Gordon Stein, CFO of CleanTech Lithium, explains why CTL acquired the 23 Laguna Verde licenses. Watch the video here.
I wouldn't read too much into supply chain finance, every main contractor does it one way or another.
It doesn't cost the contractors anything. It is an agreement with a bank, the bank can pay the invoice early for a small fee, or they get the payment on the agreed due date for no fee - from the bank. The MC has a debt to pay the bank on the long stop date. So either having the funds for longer they gain more (not much at present) interest or charge a fee to release it early.
From memory a £2-£300k payment may cost in the region of £50. I may be wrong about that now though.
If there an agreement in place the stats may not fall under the prompt payment code.
Kier International is part of Kier & over the years have been successful in the Middle East, Africa, Asia & the Caribbean.
Keir International, involved in the Riyadh Metro project is nothing to do with Kier.
http://keir.com.sa/
DYOR
Steve, I generally always try to give you the benefit of doubt as well as often not agreeing with most of your observations. But this post takes the biscuit.
Keir International are a Saudi based telecoms, utilities, high tech company based in Saudi, Nothing whatsoever to do with Kier.
The material shortages & price increases are affecting every contractor from the biggest to the local house extension builders, we're all in the same situation. This industry is a fickle one, I've been at the sharp end for over 30 years & the suppliers, designers & trades I speak to presently all say they have never known it so busy. Not saying we are heading for a boom but certainly a decent pipeline ahead.
Are you going to tell them?
https://www.constructionenquirer.com/2021/03/22/ex-kier-chief-joins-fire-suppression-firm/
"Too many accountants ran Kier for too long" you can't tarnish them all with the same brush. You're forgetting probably Kier's greatest CEO who led the mbo from Hanson - he was an accountant by trade, totally understood risk.
For those wandering if Kier could be the next Interserve, well Interserve released their first set of accounts yesterday since their pre pack - not looking good. Almost similar in size to Kier, but Kiers bias is towards construction whereas Int bias is not; Energy from Waster & other services they favour more. Looking at only their construction division, £108m loss from £413m sales. They are still going through the re-structuring / re-financing / debt consolidation etc that Kier has already done & are on the other side of. Interserve are going to need more than a name re-brand from their past to turn this ship around.
Hopefully the sale of KL is the anchor keeping Kier back, as soon as it's released there is only one way this should go.
Interserve & Kier may appear to be the same on the surface but in reality they are in a completely different position. Interserve had £815m of debt & two major shareholders with a combined 33% stake that led the revolt, which incidentally only won due to a low voter turn out. I don't suppose the same will happen again, also there is no single shareholder with anything like 33% stake.
Interserve are primarily a Service company that also do a bit of Construction. Kier are the other way round. Construction is a cash generative process which will allow them to trade their way back to where they should be.
I too was surprised to see Kier in at 34. Their average wins each month is certainly higher than this. Looking at the rolling 12 monthly league they are still hanging in their in first place. The smaller sized contractors who have appeared in the top 10 have wins which are a big % of their annual turnover, could go spectacularly wrong. So long as they are not buying the work. Frameworks do work & will continue to do so. When they come up for renewal you are finding more value bands with more competition at the £2m - £10m level. Frameworks are very demanding on contractors who have to provide so much data & commit to doing so much more than simply build the building. It's not for all.
But that's the art of construction, managing the risk. Risk is not free, Customers want the contractor to take these risks on within a lump sum but often shirk at the value added.
On any project you should know at least 75% of the trades you will be using before you start, even already signed them up under the same terms. The risk is passed down the chain. They would have priced under the same T&C's. If you get this right at the very start you have a chance, it's where contractors give in too easily because the Customer can't afford it is where it all falls apart.
Not sure what the question is. The Construction side of Kier is their main core business & the London region being probably the main region (although other regions would argue otherwise). This is where (where the London office is) WC French started many years ago. Residential is not cash generative as you say. Think about it, you don't pay for the house until you exchange/complete contracts. Up until then everything is paid out by the developer including infrastructure, roads etc. Construction is cash generative. In their hay day Kier Const got the cash in for Housing to build their houses & make the decent returns. Partly also because they did not have to borrow the capital outlay. But now Kier Const has no spare cash to offer KL.