According to a new report from TSB, us Brits are actually friendlier than you might think. ‘Love thy neighbour’ is making a comeback across the UK as a larger than expected number of people are not just keeping up with the Jones’s, but are good friends with them too. A
19 August 2016 | Martin Read A survey of 551 large organisations in North America and Western Europe has found that improvements in predictive analytics and the development of mobile communications strategies will characterise successful document outsourcing service providers in the coming years. The findings are published by InfoTrends, a
International real estate advisor Savills has sold Park View Mobile Home Park in Cheshire on behalf of The Park Garage Limited to a private operator. The property was offered at a guide price of £800,000. The freehold property accommodates 26 mobile home pitches together with a range of separately let
Pearkhal Properties, represented by international real estate advisor Savills, has sold the Columba Hotel in Inverness to Seacare Hospitality (UK) Limited from a guide price in excess of £7 million. The 82-bedroom property, which dates back to the 1880s, features two restaurants, a bar, meeting rooms and an executive lounge.
17 August 2016 | Herpreet Kaur Grewal A BIFM project that seeks to ensure business leaders fully understand the contribution of the workplace to organisational performance is calling for views from industry. The initiative, called Open Views, is part of the wider Stoddart Review launched at ThinkFM earlier this year.
©AFP Coking coal, the material used by steelmakers to fire their blast furnaces, has become the best performing commodity of 2016 after surging more than 80 per cent over the past month on the back of production curbs and flooding in China. Premium hard Australian coking coal delivered to China
Structural Warranty Consultant at Build-Zone, asks what can be done to the benefit of buyers and developers alike… After decades of practice, developers are still looking for consistency in delivering quality new housing. Bob Stembridge, Structural Warranty Consultant at Build-Zone, asks what can be done to the benefit of buyers
A London property news update: it has been highlighted that greater than 25% of London boroughs don’t offer a home-for-sale at a value of less than £191,812, the average across the UK; a concerning affordability issue for those wishing to relocate to London. The news comes with the release of
It has been recently announced that Irish power organisation, Viridian, is set to be purchased by I Squared Capital, a US-based owner of considerable assets in the renewables industries of India and the US.. The move by I Squared Capital is one which is expected to act as a way
Originally having deferred the decision on a £95m entertainment centre development plan, Bristol City Council has recently decided to reassess the plans, cited to have originally raised concerns over traffic impacts of the Bristol Arena. Attempting to overcome the concerns, efforts have been made in preparation of this moment, and
According to a new report from TSB, us Brits are actually friendlier than you might think. ‘Love thy neighbour’ is making a comeback across the UK as a larger than expected number of people are not just keeping up with the Jones’s, but are good friends with them too. A new report from TSB Mortgages, which looked at relationships, friendships and partnerships across local communities in the UK has challenged the notion that our communities are becoming more isolated. According to the study, 80% of Brits know their neighbour’s names, 47% speak to them regularly and almost a third (31%) would consider them friends. When asked, 10% said that they’d like to know their neighbours better and 52% of people said that feeling ‘part of a community’ was important to them. TSB found that the picture was fairly consistent across the country, however only 72% of those living in the capital knew their neighbour’s names, which was the lowest in the country. However, London had one of the highest rates of people who considered their neighbours as friends (33%). This could perhaps indicate that in faster-paced urban areas, people tend to forge fewer but stronger connections to each other. Friends Nearby As well as looking at neighbours, the research also looked at friendship groups, finding that women tend to have fewer friends in their local area, with an average of six, compared to men who had an average of seven pals living close by. Men were more likely to socialise with their friends at the pub than women (43% of men, 28% of women) whereas almost six-in-10 (59%) women said they spent more time socialising with friends at home. Interestingly one-in-five (21%) women said they combined socialising with friends and the school-run, tending to catch-up with other parents whilst picking up and dropping off kids. This is compared to just one-in-eight (13%) men. Ian Ramsden, TSB Mortgages Director, said: “It seems the traditional image of Brits politely nodding to their neighbour as they scurry through their front door may no longer be accurate, as new research from TSB Mortgages has found that almost half of us speak to our neighbours regularly and one-in-three people class them as friends. At TSB Mortgages, we know a home is more than a house. The relationship we have with our neighbours and our local community can really make a place feel like home. As the speed of life has increased with more people spending less time catching up face-to-face, and more time keeping in touch online and on social media – it’s great to see that the majority of us have friendly faces right on our doorstep.” The data was gathered as part of TSB’s series of HOME reports – looking at the way modern homeowners live in and relate to their local communities. The latest report ‘The Ideal Community Checklist’ found that homeowners most wanted a Post Office, a local bank and a baker on their high street, with over half (52%) of people saying that feeling part of a community was important to them. The next HOME report, examining the differences and similarities between virtual communities and physical communities will be published at the end of this month. Source link
19 August 2016 | Martin Read A survey of 551 large organisations in North America and Western Europe has found that improvements in predictive analytics and the development of mobile communications strategies will characterise successful document outsourcing service providers in the coming years. The findings are published by InfoTrends, a market research and consulting firm for the imaging, document solutions, production print and digital media industries. Entitled Service Expansion Opportunities for Document Outsourcing in 2016, the report builds on insights from previous research and is a response to the suggestion that the relevance of print-only document outsourcing contracts is in decline. Emerging service opportunities, market opportunities and other customer requirements were identified in interviews with customers in financial services, insurance, consumer packaged goods, and other vertical industries. “Enterprises are seeking external support for channel-agnostic delivery of communications, as well as support through creative services, data management, analytics, and other value-added services,” said Matt Swain, senior director of InfoTrends’ customer communications services. “While document outsourcing providers often already have deep and long-standing relationships for print production, management, and mailing, it is critical for these providers to continue to evolve their business offerings to maintain margins and remain relevant.” Source link
International real estate advisor Savills has sold Park View Mobile Home Park in Cheshire on behalf of The Park Garage Limited to a private operator. The property was offered at a guide price of £800,000. The freehold property accommodates 26 mobile home pitches together with a range of separately let workshops, offices and a car sales forecourt all within 2.09 acres (0.9 hectares). The property is situated within the village of Broomedge close to the M6 and M56 motorways. Robert Gale-Hasleham, director in the leisure and trade team at Savills, comments: “Park View is a well-established mobile home park with good transport connectivity close to the M56 and with all 26 developed pitches occupied by privately owned mobile homes, offered an attractive investment opportunity.” Source link
Pearkhal Properties, represented by international real estate advisor Savills, has sold the Columba Hotel in Inverness to Seacare Hospitality (UK) Limited from a guide price in excess of £7 million. The 82-bedroom property, which dates back to the 1880s, features two restaurants, a bar, meeting rooms and an executive lounge. Located in the historic centre of Inverness, it offers views over the city’s castle and the River Ness. The hotel will be operated by Compass Hospitality following the sale. Tom Cunningham, hotels director at Savills, comments: “This highly profitable, 4-star hotel attracted strong market interest and we are pleased with the swift result achieved on behalf of our client.” The purchaser was unrepresented. Source link
17 August 2016 | Herpreet Kaur Grewal A BIFM project that seeks to ensure business leaders fully understand the contribution of the workplace to organisational performance is calling for views from industry. The initiative, called Open Views, is part of the wider Stoddart Review launched at ThinkFM earlier this year. Open Views seeks to explore what business leaders should be looking for in their workplace strategy and why, as well as help businesses understand how “the discretionary effort, capacity, engagement and connection with its talent depends upon its environment”. It is seeking “opinion formers with insight and experience both into the extent of the productivity challenge and the tools available to business to resolve it through workplace”. Through Open Views, contributors can add their voices to the Stoddart Review by taking part either in person (Tuesday 23 August, Friday 9 September or Tuesday 13 September) or by submitting thoughts electronically to the panel representing The Stoddart Review. Want to join the debate? Contact the team: research@bifm.org.uk Source link
©AFP Coking coal, the material used by steelmakers to fire their blast furnaces, has become the best performing commodity of 2016 after surging more than 80 per cent over the past month on the back of production curbs and flooding in China. Premium hard Australian coking coal delivered to China hit $180.9 a tonne on Friday, this highest level since price reporting agency Steel Index began publishing assessments in 2013. It has risen 131 per cent since the start of the year, outpacing gold, silver, iron ore and zinc — other top performing commodities. More On this topic IN Commodities The main driver of the rally — which has also roiled thermal coal — is Beijing’s decision to restrict the number of working days at domestic mines to 276 days per year from 330 previously. This policy is aimed at the improving the profitability of producers so they can repay loans to local banks. But it has reduced output and forced traders and steel mills to buy imported material from what is known as the seaborne market. Heavy rains across China’s northern coal fields in August have exacerbated the supply squeeze, forcing China to buy more overseas. Late on Thursday, traders said a cargo of coking coal had changed hands at $190 a tonne. “China has rushed back into a tiny seaborne trade to top up,” said analysts at Morgan Stanley in a recent report. Although 280m tonnes of seaborne coking coal is traded each year, most is done on quarterly contracts, directly between buyer and seller. Only a third of deals are done in the spot market. This makes the commodity highly sensitive to changes in supply and demand — particularly if China’s huge steel industry needs material. Industry watchers do not think the price surge can continue for much longer as rising costs will make it difficult for mills in China — the world’s biggest producers of steel — to make money. Higher prices might incentivise new seaborne production. “Should coking coal prices keep rising while steel prices remain at current level, Chinese steelmakers risk returning to negative margins,” said Miriam Falk, senior analyst, S&P Global Platts. She calculates that coking coal now accounts for about half of the raw material costs in pig iron production — an intermediate form of steel — up from an average of 40 per cent over the past year. While the upswing in seaborne coking coal prices is good news for producers struggling to navigate the worst downturn in a generation it is unlikely to deliver an immediate profit windfall, say analysts. The exception is BHP Billiton, the world’s biggest natural resource company by market value. The Anglo-Australian mining company has been leading a push for an index-based pricing system and now sells most of its coking coal on spot market terms unlike rivals Anglo American and Rio Tinto. However, the price surge may help Anglo American to sell two Australian coking coal mines. “The $70 a tonne move in coking coal prices in since the beginning of July has added $3bn to BHP’s mark-to-market earnings,” said analysts at Liberum, who reckon the sustainability of the rally depends on how long Beijing maintains its restricted working days policy. “The government will be questioning whether subsiding the coal industry at the expense of the steel industry is a desired outcome.” 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
Structural Warranty Consultant at Build-Zone, asks what can be done to the benefit of buyers and developers alike… After decades of practice, developers are still looking for consistency in delivering quality new housing. Bob Stembridge, Structural Warranty Consultant at Build-Zone, asks what can be done to the benefit of buyers and developers alike… The recent All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) Inquiry into the Quality of New Housing in England has highlighted the shortcomings in the new homes being delivered across England (and quite possibly in the whole of the UK but their remit did not go that far). What is significant is that in 2004, the Barker Review highlighted the issues with selling homes which were either incomplete or did not have an effective aftercare service. The industry has since improved but not by as much as would have been hoped. As the report states, build quality reacts according to the level of activity in the market – less activity and the greater the quality of output but the opposite also applied, which was exactly the reason for the Barker Review. Quite often reports into housing quality compare the final product to buying a motor car. While the construction and delivery methods may differ, the buyer’s expectations are in many respects similar. They expect the product to be fit for purpose at the time of taking ownership and for years afterwards. However, buying a new home just increases the stakes when things do not go to plan. Then the costs and extra effort needed to put things right can be astronomical. Thus an effective system that acts to prevent delays and misunderstandings can only benefit all parties. As a warranty provider, our role is to audit the developer’s work during construction of the new home and to provide a line of recourse for the owner up to 10-years after completion. Also, other stakeholders such as the lenders depend on our independence and the insurer’s financial strength to stand behind our 10-year warranty. Thus we have a vested interest to ensure the developer produces a product fit for purpose, and the homeowner has the knowledge to look after it. The APPG have made ten recommendations which they hope will mean more homeowners are happy with the buying and owning process. Some are already in place and need tweaking while others will require a break from current ‘conventions’. Here’s a brief overview of some of those recommendations:
A London property news update: it has been highlighted that greater than 25% of London boroughs don’t offer a home-for-sale at a value of less than £191,812, the average across the UK; a concerning affordability issue for those wishing to relocate to London. The news comes with the release of figures from House Simple, the online estate agent. The average price for a property in London presents sits at circa £530,409, a startling value. Additionally, as highlighted by House Simple, only nine in 32 of the boroughs actually play host to a property with an asking price under the average price from the Land Registry. In fact, it was reported that there was only one borough with the provision of a property for less than £100,000 Bexley. In contrast to this, however, Tower Hamlets reports no available properties marketed for below £250,000. As can be expected, the cheapest form of property available in close to 50% of the boroughs is a studio flat which, while efficient, also sits at a comparatively small offering of space in comparison to that of the traditional one-bedroom flat (100-110 sq ft approximately, as opposed to an average of 495 sq ft). While the results do point out there are at least some properties available on the market at less than the average UK property price, House Simple’s CEO, Alex Gosling highlighted that the availability of such properties is very low, and the space on offer for the amount paid is also rather small. “It’s a studio or nothing in many boroughs,” he added. This piece of London property news, of course, also highlights potential reasoning as to why there is an increased trend of people relocating out of the London area, with property price comparisons highlighting the potential for a fully-fledged house in some areas of the UK, for a similar price to that of a studio flat in London. Yet, for people to still be doing this thus far, there must still be some considerable appeal in living in the capital.
It has been recently announced that Irish power organisation, Viridian, is set to be purchased by I Squared Capital, a US-based owner of considerable assets in the renewables industries of India and the US.. The move by I Squared Capital is one which is expected to act as a way for the company to break into the UK’s energy sector, and, sitting at a total value of €1bn, will prove to be a sizeable investment into the UK-based assets, with Viridian’s present, considerable assets crossing both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. In total, Viridian presently provides some 20% of domestic energy in Ireland, which is generated through a combination of gas-fired and renewable, wind farms. As of I Squared Capital’s motives, an expression of consideration has been made as to whether buying into the market with Viridian will prove to be a foothold for breaking into it entirely, with Gautam Bhandari, Partner at I Squared Capital highlighting how the company has been weighing the potential of buying into the market, or pursuing a more organic approach to entering it. Of course, despite already being a highly competitive market, with a handful of operators presently dominating the UK energy sector, this, to Bautam Bhandari seems only to be perceived as a challenge, with him passing comment that: “There is a need for new contenders in the UK power-market, where customers are looking for solutions other than the Big Six.” Of course, this is seemingly only the first step in considerable international expansion plans for the company, with plans already nodded to for entering the European market more significantly. This, however is expected to come some time in the future, with the expectations being of about one year before the company would be comfortable with it’s UK-based market entry plans.
Originally having deferred the decision on a £95m entertainment centre development plan, Bristol City Council has recently decided to reassess the plans, cited to have originally raised concerns over traffic impacts of the Bristol Arena. Attempting to overcome the concerns, efforts have been made in preparation of this moment, and as such, is at a point worthy of being reviewed and reassessed. It is expected that discussions will ensue next month, with two applications presented for the talks; the two documents looking at the bigger picture of the development of Arena Island, with the other providing a much more localised look into the development of the arena structure itself. To overcome some of the original traffic issues feared, a report to highlight progress on the transport plans is also to be provided alongside the aforementioned applications. Whether or not the plans are enough to set aside the previous concerns is presently unknown, with some referring to it as a “vanity project” of architect and directly elected mayor, George Ferguson. £7.75m has been set aside for transportation-relative plans associated with the project, displaying a commitment to ensuring that traffic and transportation systems are in place from the opening of the venue, as well as that of rising to the challenges laid out by the original deferral and comments. For the project itself, Bouygues UK sits as the preferred bidder, however is unable to make any real progress until councillors agree on backing the project. Referring to the project as one which is of great import to the region itself, Mr Ferguson made comment, saying: “I hope that this new report, along with conditions that will be attached to the application, will give them the confidence they require to approve the plans.” Only time will tell if this project will make it through this time and we will report further as and when we find out of any further progress.
