8 June 2016 | Herpreet Kaur Grewal A study by market analyst Plimsoll Publishing highlights the areas where the UK’s largest and most attractive takeover targets in the contract cleaning sector are based.   The study, which analyses the UK’s largest 1,144 companies, warns that a combination of stockpiling cash, low interest rates and elderly directors has left these companies open to acquisition as the sector consolidates, evolves and begins to prosper again. The ripest pickings are in the Home Counties, Thames Valley, North Wales. Yorkshire, Scotland, and the South-East. It also shows that: 155 companies are in danger; 310 companies are ripe for takeover; 294 companies are making a loss; and 157 companies lose over a quarter of their value.   David Pattison, lead analyst at Plimsoll, said: “These businesses named as highly attractive takeover targets are showing classic acquisition criteria. They are all declining in financial strength, many have an ageing board and some are still privately owned. Given the circumstances, it’s quite possible that perhaps some of the directors will be looking to retire or even consider a sale.   “With these findings in mind, it will be no surprise that we will see more acquisition activity. Let’s also remember an acquisition should not been seen as a negative thing, It’s an opportunity for both the buyer and the seller – the buyers get to take on a new business and invest, the sellers get to belong to a new company and get a whole new future.”   The study includes a regional analysis that states which areas of the country contain the most attractive acquisition prospects.    The Plimsoll Acquisition Study into the contract cleaning & support industry costs £500+VAT, and provides an in-depth industry analysis of the leading players in the market. The report contains a valuation, acquisition attractiveness score and overall financial rating for each company. Location – No of prospects East Midlands –13 Essex – 12 North East – 9 North West / North Wales – 24 Northern Home Counties – 68 Northern Ireland – 6 Preston conurbation – 5 Scotland – 20 South East – 17 South Midlands – 15 South Wales – 4 South West – 17 Southern Home Counties – 35 Thames Valley – 26 West Midlands – 18 Yorkshire – 21   Source link

House prices in Auckland, New Zealand, look set to continue rising throughout this year after a buys month of March, and rents are also up, the latest index figures show. The average sale price for the month was $866,782, and the median price was $798,000, according to the latest data monthly report from real estate agents Barfoot & Thompson. The March average sales price was the third highest on record, within $10,000 of the all-time high in November last year, and 5.4% higher than last month while the median price at $798,000 is the second highest on record, within $2000 of the all-time high in December last year, and up 8.1% on February’s median price. ‘March is always one of the busiest sales months of the year, and a good indicator of where prices are tracking for the remainder of the year,’ said Peter Thompson, managing director of Barfoot & Thompson. ‘When prices are this strong in March the trend is for prices to hold steady through the year.As it has been for the past two years, lack of supply remains the main price driver. New listings in the month at 1,874 were solid, but by month end, the number of available listings at 3,093 was a decline of 6.8% on the number the month previously,’ he pointed out. ‘There has been a definite increase in the number of properties being sold under the hammer at auction, indicating keen buyer competition for available properties. Although a record number of building permits are being issued, and new homes are springing up everywhere, Auckland is simply not building homes fast enough to keep up with the growing population,’ he added. He also pointed out that Statistics New Zealand reported that in February alone the population of Auckland increased by about 3,000 people. Based on the Auckland average occupancy for houses, of three people to a property, theoretically 1,000 additional properties would have had to become available in the month to house such growth. The data also shows that in March the firm sold 474 properties for in excess of $1 million, the highest number ever in one month and it represented more than a third of all properties sold.At the other end of the scale, 146 properties, or 10.9%, sold for under $500,000. Data from the firm also shows that the average weekly rent for one bedroom properties has risen by 4.8% from $316 to $331 year on year, while for two bedrooms rents are up 6.3% from $398 to $423. Rents for three bedrooms are up by 5.6% from $486 to $510 compared with March 2015, four bedroom rents increased by 5.1% from $614 to $644 and for five or more bedroom rents were up by 5.8% from $755 to $791. Thompson explained that Auckland’s usual rise in rent didn’t occur in March and over the last 12 months, Auckland saw an increase of $28 or 5.8% for all property types. However in the past month, the increase was only by $1. Rodney and Franklin/Manukau continue to show the fastest growth in rental prices, with an 8.4% increase in Franklin/Manukau and 7.8% increase in Rodney in the past 12 months.Even with the marked increase in rent each month, Franklin/Manukau remains the cheapest area for rentals across all property sizes. Over the past few months, there has been a marked increase in the rental prices achieved in Auckland’s outlying areas, such as Franklin, Manukau and Rodney, the data shows and Franklin, Manukau and Rodney have been outperforming the rest of Auckland when it comes to rental increases. In the past two years, Auckland’s rents have increased by 9.24%, whereas in Franklin/Manukau, they have increased by 11.26% and in Rodney, by 11.39%. Thompson said that Franklin/Manukau is typically the cheapest area to rent in, but with rental increases now significantly above the average, Franklin/Manukau prices are getting closer to the averages seen in South Auckland. ‘The rental increases in these outlying areas suggest that Aucklanders are struggling to find suitable properties in closer suburbs, or are happy to travel further afield to find the right home,’ he added. BOOKMARK THIS PAGE (What is this?)      Source link

SSE will offer flexible customer services and improve complaints handling in a bid to attain a gold standard for customer service practices. The energy supplier is aiming to become the first to meet the criteria of the British Standard for Inclusive Service Provision. The company has committed to put in place flexible customer services that are designed, marketed and available to all customers, including those experiencing some form of vulnerability by 2018. The British Standards Institute (BSI) standard recognises that no two customers are the same and some need more support than others. SSE will be able to identify when customers may need extra help and respond with a solution which matches their individual needs. SSE group managing director of retail Will Morris said: “Some of our customers require more help or a different service and putting in place the improvements to achieve BSI accreditation will help us accomplish this. “We’re committed to listening to what our customers want and improving our service based on what they tell us through initiatives like our Customer Forums. We never forget that energy is an essential service and it’s our responsibility to make sure we are looking after our customers and recognising that anyone can be vulnerable at different points in time.” Over the next 12 months, SSE will increase its customer service advisers, make it easier for customers to get in touch, provide more support and advice to customers falling into debt and work with customers to test and rate its service with mystery shopping. Small business, consumers and corporate responsibility minister Margot James said: “Every consumer deserves to be treated fairly, and energy suppliers should provide a quality, personalised service to all their customers. “But it is good to see that SSE is leading the way and improving its service to consumers who need extra support.” The move to achieve the British Standard for Inclusive Service Provision will require a number of phased improvements to SSE’s processes, starting with key areas including complaints, debt management and sales. Source link

The forecaster now expects construction output to grow by 7.8 per cent between 2016 and 2018, down from 9.3 per cent in its previous forecasts, released in January. Previous forecasts had factored in works at Hinkley beginning in 2017, but delays have pushed the majority of this work outside Experian’s forecast period. As a result, infrastructure forecasts for 2017 have been revised down from growth of 12 per cent to just 6 per cent in the latest analysis. Despite these revisions, infrastructure work will still account for 15 per cent of total construction output in 2018, up from 11 per cent in 2013. Total output growth has also been lowered for 2016, primarily due to a slowdown in non-residential construction caused by the global economic slowdown and the uncertainty over June’s EU referendum. In its winter forecasts, Experian had expected output to grow by 2.6 per cent in 2016, followed by 3.9 per cent in 2017 and 2.6 per cent in 2018. The latest forecasts point to growth of 2 per cent in 2016, followed by 2.9 per cent in 2017, while its prediction for 2018 remains unchanged. Experian expects an increase of 2.6 per cent in fixed investment for 2016. However, private housing forecasts have held steady since earlier in the year, with growth at 5 per cent for 2016, followed by 4 per cent and 2 per cent in 2017 and 2018 respectively. Elsewhere, both the industrial and private commercial sectors will remain strong, with growth of between 3 and 5 per cent per year expected over the forecast period. By 2018, private commercial will be the largest sector by output value at £26.48bn, with private housing the second largest at £26.45bn. Public housing will continue to perform poorly after recording a 14 per cent decline in 2015; output will fall by 8 per cent in 2016 and 3 per cent in 2017. Experian is the second forecaster to cut its expectations for growth in the last week, after the CPA revised its forecast for 2016 down to 3 per cent on Monday.     Source link

Construction Waste Management Solutions for sites nationwide Here at GPT Waste, we have carried out numerous successful waste services for the construction industry over the years. We are an independent provider of waste management solutions across the UK, providing sustainable waste services for all our clients. Our services work in leisure and retail premises, commercial building construction, roads and a variety of other construction projects in the public sector. Because of increasing costs and tougher legislation waste handling is creating a burden for businesses of all sizes in all sectors. At GPT Waste we remain flexible in an ever changing market which has allowed us to develop into the UK’s leading independent provider of waste management solutions across the UK. The GPT team have a celebrated history that aims to meet any of our client’s challenges. Our waste services for the Construction Industry include: Plasterboard recycling On site segregation Skip & container hire Land remediation Aggregates Plant, accommodation and tool hire Technical services SWMP – help & advice

New research from Retirement Advantage has revealed that the UK’s over-55s have seen their potential property wealth through equity release swell by 4.6% during Q1 to reach £378bn. According to the report, although the South East and Greater London continue to dominate the regional list for most housing wealth available, property values are increasing faster in other parts of the country. The highest annual growth in property wealth was seen in East Anglia, a rise of 23.5%, followed by the South East (15.2%) and Greater London (21.6%). Greater London saw the greatest quarterly increase in property value (7.5%), followed closely by Scotland (7.1%) and East Anglia (6.5%). The Equity Release Council’s Spring Report found that sector lending grew at its fastest rate in H2 2015 since 2008. Total equity release lending hit an annual high of £1.61bn in 2015, up 16% from 1.38bn in 2014. Alice Watson, product and communications manager at Retirement Advantage Equity Release, said: “As property wealth among over 55s across the country continues to rise, we are seeing rapid uptake of equity release products. That being said, we still have a long way to go to ensure that people approaching retirement are aware of all their options. Despite the increasing popularity of equity release, our research shows that less than 1% of the potential wealth available to over 55s across the country is being accessed. We expect to see that figure surging over the coming months, with people now taking an increasingly holistic approach to financial planning for their later years.” Source link