subbie...as it always was and always will be unless the construction trade in general, and the massive outsourcing companies in particular, are completely re-organised with effective legislation covering their responsibilities to suppliers and subbies rather than board members and shareholders.
/end rant
Posted: Mon Dec 17, 2018 9:41 pm
by rab1
If you think Keir are doing badly look at Interserve.
Posted: Tue Dec 25, 2018 9:34 am
by Dave_L
Luton - so how did 2018 pan out for you?? Reading your first post on this page, it all read doom and gloom - but I bet you had a half-decent year come the end? I certainly did, best year to date, with the first quarter of 2019 full, I have hope for at least another good year ahead - but like many, I am very uncertain about what Brexit has in store for us.......
Posted: Tue Dec 25, 2018 12:36 pm
by lutonlagerlout
it was a strange year mate, last year was busy busy busy with good jobs
this year was busy till march then went very quiet,still working every day and pricing but no jam
then on october the first 4 jobs I had priced in the spring /summer all accepted within one week
so booked up on extensions till next july August
A big problem for us right now is that good lads are being siphoned off by the big firms paying fantastic money,I know brickies that are on £1100 a week day work,and that is 8-4:30 with an hour lunch, it makes it hard to get good blokes on small domestic stuff
just want to keep focusing on quality work and see where it takes us
cheers LLL 
Posted: Sun Nov 17, 2019 5:17 pm
by lutonlagerlout
well nearly a year on the the 4 jobs complete, and I feel it in my waters a correction is coming
decent enquiries have dropped off and a lot of men getting short of work round these parts,the election has got the middle classes worried about what a new government might bring
also the brexit shambles just keeps rolling on.
thinking of downscaling as the bigger jobs just seem to eat time
you are on call 24/7
whats it like in your neck of the woods?
LLL :;):
Posted: Sun Nov 17, 2019 6:39 pm
by dig dug dan
Had two big landscape jobs this year, and lots of smaller jobs, its failing off now. I had the rare job of walking from my house to the train station on Monday and was astonished at the amount of building work and extensions going on in hemel.
Clearly there is work about, I think there is a saturation of people doing it who really shouldnt be
On an amusing side, I priced up a big patio and drive job about a year ago, and didn't get it. I later learned who the contractor was who got the job (Tony you know of them), and it transpires they made a complete mess of it, so now I have been asked to going and look to rectify it, and price up some
other work!
Posted: Tue Nov 19, 2019 2:13 am
by lutonlagerlout
Hi Dan
spoke to a medium sized developer I know at the gym tonight,also an estate agent,the developer reckons his phone is buzzing with lads looking for work,and the estate agent says his is as dead as a doornail
a combo of the election/christmas/ and brexit is working its magic
we shall see!
on a roof tomorrow,cant wait
LLL
Posted: Wed Nov 20, 2019 1:03 pm
by Tony McC
It's the uncertainty. I was at FutureScape at Sandown Park yesterday and many of the suppliers I spoke to said the same thing - orders are trickling in, keeping them ticking over, but there's a sense that no-one will commit to any sizable project until they know what happens to our relationship with Europe (and the rest of the world) and what flavour of idiots we have in Number 10.
On the labour front, it seems ironic that, given the number of Europeans, particularly the Eastern Types, coming to work in Britain has severely curtailed, why are so many men (and women) struggling to find suitable work?
Worryingly, I really don't think we'll wake up on December 13th with any clearer idea of what lies ahead.
Posted: Sun Dec 15, 2019 7:17 pm
by jwill
Might see a 2020 bounce now? My work is mostly for myself so all depends if can buy myself another project and sell current one
Posted: Sat Jan 25, 2020 5:45 pm
by Dave_L
Well if the first few weeks of January are anything to go by, we are in for another bumper year of trading - I've had some good jobs accept since we've gone back after Xmas, so much so, I think we are now full until May at least with a decent mix of work. I think the election and Brexit now sorted have brought consumer confidence back. Long may it continue!
Posted: Sun Jan 26, 2020 2:04 pm
by lutonlagerlout
its very flat in sunny Luton Dave,pretty much everyone I know is either sitting at home or doing small stuff, definite effect of people seeing what happens with brexit i think?
anyone else?
LLL
Posted: Mon Jan 27, 2020 9:52 am
by Tony McC
I know I'm not involved in contracting any longer but on the consultancy side of things this has been the busiest January I've ever known. I'm already working 7 day weeks and the Spring Rush hasn't even started yet!