Skanska has been employed by Cheval Property Holdings as principal contractor for the demolition of a building behind 55-91 Knightsbridge in London. The contract, which runs until October 2017, is for the removal of the building down to basement level, in anticipation of redevelopment. Skanska’s team will also clean and
©Bloomberg Persimmon, the UK’s largest housebuilder by volumes, is to raise payouts to shareholders after a 34 per cent surge in underlying profit, boosted by strong consumer demand and government support. The FTSE 100 group said that it would increase planned dividend payouts by 45 per cent, spending an extra
While the RIBA Future Trends Workload Index has been reported to fall considerably at the close of last year, with December’s value sitting at +15, as opposed to the +27 reported in the month previous, optimism is still maintained in the architecture sector. Additionally, the RIBA Future Trends Staffing Index
Forterra, the UK’s leading producer of manufactured masonry products, as well as a frontrunner in the manufacture of clay bricks, has recently announced a plan to float on the stock exchange. Expected to float within some four weeks’ time, Forterra has laid out plans to submit an application for ordinary
In accordance with the recent publishing of governmental housing proposals, as nodded to in the latest construction news; of those residential development sites with ten of more properties, a fifth of those properties will now be required to constitute starter homes, ensuring the provision of affordable housing across varied communities.
In recent construction news it has been reported that an increased move towards urbanisation, as well as improvements seen in the wider construction industry, may yet see a notable degree of growth within the concrete fiber market. Highlighted in a report by Transparency Market Research, the report effectively highlights those
Despite five years of market woes and struggles, it is expected that the market for on-site machinery such as bulldozers, diggers and dump trucks is expected to see a resurgence next year, signalling a potential change in the fortune for the manufacturers of such products. The predictions come from Off-Highway
As well as being granted permission to proceed with London’s £27bn Crossrail 2 project, the latest construction news highlights the sheer number of green lights given to construction projects, not solely in London, but across the North of England. With landmark projects such as HS3, expansion to the M62 and
Skanska has been employed by Cheval Property Holdings as principal contractor for the demolition of a building behind 55-91 Knightsbridge in London. The contract, which runs until October 2017, is for the removal of the building down to basement level, in anticipation of redevelopment. Skanska’s team will also clean and retain the early 20th century, Grade II-listed façade of the site’s mansion block, part of the conservation area near Hyde Park. Skanska believes it is the longest façade project of its type in London. Skanska said that key to it winning the contract was its experience in traffic management and logistics, as well as façade retention systems and demolition within tight constraints on site. The site is bound by two five-star hotels, residential properties, shops and offices, and just across the road from the French embassy. Skanska managing director Paul Heather said: “Our team has delivered many similar schemes and our knowledge and experience have already exceeded the customer’s expectations. This latest project start confirms that the commercial development market in London remains active, and Skanska is playing a significant part in the sector. We have a strong pipeline of work and look forward to working with developers across the city to create their developments.” Skanska secured the contract through a competitive tender process following a pre-construction service agreement, where the team undertook asbestos removal, investigative and enabling works. This article was published on 21 Jul 2016 (last updated on 21 Jul 2016). Source link
©Bloomberg Persimmon, the UK’s largest housebuilder by volumes, is to raise payouts to shareholders after a 34 per cent surge in underlying profit, boosted by strong consumer demand and government support. The FTSE 100 group said that it would increase planned dividend payouts by 45 per cent, spending an extra £860m to bring the total to £9 a share by 2021. It will return 110p to shareholders as an interim payment in April. More On this topic IN Construction Jeff Fairburn, chief executive, said that growing appetite for homebuying, combined with Persimmon’s increased investment in land, enabled the higher payouts. “We’ve been building our position as a business for the future, and that gives us the confidence, together with the strength of the market, to confirm this increase,” he said. Persimmon and its rivals have benefited from a growing economy, a shortage of new homes and strong government support as ministers seek to tackle a long-term fall in home ownership rates, including through equity loans under the Help to Buy scheme. Its dividend increase mirrors that from Berkeley Group, the upmarket builder focused on London and the south-east, which in December said that it would increase its planned dividend payouts in the next six years by a quarter. Persimmon’s underlying pre-tax profit was up 34 per cent to £637.8m in the 12 months to the end of December, ahead of analysts’ expectations, on a 13 per cent increase in revenues to £2.9bn in what chairman Nicholas Wrigley called an “outstanding” year. The York-based company completed 14,572 new homes, an 8 per cent increase, during the year and sold them for 4.5 per cent more, averaging £199,127. Its operating margin increased to 21.9 per cent, up from 18.4 per cent a year earlier. Forward sales were up 12 per cent to £1.68bn. The company operated from fewer sites in 2015 — 380, down from 385 a year earlier — which Mr Fairburn said was down to hurdles in the planning process. “We are bringing through more homes on the same number of sites but what we need to see is more sites coming through. The process needs to be speeded up,” he said. He said that build costs had risen 3-3.5 per cent during 2015, in part driven by a skills shortage. The company is to maintain a neutral stance on the upcoming referendum on European Union membership, Mr Fairburn said, but he anticipated a possible dip in consumer confidence before the vote. “It’s a matter of confidence for the purchaser — anything like this can have some short-term effect,” he said. Housebuilders’ share prices dropped 4.5 per cent on Monday following the news that the referendum would take place on June 23. Charlie Campbell, analyst at Liberum, said: “It would be reasonable to assume some slowing of sales ahead of that date due to general uncertainty . . . [but] any disruption to sales is likely to prove relatively short lived.” Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2016. You may share using our article tools. Please don’t cut articles from FT.com and redistribute by email or post to the web. Source link
While the RIBA Future Trends Workload Index has been reported to fall considerably at the close of last year, with December’s value sitting at +15, as opposed to the +27 reported in the month previous, optimism is still maintained in the architecture sector. Additionally, the RIBA Future Trends Staffing Index also saw a dip down to +9, a short fall from +14, yet even on this front the sector does not seem overly worried. Despite a drop in the workload index, it has been highlighted that this is nothing to worry too much about, with the drop itself being hinted to as a predicted fall in enquiries due to the time of the year; a period when there is traditionally a drop in interest. With larger practices showing little concern at present (+67), the majority remains confident as to being able to maintain a healthy workload as well as respective levels of staff. In fact, a mere 5% has predicted a fall in the number of staff held over the next quarter. Even smaller practices also showed a degree of optimism for their future (+16), with only those practices in-between, with staff levels of 11-50 showing a more pessimistic balance figure of -7. As of the disparity of results, the majority of the UK did report on positive balances in the index, with only a few regions falling into the negative such as Wales and the West, as well as Scotland, reporting figures of -3 and -50 respectively. On the flip-side, figures shown in the South of England show great results, with a balance of +30 reported. As for the staffing index, again both large and small practices have maintained a positive balance and market outlook, with those sitting in the middle then again showing a degree of concern, though in this respect maintaining a balance neither positive nor negative (zero in total)
Forterra, the UK’s leading producer of manufactured masonry products, as well as a frontrunner in the manufacture of clay bricks, has recently announced a plan to float on the stock exchange. Expected to float within some four weeks’ time, Forterra has laid out plans to submit an application for ordinary shares in the company to be listed in the premium section of the Official List of the FCA as well as to trading on the London Stock Exchange’s main market in the section of listed securities. Credited with bringing the company back into the production of a previously-mothballed capacity sitting at a total of 50m bricks per year, Forterra has seemingly turned the tides, and has also seen the increased capacity for production at its Measham site by some 19m bricks per year. In fact, the past few years have seen a great degree of investment into its production facilities, not solely from a capacity perspective, but also from that of improving the efficiencies of production at a number, including improvements made at the sites in Hoveringham, Hams Hall, Accrington, and the aforementioned site at Measham. Claiming to be the only UK manufacturer to offer a significant range of concrete blocks and clay bricks, Forterra offers a vast range of products under its own brand identity, as well as Fletton brick under the brand of the London Brick. Referred to as one of the leading producer of building materials, specifically in the UK, Stephen Harrison, Chief Executive of Forterra explained: “The fundamentals of our industry are attractive.” Then highlighting how the company has the base in place from which the company can operate onto and into the future, he also went on to comment: “Listing as a business is the next step in realising the significant potential that we see for Forterra.”
In accordance with the recent publishing of governmental housing proposals, as nodded to in the latest construction news; of those residential development sites with ten of more properties, a fifth of those properties will now be required to constitute starter homes, ensuring the provision of affordable housing across varied communities. As can be expected, starter homes are to be priced at a discount rate of at least 20% less than the presently cited market value to offer opportunities for those looking to get on the property ladder under the age of forty. Of course, the decision comes at a much-needed time, ensuring that there will be the provision of affordable, yet quality homes for first-time buyers across the country. Coming as part of the government’s present commitment to deliver some 1m new homes, the move will see a further dedication to providing quality homes targeted towards those requiring affordability and availability most – effectively, those yet to enter onto the property market as of yet. As such, a commitment has been laid out for the construction of circa 200,000 of such homes, which is backed by a £2.3bn fund to push the development of such properties, including some on brownfield sites. Brandon Lewis, Housing and Planning Minister commented: “We want to ensure young people who aspire to own their own home can settle down and enjoy the security home ownership brings.” Of course, not just offering affordable pricing, the move will also see a mixed bag of properties to be seen across the country, with both private and affordable housing to sit alongside one-another, not then providing food for the “us and them” argument, whereby affordable houses might traditionally be present within their own communities, and private within others. This, of course, is expected to be a positive move in maintaining balanced, positive communities with some of the social boundaries often seen in more wealthy areas broken down, if only to a very slight degree.
In recent construction news it has been reported that an increased move towards urbanisation, as well as improvements seen in the wider construction industry, may yet see a notable degree of growth within the concrete fiber market. Highlighted in a report by Transparency Market Research, the report effectively highlights those areas within which the success of the market depends upon, not solely for today, but into the future (2016 to 2023 most specifically). Most commonly used to manage cracks occurring as a by-product of ventilation shrinkage and the reduction of plastic, concrete fibers represent one of the most favourable reinforcement materials as a direct result of the physical, and chemical attributes held within. In particular, concrete fibers are reported to offer a high degree of resistance, stability and the overall strength of the material as a result of its particular environmental, chemical, mechanical and optical attributes. In the report, a degree of expansion has been predicted in the coming years, with the aforementioned reasoning sitting behind this. Additionally, reduced boundaries to entry in the sector has also seen an increasing competitiveness in the industry, with new industry players popping up to serve the specific requirements of smaller development projects; something to which a degree of growth thus far can be attributed. As to where the emerging markets for concrete fibers lie, Asia Pacific has been highlighted as one of those markets enjoying a great deal of growth, with the areas having enjoyed some 40% of the global market back in 2014. As such, there are great hopes and expectation for further growth within this market, amongst others, in the times to come. Whether the market will indeed fall in the line with the predictions made is, as always, uncertain, however the positive outlook portrayed by Transparency Market Research is to which organisations in the sector may find hope in, with the potential to benefit from renewing market confidence levels and growth out of the recession.
Despite five years of market woes and struggles, it is expected that the market for on-site machinery such as bulldozers, diggers and dump trucks is expected to see a resurgence next year, signalling a potential change in the fortune for the manufacturers of such products. The predictions come from Off-Highway Research, a leading consultancy operating within the construction sector. Over the most recent years, the industry has been somewhat devastated by uncertain economic climate, with a marked decline in demand noted as far back as 2012. Most notably, China’s slowed growth has also played a core role in the slowing of the industry’s own success also, with the construction and mining industries maintaining an inevitable tie to the success of China’s core industries. Additionally, reportedly low levels of growth and interest in much of the global construction market also hindered the success of the sector, with meaningful rises in demand only being seen in areas such as India. The primary factor to which Off-Highway attributes the predicted growth can be seen as the increased need for organisations to replace much of their aged construction plant and procure new, modern machinery to support the modern demands of the sector. In accordance with this, Off-Highway expects a 5% increase in sales for next year, which will see the industry gain some ground once more, despite having reportedly downsized by almost 25% since 2011. Of course as the global construction market pulls itself out of the recessionary period, so too is the plant and equipment sector also expected to see a resurgence; not just yet, however. With Companies now reportedly far more cautious and lacking confidence in the present, marginally more optimistic market conditions, progress is expected to be slow. Yet, despite this, the predictions made for next year do indeed highlight a long-awaited potential for growth.
As well as being granted permission to proceed with London’s £27bn Crossrail 2 project, the latest construction news highlights the sheer number of green lights given to construction projects, not solely in London, but across the North of England. With landmark projects such as HS3, expansion to the M62 and improvements made to both the A69 and A66 all given the green light, optimism is rife for the benefits the improved infrastructure of these schemes will bring. Additionally, a study as to the feasibility for a Trans-Pennine tunnel between Manchester and Sheffield was also given the go ahead for further investigation. Of course, the budget is, by very essence only a plan for development, yet with this plan clearly highlighting government dedication to improved infrastructure, the industry of tomorrow is one of great hope. And while direct benefits of the projects are some time down the line, with projects such as Crossrail 2 planned to be completed by approximately 2030, the industry is optimistically excited due to the volume of work the schemes will generate between now and then, with a vast number of construction jobs to be created in accordance. Yet, despite a forecast rise in the availability of construction jobs, key to remind ourselves of is the availability of skilled workers in the industry. Firstly urging a focus on the availability of such skills onto and into the future, Clare Watson, Chair for the North West of the National Federation of Builders highlighted that: “Improving transport and infrastructure will not only improve business prospects, it will increase social mobility and widen the opportunities available in construction for the next generation. With aforementioned plans already reported by the CITB to provide much-needed support in the training of tomorrow’s construction workforce, a clear effort is being made to shorten the skill gap, yet, with some 22,500 construction jobs to be created in the North West, even further emphasis throughout the sector is urged.
