UKCG and NSCC ‘turn clock back’ with merger talks

Last week’s announcement that the UKCG and the National Specialist Contractors’ Council are exploring a new combined organisation has been welcomed by Graham Watts, chief executive of the Construction Industry Council.

The news was confirmed at a regular meeting of the Strategic Forum last week, and via a short joint statement from the two organisations, reproduced below.

But although Watts was supportive of the move, he pointed out that even a newly-combined UKCG and NSCC would still leave the contracting community with far more fragmentation than it once enjoyed under the Construction Confederation.

The confederation was launched in 1997 and had eight member organisations: the National Federation of Builders (NFB); the Major Contractors Group (MCG); the National Contractors Federation (NCF); the Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA); the Scottish Building Employers Federation (SBEF); the British Woodworking Federation (BWF); the Federation of Building Specialist Contractors (FBSC) and the House Builders Federation (HBF).

In 2008, the MCG and NCF left to set up the UKCG, under the leadership of Stephen Ratcliffe. The Construction Confederation itself was wound up in 2009, with a £20m pension deficit.

Ratcliffe is now approaching retirement, and a report in Construction Enquirer suggested that the new body would be headed by the NSCC’s well-regarded chief executive Suzannah Nichol MBE.

Pointing out that contractors now lacked the equivalent unified voice enjoyed by the professional institutes (provided by the CIC) or of the manufacturers (CPA), Watts told CM:  “In a way, it’s turning the clock back. But if the two bodies come together, there will still be several others – such as CECA and NFB – sitting outside it. So it’s rather arrogant to suggest that unification would create a unified sector [see statement below]. It could be a step towards something bigger though – it would be better to see a larger alliance of the trade associations.

“One of the things that encourages fragmentation in the supply side is that it’s hard to find issues to unify Balfour Beatty and a shopfitting contractor say, or a regional commercial contractor – they have different business models. But you do need unification to address some of the priorities in the contracting sector, such as training and employment issues. ”

Joint UKCG/NSCC statement

Over the last 12 months, NSCC and UKCG have found that they share a common position on a range of issues and both organisations recognise that the key to a successful industry is trust within the supply chain. UKCG members have expressed a desire to strengthen the voice of contractors and NSCC members wish to work much more closely with their Tier 1 client base.

NSCC and UKCG representatives are currently discussing how a strong collective voice for the contracting supply chain in construction could be realised leading to a more efficient and collaborative industry. This could include a new organisation bringing together UKCG Contractor Members and Trade Associations currently in membership of either NSCC or the UKCG.

The current UKCG Director, Stephen Ratcliffe, will be stepping down in June 2015 and will work with NSCC Chief Executive Suzannah Nichol to explore the opportunity for the contracting supply chain to work more effectively together.