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Notting Hill Genesis has appointed five contractors to its new £1.5bn repairs and maintenance framework covering London and surrounding areas. The housing association plans to spend £600m over the 15-year life of the deal, with the remaining £900m expected to come from third-party clients who can also access the framework. The agreement allows for a two-year extension beyond its initial four-year term. Axis Europe, Ian Williams, T Gilmartin, Cardo (South) and Wates Property Services have secured spots on the single-lot framework. Contractors will be appointed to call-offs either through mini-competition or direct award. The contract will run under a JCT measured term contract. Notting Hill Genesis is using the open procedure under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. Works covered by the deal include building installation, pump and valve maintenance, and general building completion. The framework is open to other organisations within the Notting Hill Genesis group, as well as external bodies with similar needs. Call-off contracts will run for up to 15 years each. The framework runs alongside wider sector moves to simplify procurement across long-term maintenance services, while supporting delivery of decarbonisation and safety upgrades in social housing portfolios. The contract was signed on 7 June following a competition that attracted seven bids. Read More

Ian Williams, Axis Europe, Cardo (South), T Gilmartin and Wates Property Services have landed places on the single-lot deal, which covers Greater London and some surrounding areas. The housing association will call off work using JCT measured term contracts. Each call-off could run for up to 15 years. NHG said the long-term deal is designed to improve service levels, allow work to be switched between contractors if delays occur, and keep competitive pressure on delivery standards. The framework’s £1.5bn value is based on NHG’s own £600m projected spend plus up to £900m in third-party call-offs from other users. Read More

Construction is due to start on site in 2026 once detailed design is complete and planning conditions met.  The work is expected to take around six years to complete. Mace fought off competition from McAlpine and Multiplex to land the high profile job. Mace will join the project under the direction of development manager Stanhope Plc and will contribute construction expertise for the procurement and delivery phase of the development. Plans include a 100,000 sq ft extension to the British Library comprising new spaces to enhance the Library’s public service offer, provide more than 600,000 sq ft of commercial facilities and integrate Crossrail 2 infrastructure. The project includes exhibition galleries, events spaces and learning facilities.  Located at the heart of London’s Knowledge Quarter, the development will incorporate circulation areas to connect it with the existing Library building and provide easy access from all directions through the enhanced facility. It will also include provision to extend the Library’s business offer, with maker spaces to create and pilot products.  The Library is launching a major fundraising campaign to bring these areas to life. Jason Millett, Mace Group Chief Executive said: “We are delighted to be selected as Construction Manager for the British Library development proposals.  This is a high-profile project with international significance and Mace’s long-established expertise and track record in delivering other major schemes make us well placed for this role.” Read More

The win sees Spencer take over the reins after Volker’s early input shaping the scheme’s scope and construction strategy. The contract includes full design and build for a brand-new two-platform station, which will replace the existing facility. The relocated station forms a key part of the Greater Cambridge Partnership’s infrastructure to support thousands of new homes at Waterbeach New Town. Works will include a new access road from Cody Road, 200-space car park, accessible footbridge with lifts, bus and taxi drop-off areas, SME route, cycle parking and enhanced public realm. Once complete, the station will transfer to Network Rail for long-term operation, with Great Northern continuing as the operator. WSP has led the ES4 preliminary design, while Sable Leigh Consultancy is acting as project manager and client rep. Only two bids were received for the job. Read More

The firm is expected to start work on Westminster Council’s Ebury Bridge Estate phase 2 rebuild in September delivering five housing blocks rising to 19 storeys. Confirmation of the big project catapulted McLaren to top of the July contracts league. Another private builder Bowmer & Kirkland came in second place with a dozen project wins totalling around £320m, including Ilkley Grammar School rebuild in Yorkshire worth £52m and a £45m job to rebuild Ormiston Sudbury Academy in Suffolk. Top 10  – work won in July Balfour Beatty ranked third on the strength securing the job to build new rail freight branch line from Saxmundham to the Sizewell C nuclear power station project temporary construction area values at around £150m. Click here for further rankings According to data compiled by Barbour ABI, the top 50 contractors saw the value of new orders jump 14% to £4.4bn with the number of projects secured up from 120 to 144 m onth on month. The tables for most successful work-winning firms over the last 12 months Sir Robert McAlpine push Mace into second with Morgan Sindall taking third place over Kier. Top 5  – Total wins 12 months to July Click here for further rankings Among the other big orders taken last month Ferrovial secured a contract worth around £230m from National Grid for a 2.2km tunnel as part of an extensive upgrade to electricity infrastructure between Grain and Tilbury. Other infrastructure wins included Wills Bros Civil Engineering taking a section of the A9 upgrade in Scotland between the Tay Crossing and Ballinluig. Kier bagged a £139m order for Seven Trent’s Wanlip sewage treatment works as the promise pipeline of water infrastructure investment starts to be released. One Museum Street On the building side Bovis tooks it second major job in London since being rebranded with a £220m order for the One Museum Street 19 storey tower project next to the British Museum. This follows on from the signing of technical services agreement in June to deliver another London tower at 60 Gracechurch Street for Obayashi Properties and Sellar. Read More

AU Small finance has got RBI’s nod to become a universal bank and at the outset this is a victory for both AU SFB and the regulator. For RBI, this means the small finance bank idea has worked somewhat and for AU, it is the ultimate certificate — the regulator upping their trust in them. But let’s look beyond and beneath both for AU SFB and for RBI’s small-finance-bank experiment. First up AU SFB qualified for the upgrade and how: In 7 years, since FY18, its deposits have grown at a 50% compounded annual rate from ₹7,923 cr to ₹80,120 cr; its advances have grown at a 34% CAGR from ₹13,413 to ₹67,624 cr as of December 2024. Also, unlike other MFI-led small finance banks, AU SFB has had no major hiccups of bad loans despite, demonetisation, GST and Covid. So, how does life get better for AU after its new found status as a universal bank? The immediate advantage is that it will require less capital — RBI wants universal banks to maintain a capital adequacy of 9% while SFBs have to keep 15%. Effectively, AU Bank can make its capital work more thoroughly. Secondly, it won’t have to give 75% or even 60% to priority sector borrowers. Priority sector lending obligation falls to 40%. AU can sell the excess priority sector loans as PSL certificates and earn 4-5% more. Thirdly, as it gets the stamp of a universal bank, it’s possible that its image improves and more savers and corporates are drawn to open accounts with AU, giving the bank a higher current and savings account float as also engage them in other chargeable services. Also read | AU Small Finance Bank shares surge 8% after universal banking license approval from RBI Before we come to the challenges, let us look at what set AU apart from the other SFBs. AU is one of the few small finance banks that did not start as an MFI. It was an NBFC that sought an SFB licence. So, when it got the SFB licence, investors saw in it, the nimbleness of an NBFC and the advantage of a bank that can collect cheaper funds. For the first 2 decades of its journey, AU was a smart homegrown NBFC largely servicing Rajasthan, and to a small extent Maharashtra and Gujarat. After getting the SFB licence, the scheduled commercial small finance bank baseed in Jaipur has spread to other states, but 30% of its branches are in Rajasthan and another 25% in Maharashtra and Gujarat. But now as it becomes a universal bank, it will have to eventually move out of its comfort zone to the southern states where it will face intense competition from the national NBFCs Bajaj, Shriram and Chola. AU still rules the roost in Rajasthan, but investors will want to see if it can maintain its margins and claim market share when it competes with titans in other states. Likewise, it has been very good with micro loans, two-wheeler and tractor loans and commercial banking. But its credit cost is higher when it comes to credit cards. Investors will want to see if it can maintain its growth pace and its control over asset quality when it emerges out of its comfort zone of small scale commercial and business banking and tries to lend larger loans. Seasoned financier that he is, may be Sanjay Agarwal will pull it off. But that’s what investors and the regulator will watch. Separately, the graduation of AU Small finance Bank to a universal bank is a small feather in RBI’s cap too. Succeeding generations of RBI DGs and governors have pondered over whom to give new banking licences. Business families and conglomerates are a no-no because of the inherent conflict of interest they bring. The Nachiket Mor Committee in 2014 that recommended differentiated licences like SFBs and payment bank licences tried to push the envelope in new directions while recommending licences. They noticed that scheduled commercial banks with their higher employee and other fixed costs were unable to go far into the hinterland, but the growing number of MFI companies offered some hope. Although MFIs, like NBFCs only lent loans, the Mor panel hoped that in the process of lending, they could also encourage their customers to save and hence hit upon the idea of giving them small finance bank licences. Apparently so far that hope has not quite been realised since none of the MFI-turned-SFBs have succeeded in converting their borrowers to savers or creating enough retail savings deposits. Also read | Corporate finance is not our immediate agenda, says AU Small Finance Bank: Q&A These SFBs still largely raise bulk deposits or borrow from the bond market and lend small loans in rural and semi urban areas. However, the SFB experiment has at least led to one of them, AU SFB, to qualify to become a universal bank. Many in RBI, including past executives, will fondly hope AU succeeds. (Edited by : Jerome Anthony) Read More

HomeSports NewsShubman Gill’s Lord’s test jersey sells for ₹5.41 lakh at auction The overall highest bid of the event went to a print of artist Sacha Jafri’s canvas painting of the 2019 World Cup-winning moment, which sold for £5,000 (around ₹5.88 lakh). By CNBCTV18.com August 9, 2025, 10:51:44 PM IST (Published) Shubman Gill’s match-worn and signed India Test jersey from the Lord’s Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy fetched ₹5.41 lakh (around £4,600) at the Budds auction, emerging as the highest-selling item in the lot dedicated to the Red For Ruth charity. The auction featured a range of memorabilia, including signed shirts, caps, portraits, bats, and hospitality tickets from players of both teams. Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja’s signed jerseys were the joint second-highest sellers at £4,200 (around ₹4.94 lakh), followed by KL Rahul’s at £4,000 (around ₹4.70 lakh). For England, Joe Root’s signed jersey fetched £3,800 (around ₹4.47 lakh), with Ben Stokes’ going for £3,400 (around ₹4 lakh). Among caps, Root’s signed ones topped the bids at £3,000 (around ₹3.52 lakh), while Rishabh Pant’s fetched the highest for India at £1,500 (around ₹1.76 lakh). Gill, who finished as the leading run-scorer in the 2-2 drawn series, saw his shirt described on the auction site as “a rare collector’s item… unwashed and match-worn, showing visible signs of wear,” highlighting his stature as one of India’s brightest cricketing talents. The overall highest bid of the event went to a print of artist Sacha Jafri’s canvas painting of the 2019 World Cup-winning moment, which sold for £5,000 (around ₹5.88 lakh). The Red For Ruth initiative, held annually during a Lord’s Test, supports the Ruth Strauss Foundation, established in memory of former England captain Andrew Strauss’s late wife, who died of cancer. Over the past six years, the foundation has helped more than 3,500 bereaved family members and trained over 1,000 cancer care professionals in grief support. Read More

HomeBusiness NewsTata Consumers inks deal to open new markets for Araku coffee, to be served at Starbucks The Coffee Board also signed agreements to expand coffee cultivation in tribal areas, while ITC committed to adding 1,600 hectares to its coffee plantations in Paderu, supplementing its existing 4,010 hectares. By CNBCTV18.com August 9, 2025, 10:20:32 PM IST (Published) Tata Consumers on Saturday, August 9, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Girijan Cooperative Corporation (GCC) to take the organic Araku Coffee brand to wider domestic and global markets. The agreement was one of the 21 MoUs signed to develop the state’s tribal communities and improve their livelihood. The agreements were signed at an event to mark World Tribal Day, attended by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu. Araku Coffee, which is produced by the tribal communities in Andhra Pradesh’s Araku Valley, will soon be served in Starbucks coffee chains. Also Read: Govt may roll out ₹2,250 cr export promotion mission soon: Report Mission for Elimination of Poverty in Municipal Areas (MEPMA) will also set up Araku Coffee kiosks across the state as part of an agreement. It will also boost the sale of other tribal products, including those produced by Development of Women and Children in Rural Areas (DWCRA) women. The Coffee Board also signed agreements to expand coffee cultivation in tribal areas, while ITC committed to adding 1,600 hectares to its coffee plantations in Paderu, supplementing its existing 4,010 hectares. Subko will work with tribal farmers in Chintapalli to process red cherries, creating a sustainable value chain. Additionally, the Central Rubber Board signed an agreement with the Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDAs) to support rubber cultivation by expanding plantations and developing infrastructure. The Indian School of Business (ISB) too inked a deal to raise awareness about the commercial potential of seasonal forest products manufactured by tribal women’s groups. In the tourism sector, OYO Homes and Homey Huts have signed a memorandum of understanding to develop homestays in tribal areas of Andhra Pradesh, aiming to offer visitors an authentic local experience of rural life while generating new livelihood opportunities for tribal families. The AP Tourism Forum is committed to building tribal tourism circuits. Other MoUs covered turmeric cultivation, marketing support for products made by tribal women, natural farming initiatives, and value-based education for tribal students. Read More

HomeWorld NewsTeen shooter wounds three in Times Square: NYPD Earlier this month, the NYPD said shooting incidents and shooting victims in the city were at an all-time low for the first seven months of 2025. By AFP  August 9, 2025, 9:59:58 PM IST (Updated) A 17-year-old boy opened fire and wounded three people in New York City’s heavily touristed Times Square early Saturday, the New York Police Department said. The shooting occurred around 1:20 am (0520 GMT) following a “verbal altercation”, an NYPD spokesperson told AFP without giving further details. An 18-year-old woman’s neck was grazed, while a 19-year-old man and a 65-year-old man’s lower limbs were injured, police said. None of the injuries was considered to be life-threatening. The three victims were taken to New York City’s Bellevue Hospital, where they were determined to be in stable condition. “The perpetrator has been taken into police custody, and a firearm has been recovered,” the NYPD spokesperson added. The suspect had not been formally charged. The shooting occurred at 44th Street and Seventh Avenue, an intersection in the middle of the city’s theater district, which draws tens of thousands of tourists a day. Earlier this month, the NYPD said shooting incidents and shooting victims in the city were at an all-time low for the first seven months of 2025. “This isn’t luck. It’s the result of precision policing, relentless effort, and our dedicated officers,” it said in a post on X. “Fewer guns on the street, more lives saved.” On July 30, a man armed with a semi-automatic rifle gunned down four people then killed himself as he rampaged through a skyscraper in Manhattan. There have been 254 mass shootings in the United States this year including the Manhattan skyscraper incident, according to the Gun Violence Archive — which defines a mass shooting as four or more people shot. Also Read: Flash floods kill at least 17 people and leave 33 missing in northwestern China  First Published:  Aug 9, 2025 9:59 PM IST Read More

HomeWorld NewsUS, EU, and Ukrainian officials to meet in UK on Saturday ahead of Trump-Putin meeting President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made clear on Saturday (August 9) morning that Ukraine will not give up its land to Russia but is open to discussing lasting peace in Ukraine in the US President. He also emphasised that any decision made without Ukraine is a decision against peace. By Reuters August 9, 2025, 8:59:53 PM IST (Published) British foreign minister David Lammy and US Vice President JD Vance will meet Ukrainian and European allies in Britain on Saturday to discuss President Donald Trump’s push for peace in Ukraine, a spokesperson for Downing Street said. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ahead of the security meeting, the spokesperson said. Starmer and Zelenskyy discussed Trump’s proposals for ending the war in Ukraine ahead of talks with his Russian counterpart on August 15 in Alaska. “The Prime Minister spoke to President Zelenskyy of Ukraine this morning. They looked ahead to the meeting of National Security Advisers from Europe, Ukraine and the United States taking place today, hosted by the UK Foreign Secretary and US Vice President,” the spokesperson said. “They agreed this would be a vital forum to discuss progress towards securing a just and lasting peace.” Also Read: ‘Not an era of war’: India welcomes Trump-Putin meeting to negotiate an end to Ukraine war  Read More