A.F. Budge

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A.F. Budge was a British civil engineering and construction company based in Nottinghamshire. It built many sections of motorway in Yorkshire and the north Midlands.

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History

Tony Budge went to Boston Grammar School, where he gained O-levels in English, English Literature, French, German, History, Geography, Maths, and Physics with Chemistry in 1955. [1] He lived at 122 Tower Road in Boston. [2] .

It was established by Tony Budge (9 August 1939 - 3 February 2010) in December 1962. [3] He was the older brother of Richard Budge, who established his coal mining business RJB Mining, also based in Bassetlaw. Richard Budge joined the company in 1966. Another director of the company was Janet Budge, Tony's wife. Tony had trained as a civil engineer with Holland County Council. [4] He had three daughters and a son, and married Janet Cropley, from Frith Bank, near Boston. He was a fellow of the ICE and IHT. [5] In the 1970s he lived at Meed House on North Road in Retford. In July 1984 his daughter Elizabeth married Christian Brash at Retford church. [6] [7]

The company turned over £1.5m in 1968, when the company moved Retford to a former LNER engine depot. In January 1969, the Charterhouse Group bought 23% of the company. The company hoped to go public in the early 1970s. Tony Budge was given an OBE in the 1985 New Year Honours. In 1990, Tony Budge was Chairman of the Federation of Civil Engineering Contractors. [8]

RJB Mining was formed from a management buyout in February 1992 for £107m.

Mining

The company had an opencast mine in the 1970s at Esh Winning and West Chevington (Northumberland). In the early 1990s, it opened the Whitehouse Colliery, near the former Fontburn Halt railway station.

In 1991, it operated nine opencast mines. In August 1991, British Coal Opencast gave the company a £16m contract for its Colliersdean site in Northumberland.

Horseracing

Anthony Frederick Budge [9] liked racehorses, and his company invested in Doncaster Racecourse. Danish Flight won the Arkle Challenge Trophy at Cheltenham in 1988; Rock City, ridden by Willie Carson, won the Coventry Stakes at Ascot in 1989; Sharp N' Early won the Gimcrack Stakes at York in 1988 and the Leisure Stakes at Windsor in 1990; Rock City with Willie Carson won the Gimcrack Stakes in 1989 and River Falls won the race in 1991; Uncle Ernie won the Lightning Novices' Chase at Doncaster in 1991; Showbrook won the Woodcote Stakes at Epsom in 1991. In the early 1990s, he had 20 horses with trainer Jimmy FitzGerald.

The company owned Retford Gamston Airport. Tony Budge lived at Osberton Hall at Scofton (in Worksop), the former home of Francis Ferrand Foljambe, near the River Ryton, off the B6079 between Worksop and Retford.

The company's horse-racing colours Owner A F Budge (equine) Limited.svg
The company's horse-racing colours

Receivership

A.F. Budge (Road Materials) Ltd went into well-publicised receivership on 9 December 1992, undertaken by Cork Gully, with £96.6m debts, under the Insolvency Act 1986. [10] As a road construction company, it was profitable, but the company made some disastrous investments in other areas in the late 1980s. During 1992 the company had reduced its debt by £30m, but blamed Barclays Bank for forcing it into receivership.

The company was bought by Alfred McAlpine Construction of Chester on Monday 4 January 1993, with 26 outstanding road contracts, according to its managing director Peter Hulmes. 250 of the 370 road-building employees were kept. [11] [12]

The company, and RJB Mining, were investigated in the King Coal edition of Panorama on 1 May 1995. The civil engineering business was bought by Alfred McAlpine in January 1993.

Structure

The company, also known as A. F. Budge (Contractors), was based in Retford (Ordsall) in Bassetlaw, north Nottinghamshire, directly west of Retford railway station.

Products

Newcastle Technopole Business Centre, built by AF Budge (Estates), it now forms part of the Newcastle Helix Newcastle Technopole Business Centre from New Bridge Street (geograph 2159254).jpg
Newcastle Technopole Business Centre, built by AF Budge (Estates), it now forms part of the Newcastle Helix

It built the Central Business and Technology Park in central Newcastle next to the A167(M) and the A193 junction; this became King's nor Central Business and Technology Park, on the site of a former railway station. Universal Building Society moved its HQ there in June 1992. It built the Eureka! (museum) in West Yorkshire in the early 1990s.

Universities

In January 1991, it had a £14m contract for Newcastle Science Park (5.5 acres), which is next to Manors Metro station and Manors railway station, with a 284-vehicle car park; it received £2.5m from the Tyne and Wear Development Corporation, with the Chief Executive being Alastair Balls; Michael Portillo dug the first section on Thursday 21 February 1991.

Roads

It built many bypasses including the Lincoln Relief Road

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References

  1. ↑ Boston Guardian, Saturday 10 September 1955, page 11
  2. ↑ Louth Standard Friday 30 October 1959, page 3
  3. ↑ Companies House
  4. ↑ Newark Advertiser Friday 10 June 1988, page 40
  5. ↑ Nottingham Evening Post Friday 3 April 1987, page 59
  6. ↑ Retford Times Friday 17 February 1984, page 8
  7. ↑ Retford Times Friday 10 August 1984, page 7
  8. ↑ Construction News 1990
  9. ↑ Companies House
  10. ↑ Independent October 1994
  11. ↑ Nottingham Evening Post Tuesday 5 January 1993, page 8
  12. ↑ Newark Advertiser Friday 8 January 1993, page 69
  13. ↑ Retford Times Friday 31 January 1969, page 1
  14. ↑ Retford Times Friday 13 March 1970, page 1
  15. ↑ Retford Times Friday 4 February 1972, page 6
  16. ↑ Retford Times Friday 23 March 1973, page 4
  17. ↑ Retford Times Friday 17 August 1973, page 9
  18. ↑ Retford Times Friday 1 March 1974, page 1
  19. ↑ Retford Times Friday 10 May 1974, page 1
  20. ↑ Retford Times Friday 18 October 1974, page 18
  21. ↑ Retford Times Friday 6 December 1974, page 5
  22. ↑ Retford Times Friday 14 February 1975, page 13
  23. ↑ Grimsby Evening Telegraph Wednesday 3 September 1975, page 5
  24. ↑ Retford Times Friday 12 September 1975, page 9
  25. ↑ Retford Times Friday 31 October 1975, page 19
  26. ↑ Grimsby Evening Telegraph Friday 25 June 1976, page 1
  27. ↑ Retford Times Friday 2 July 1976, page 16
  28. ↑ Scunthorpe Evening Telegraph Monday 26 September 1977, page 6
  29. ↑ Retford Times Friday 8 May 1981, page 1
  30. ↑ Scunthorpe Evening Telegraph Tuesday 11 August 1981, page 6
  31. ↑ Retford Times Friday 19 June 1981, page 1
  32. ↑ Derby Evening Telegraph Friday 25 September 1981, page 3
  33. ↑ Retford Times Friday 3 February 1984, page 7
  34. ↑ Stamford Mercury Friday 14 June 1985, page 3
  35. ↑ Stamford Mercury Friday 26 July 1985, page 2
  36. ↑ Lincolnshire Echo Saturday 6 July 1985, page 7
  37. ↑ Retford Times Thursday 1 May 1986, page 18
  38. ↑ Grantham Journal Friday 12 December 1986, page 17
  39. ↑ Nottingham Evening Post Thursday 6 August 1987, page 10
  40. ↑ Newark Advertiser Friday 1 April 1988, page 1
  41. ↑ Newark Advertiser Friday 8 April 1988, page 20
  42. ↑ Newark Advertiser Friday 24 November 1989, page 38
  43. ↑ Nottingham Evening Post Wednesday 12 July 1989, page 12
  44. ↑ Derby Evening Telegraph Saturday 12 January 1991, page 9
  45. ↑ Derby Evening Telegraph Friday 7 February 1992, page 3
  46. ↑ Nottingham Evening Post Tuesday 23 February 1993, page 5
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