The number of people living in private rented accommodation in retirement in the UK has soared by more than 200,000 in the last four years, according to a new poll. Overall, the survey from the National Landlords Association (NLA) shows that the proportion of retired private renters has grown by
Balfour Beatty has sold its entire interest in Balfour Beatty Infrastructure Partners LLP for US$ 64.4m (£48m). The buyer is investment management firm Wafra Investment Advisory Group Inc. Balfour Beatty Infrastructure Partners LLP was set up in November 2010 as an independently managed infrastructure management business focusing on secondary opportunities
The amount of people working from home has gone up by a fifth over the course of the last ten years, as reported by statistics produced by the Trades Union Congress (TUC). The analysis shows that almost a quarter of a million more people are working from home than ten
The Scottish heartlands housing market has outperformed the national property market under £400,000, according to new analysis from Savills. The heartlands of Central and Tayside have recovered more slowly after the downturn of the property market but research shows they are now seeing a positive change of fortune. The town
A shortage of skills in the construction industry has resulted in an increase in the wages of construction workers, new research suggests. Statistics compiled by the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) indicate that people with bricklaying skills are now able to be paid up to £25 an hour for their
A Chinese contractor has been dropped from the £300m Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon project. China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) had been contracted to carry out the work after they were chosen as the preferred bidder in 2015 to construct the six mile Swansea Bay lagoon wall. However, it has since
It is hoped that a survey will form a clearer picture of the UK solar industry. The Solar Trade Association (STA) has set up an online survey to gather information about the UK’s solar industry following significant changes to the UK’s solar power policy framework. The survey is available to
Fracking in the UK still has a long way to go despite an energy company’s plans getting the green light, according to industry experts. This week North Yorkshire Councillors voted in support of Third Energy’s plan for exploratory fracking in the village of Kirby Misperton. David Cameron has been a
The number of people living in private rented accommodation in retirement in the UK has soared by more than 200,000 in the last four years, according to a new poll. Overall, the survey from the National Landlords Association (NLA) shows that the proportion of retired private renters has grown by 13% since 2012 as more and more people turn to the private rented sector. Some 17% of the retired private renting population live in the South East, the area with the highest proportion across the UK. However, just 3% live in London which is the area with the smallest proportion area across England and Wales for renting in retirement. There are almost four times as many retired renters in the North West at 15% compared to the North East at 4% and twice as many retirees rent property in the West Midlands at 8% compared to the East Midlands at 4%. However, the proportion of landlords who let to retired renters has almost halved during the same timeframe, with 9% of landlords saying they currently let to retirees compared to 19% in 2012. The findings suggest that it could become harder for those approaching retirement to find suitable rented accommodation in the future, especially in high demand areas, according to Carolyn Uphill, chairman of the NLA. ‘More and more people are turning to private rented housing at every stage of their lives, including in retirement. Landlords appreciate the stability and assurances often provided by older households, but are finding it increasingly difficult to build businesses around the needs of potentially vulnerable tenants,’ she explained. ‘Successive cuts to the welfare budget, uncertainty about pension provisions, and the devastating impact of the Government’s tax changes are likely to mean that private landlords will soon be unable provide homes in high cost areas like Central London for anyone without a well-paying job,’ she pointed out. ‘As the proportion of retired renters continues to grow there’s a real worry that homes won’t be available in the private sector, forcing people to look further afield, leaving communities they have known and contributed to for decades,’ she added. Source link
Balfour Beatty has sold its entire interest in Balfour Beatty Infrastructure Partners LLP for US$ 64.4m (£48m). The buyer is investment management firm Wafra Investment Advisory Group Inc. Balfour Beatty Infrastructure Partners LLP was set up in November 2010 as an independently managed infrastructure management business focusing on secondary opportunities in transport, energy and utilities. Its assets include Alkane Energy and Wightlink, the Isle of Wight ferry company. Balfour Beatty has retained the right to further payment from the fund depending on its future performance. “Our exit from Balfour Beatty Infrastructure Partners and sale of the fund interest further simplifies the group and maintains our existing balance sheet strength,” said chief executive Leo Quinn. “Exiting the infrastructure fund management market will allow our core infrastructure investments business to focus entirely on its highly successful primary investments portfolio which also offers further downstream opportunities for the Balfour Beatty Group,” he added. This article was published on 1 Jul 2016 (last updated on 1 Jul 2016). Source link
The amount of people working from home has gone up by a fifth over the course of the last ten years, as reported by statistics produced by the Trades Union Congress (TUC). The analysis shows that almost a quarter of a million more people are working from home than ten years ago, with the largest increase in home working from female employees, with 157,000 more (35% more) conducting work from home in 2015 compared with 2005. However, the bulk of home workers are still men, with 912,000 regularly working from home by 2015, in comparison to the 609,000 women home workers. The data also shows that older employees are the ones most likely to work from home, with almost half a million in their 40s (454,000) and 414,000 over 50s. In terms of region, the South West of England is home to the most workers from home in the UK, with one in 12 people saying they work at home. The next most common place for home working is East England (one in 14), followed by South East England (one in 16). Whereas, the lowest proportion of people conducting their work from home is Northern Ireland, with a mere one in 48 employees regularly working from home. With regard to which industries have the highest amount of home workers, construction, agriculture and IT lead the way. Despite the rising number of people working from home, the TUC insists that employers are not keeping up with demand. Research from the Government suggests that the number of home workers is set to continue its upward trend, with four million workers in the UK saying they would like to work from home for at least a portion of the week but are not given the opportunity to do so. The TUC says that there are many benefits to home working when managed properly, such as saving money on commuting and allowing people to be more in control of their time, as well as making school commitments easier to manage.
The Scottish heartlands housing market has outperformed the national property market under £400,000, according to new analysis from Savills. The heartlands of Central and Tayside have recovered more slowly after the downturn of the property market but research shows they are now seeing a positive change of fortune. The town and country locations studied in the heartlands included Perth, Stirling, Fife, Dundee and Angus, which have outperformed Scotland on the whole. Savills’ research indicates that growth in the lower price housing sector has resulted in better prime activity. The statistics show that top end market sales are already increasing, with 19 sales of in excess of £1m last year in the heartlands, in comparison to an average of 16 a year over the last five years. Harry Maitland, of Savills, commented that he believes it was just a matter of time until we saw the heartlands catch up with the property market recovery in Scotland. Among the reasons for the upturn, he suggested that fast access to various Scottish cities, excellent schools, airport access and great life quality all played a part in the improved market performance. Mr Maitland also forecast that following the upturn in performance, supply and demand laws dictate that we will now see an increase in value across every price band. The statistics show that last year the amount of residential sales under £400,000 went up by 23% in the heartlands, in comparison to just 11% across the whole of Scotland. However overall annual sales went up by 9% in the heartlands, just in front of the 8% number for the whole of Scotland. The Stirlingshire market saw the biggest increase in sales, with a 28% increase of property sales below £400,000, while Fife’s annual property sales were not far behind with an annual increase of 26%, followed by Dundee City with 24%.
A shortage of skills in the construction industry has resulted in an increase in the wages of construction workers, new research suggests. Statistics compiled by the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) indicate that people with bricklaying skills are now able to be paid up to £25 an hour for their work. The REC’s latest research pinpoints bricklaying as being a specifically hard role for construction companies to fill, with the data showing that London bricklayers are obtaining up to £1,000 per week for their services. In addition, the Construction Skills Network data compiled by CITB shows that 2,870 jobs for bricklayers are set to be created each year from now to 2020. Kevin Green, Chief Executive at REC, estimates that workers in the construction industry could earn £34 extra each week in comparison to just last year. Mr Green said that the data they had obtained highlights that a significant amount of employers are increasing the rate of pay faster as companies battle to obtain skilled workers. However, he warned that this may not be a sustainable trend and argued that the industry must come to terms with the skill shortages outlined by improving careers advice in schools and offering more apprenticeships. Furthermore, it has been suggested to employers that they should increase their investment in skill development as well as offering more opportunities for work experience. In the last year, CITB has launched a careers website for the industry, ‘Go Construct’, which has been designed to raise awareness of the various career opportunities that can be pursued in the construction sector. The organisation has also announced recently that it will be funding more than £7.5m in specific project funding in order to aid the crucial skill needs required for the industry to grow. In response to the research, a Government Business Department representative commented that ministers are very willing to give power to construction companies for them to deliver worthwhile apprenticeship schemes.
A Chinese contractor has been dropped from the £300m Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon project. China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) had been contracted to carry out the work after they were chosen as the preferred bidder in 2015 to construct the six mile Swansea Bay lagoon wall. However, it has since been discovered that CHEC’s design plan has ‘limited workability’ and the work on the marine is once again up for grabs, with Belgian contractor ‘Jan de Nul’ thought to be among the companies expressing an interest in the project. On top of this, it has been revealed that Andrew McNaughton, former chief executive at Balfour Beatty, has quit the project. Mr McNaughton succeeded Steve Hollingshead as engineering and construction director in April last year and will now pass the baton on to Mike Unsworth, who initially joined the project in August last year to aid Mr McNaughton. Mr Unsworth, who has previous experience working in the business of offshore windfarms, said that CHEC were unable to show them that they were offering value for money. Meanwhile, a Tidal Lagoon Swansea Bay Plc (TLSB) spokesperson commented that the group have now decided to retender the project and want to secure a contract with a company that offers the best value for money to both consumers and investors. They added that the change of contractor was just one change that happened in the wake of a review of the project’s work packages and will not have an affect the delivery timetable or funding for the project. The spokesperson also thanked CHEC for its input and help in preparing the world-first energy project. The project is estimated to cost around £1bn and has already been granted planning permission, although there is still work to be done on the financial side of the project with a former energy minister set to lead an independent review on behalf of the Government.
It is hoped that a survey will form a clearer picture of the UK solar industry. The Solar Trade Association (STA) has set up an online survey to gather information about the UK’s solar industry following significant changes to the UK’s solar power policy framework. The survey is available to be returned by all UK based solar companies over the course of the next two weeks, with the findings to be presented to Ministers ahead of a public report that will be published early in the summer. Respondents to the survey, which is found at www.solar-trade.org.uk/pwc-and-sta-survey, will remain anonymous and confidential. Leonie Greene, head of external affairs at STA, said that solar power has suffered the loss of a vast amount of support recently and has been knocked back significantly since it was almost on a par with fossil fuels. She said that the STA understands that several solar companies are going through difficulties at the moment, with many ceasing trading and highly skilled workers made redundant. Ms Greene added that the survey is therefore paramount in aiding their understanding of where the UK solar industry is at following the impact of the policy changes. She commented that the results of the survey will be crucial in the organisation’s discussions with Parliament and Government, where there is sure to be a keen interest in the current state of the solar industry. The industry has seen its Renewables Obligation cut short, as domestic solar deployment has fallen by 80% under the Feed-In Tariff in comparison to last year. There is also uncertainty around the extent that Corporate Social Responsibility concerns are going to maintain short-term investment, while deployment of commercial solar roofs has been capped at 15MW per quarter. The STA will also be in contact with 200 companies who responded to last year’s survey so that they can assess the progression or regression of their solar companies.
Fracking in the UK still has a long way to go despite an energy company’s plans getting the green light, according to industry experts. This week North Yorkshire Councillors voted in support of Third Energy’s plan for exploratory fracking in the village of Kirby Misperton. David Cameron has been a long-time advocate of the fracking process, but his attempts to emulate the US model have thus far been thwarted by public hostility due to the industry’s suspect environmental record. The North Yorkshire scheme represents the first shale gas planning approval in Britain in five years and supporters hope other companies will follow suit. However, national fracking in the UK remains a distant prospect, partly due to changing economic situation of an industry inundated with cheap energy mainly caused by the US shale glut. Chief Executive of the UK Onshore Operators Group, Ken Cronin, said that he does not anticipate widespread extraction to take place until at least 2020. He added that what we will see prior to then is a series of ‘exploration wells’ that will give people chance to analyse the results and decide whether or not to proceed with production. However, green groups have condemned the Yorkshire vote, whose councillors came to their decision on the back of advice from planning officers. Meanwhile, Friends of the Earth are pushing for a judicial review of the decision. Energy Minister, Andrea Leadsom, spoke in support of the vote as she hailed shale gas as a good opportunity for the county and that fracking will benefit energy security, the economy and create more jobs. Although they have already received planning permission, Third Energy will now need the Oil and Gas Authority to approve its plans, as well as Energy Secretary, Amber Rudd. The company has endeavoured to reassure the local community and has promised not to drill on Sundays or at night.
