26 March 2016 – by David Hatcher M7 Real Estate has struck an innovative profit-share deal with serviced offices firm Regus that will see it rapidly build up its footprint across the fund and asset manager’s 3m sq ft office portfolio. The deal’s structure means Regus will share profits with
Category: Construction Industry Today | Subscribe to Construction Industry Today Feed Published Thu, Apr 7th 2016 Leading main contractor Sisk has appointed Kawneer as a preferred supplier. Posted via Industry Today. Follow us on Twitter @IndustryToday Leading architectural aluminium systems supplier Kawneer has been appointed as a
The President of the Confederation of British Industry has said that contractors should warn its staff about the possible implications of a ‘Brexit’ vote. Former Chief Executive of Wates and current CBI President, Paul Drechsler, also commented that if UK contractors care about the outcome of the up coming European
Tratos has joined a group of European and worldwide cable manufacturers by becoming the newest member to sign the Europacable Industry Charter. Europacable represents cable and wire manufacturers throughout Europe and pledges to uphold high quality, sustainable and ethical cable manufacturing and development. The Charter’s members include some of the
An MP has called for more people to join the construction industry as part of a week long campaign aimed at inspiring more people to join the trade. Nottingham East MP, Chris Leslie, paid a visit to the Nottingham Biosciences Centre as part of the Open Doors 2016 scheme, which
The Chief Executive of the Royal Institute of British Architects(RIBA), Harry Rich, has responded to the Architects’ Journal (AJ) survey on attitudes towards sexuality. Royal Institute of British Architects held its first ‘Out in Architecture’ event back in March 2012, with the aim of encouraging honest debate and conversations around
ADEY Professional Heating Solutions has secured a management buy out as it continues to pursue its ongoing strategy for growth. The water treatment manufacturer has been bought out by a consortium led by John Vaughan, the Chief Executive Officer of ADEY, and has received full backing from the company board,
Siemens has secured a wind turbine deal with Gamesa, a Spanish renewables group. The German company will pay 3.75 Euros per share to Gamesa shareholders as part of a deal that will see the two firms’ wind businesses combine to form the biggest turbine builder in the world, with a
Gateway Housing Association – Champion of the Community (The Following is a Promoted Article) “As a landlord, the biggest challenge you face is delivering a high quality, responsive repair service – particularly in the social housing sector,” insists Makanjuola Akinyemi, Director of Property Services at Gateway Housing Association, one of
UK: Mitsubishi Electric is to begin marketing and selling Climaveneta branded chillers in the UK, following the acquisition of the Climaveneta brand last year. The Climaveneta NX range of air source and water cooled chillers will be available from Mitsubishi Electric from July 4. These will be in addition to Mitsubishi Electric’s
26 March 2016 – by David Hatcher M7 Real Estate has struck an innovative profit-share deal with serviced offices firm Regus that will see it rapidly build up its footprint across the fund and asset manager’s 3m sq ft office portfolio. The deal’s structure means Regus will share profits with M7 rather than pay rent through traditional leases. For Regus, the relationship provides a large portfolio into which to expand and minimises fixed costs and reduces risk. For M7, which often buys high-yielding, opportunistic portfolios with relatively high vacancy, the deal provides greater potential returns on its investment compared with those achievable at existing rental levels. It also absorbs vacant space and saves on empty rates charges. The pair have already agreed deals on six sites in the UK and similar deals are expected to be rapidly expanded across continental Europe. Regus sites are generally between 7,500 sq ft and 15,000 sq ft. All the content from this weekís magazine, including this article, is available in the new app. Richard Croft, chief executive of M7, said: “This transaction is a further demonstration of M7’s ability to take an entrepreneurial and innovative approach to improving clients’ returns and to create mutually beneficial partnerships with leading global businesses such as Regus. “We have an extensive pan-European portfolio across our various funds and mandates, which will benefit from this relationship while at the same time providing Regus with scale and product across the Continent that not many landlords can provide.” M7’s office portfolio is valued at close to €300m (£237m) and it has joint ventures with Oaktree Capital Management, Starwood Capital and M&G Investments. Source link
Category: Construction Industry Today | Subscribe to Construction Industry Today Feed Published Thu, Apr 7th 2016 Leading main contractor Sisk has appointed Kawneer as a preferred supplier. Posted via Industry Today. Follow us on Twitter @IndustryToday Leading architectural aluminium systems supplier Kawneer has been appointed as a new preferred supplier to John Sisk & Son, one of the largest privately owned companies in Ireland. The new agreement with John Sisk & Son, which has a turnover of €1 billion and more than 2,000 employees, runs until the end of 2018, and encompasses its international construction companies. Kawneer will work with the group in all the sectors it works in – residential, commercial, retail and leisure, education, healthcare and transport – on the new-build, refurbishment and restoration sides. As part of the new three-year framework agreement Kawneer will deliver technical support at every stage, from initial concept design at BIM Level 2 and the preparation of specifications, through to installation through the manufacturer’s national network of approved specialist sub-contractors. Kawneer sales and marketing director Mark Clemson said: “We are delighted to have secured this much sought after supply chain framework and we are very much looking forward to working with Sisk to demonstrate how we can add value on future projects.” Steve Poole, Regional Procurement Manager for John Sisk & Son, commented: “Teamwork lies at the heart of our culture. We work together with our customers, professional teams and our supply chain to develop innovative and value-adding solutions for our clients. Relationships have been the key to our past success and will be more important than ever in the future.” ENDS Source link
The President of the Confederation of British Industry has said that contractors should warn its staff about the possible implications of a ‘Brexit’ vote. Former Chief Executive of Wates and current CBI President, Paul Drechsler, also commented that if UK contractors care about the outcome of the up coming European Union referendum, then they should ‘do something about it’. Mr Drechsler said that contractors should ensure that employees fully understand the implications of the referendum and how it will affect the businesses they work for. He added that leaders in the construction trade should spend the next week discussing the issue in the offices, on site and ‘toolbox talks’. He also warned that if a Brexit were to result in staff being laid off in two months time, then they would be asking why they weren’t given enough warning and advice before the referendum. Mr Drechsler also asked contractors to be clear with their suppliers about what the implications of a Brexit would be. He also warned that a vote to leave the EU could result in a ‘very significant shock’ for the UK’s economy. The CBI President compared the EU referendum to the financial crisis of 2008 and said that the results of the vote could have similar implications to then, as nobody knew how it would impact the industry. He added that the financial crisis resulted in years of major job losses for the construction industry in the UK and that a ‘leave’ vote would have no positive impact in the short to medium term. Mr Drechsler believes that if there was a Brexit vote then the first area of the industry to be severely impacted would be the commercial sector. In his opinion, the construction industry of the UK was reliant on free labour movement from around Europe, as it needed to access talent from the other 27 EU countries.
Tratos has joined a group of European and worldwide cable manufacturers by becoming the newest member to sign the Europacable Industry Charter. Europacable represents cable and wire manufacturers throughout Europe and pledges to uphold high quality, sustainable and ethical cable manufacturing and development. The Charter’s members include some of the largest producers in the world, along with highly specialised small and medium sized enterprises across the continent. Tratos Group Vice President, Ennio Bragagni Capaccini, said that they are proud to be adding their name to the Industry Charter, as its principles are in line with those of Tratos, adding that the group will fully uphold its commitment to the delivery of continuous improvements throughout its business activity. The Charter was launched in November last year and sets out the shared objectives and principles of the industry. It also aims for signatories to play a proactive role in the evaluation and monitoring of emerging issues, while coming up with innovative solutions that produce cables that exceed the minimum requirements. The association’s energy and communication cable manufacturer was founded in 1991 and currently employs approximately 70,000 throughout the world, more than 50% of which are based in Europe. In 2015, members of the group generated a turnover in excess of 20 billion Euros. Tratos manufactures its products primarily in the UK and Italy, but also has bases worldwide and, as a member of Europacable, will receive relevant information about developments in EU policy, as well as being represented at EU level and engaging in policy processes. The Europacable Charter acknowledges the requirement of meeting business stakeholders’ demands, while also supporting the interests of the environment, the wider community, customers and employees. Charter signatories have pledged a commitment to continuous achievement in innovation and product compliance, social responsibility and business ethics, climate change and environment and health and safety.
An MP has called for more people to join the construction industry as part of a week long campaign aimed at inspiring more people to join the trade. Nottingham East MP, Chris Leslie, paid a visit to the Nottingham Biosciences Centre as part of the Open Doors 2016 scheme, which is a joint initiative between Build UK and the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB). During his visit to the brand new specialist science facility, Mr Leslie said that the site is one example of how rewarding and successful a construction career can be. He added that having experienced the Open Doors 2016 project, he would encourage anyone to think about a career in the construction trade. The scheme is running from Monday June 13 to Saturday June 18 and provides an exclusive, behind the scenes visit to some of the country’s top visiting sites for prospective civil engineers, architects and bricklayers. Throughout the week, the project will attract thousands of visitors and covers around 130 building sites across England, Wales and Scotland. The industry is in urgent need of more workers, with CITB forecasting the creation of more than 230,000 new jobs in the construction sector over the course of the next five years. Chief Executive of Build UK, Suzannah Nicol, said that a visit to a local construction site spurred her on to join the construction industry and she hopes that the Open Doors 2016 scheme will encourage more young people to think about a construction industry career. She added that there is an ‘infectious buzz’ on construction sites and the Open Doors scheme allows young potential construction workers to experience what life is like on site and the chance to find out what the industry is all about. CITB Partnerships Manager, Lorraine Gregory, said that the project provides a great way of inspiring young people to work in the industry and said that now is the ideal time for people to join the sector given the upcoming influx of new jobs.
The Chief Executive of the Royal Institute of British Architects(RIBA), Harry Rich, has responded to the Architects’ Journal (AJ) survey on attitudes towards sexuality. Royal Institute of British Architects held its first ‘Out in Architecture’ event back in March 2012, with the aim of encouraging honest debate and conversations around sexual orientation and LGBT issues. As a result of this, the AJ decided to undertake its first survey on attitudes form people in the industry towards sexuality. Four years on from the first survey, the latest edition has made for disappointing reading, according to Mr Rich, and shows that despite everything RIBA and AJ have achieved, there is still much work ahead to change the attitudes of many within the architecture profession and in particular across the wider construction industry. RIBA insists that maintains its strong commitment to improving diversity in the sector, while ensuring that it is welcoming of all people regardless of their sexual orientation, disability, age, ethnicity or gender. Recently, the RIBA Role Models Programme was launched and promised to commit to the promotion of inclusion and diversity, while helping to inspire a wider pool of talent in the construction industry, putting architects at the front of the action. The next step for the RIBA Role Models Programme is to engage with the profession across all levels, both nationally and regionally, to drive change and open debate throughout the industry. RIBA’s President Elect, Jane Duncan, is one of the main supporters of the work programme and made the improvement of diversity in the profession a key priority ahead of her forthcoming presidency. RIBA also says that it will continue to nurture diverse talent by working with the likes of Pinsent Masons, Stonewall and Freehold, as well as nurturing diverse talent through schemes such as Fluid Mentoring in conjunction with the CIC. However, Mr Rich concluded by acknowledging that RIBA needs to do more to support and guide members of the industry who come from diverse backgrounds.
ADEY Professional Heating Solutions has secured a management buy out as it continues to pursue its ongoing strategy for growth. The water treatment manufacturer has been bought out by a consortium led by John Vaughan, the Chief Executive Officer of ADEY, and has received full backing from the company board, along with the support and investment of LDC, which is part of the Lloyds Banking Group. A decade ago, the company invented the MagnaClean filter and from then the firm has established an approach of ‘total system best practice’, with the creation of a family of products that are designed to test, protect, maintain, flush and clean heating systems. Mr Vaughan commented that the buy out marks the next step in the company’s journey of growth and will go some way to helping them achieve their ultimate aim of providing all of its customers, both in the UK and abroad, with the finest possible preventative solutions in the market of heating systems. He added that ADEY is a company built on innovation, and the company will continue to launch a range of new products that will help heating installers to serve the needs of its customers with the best tools. Mr Vaughan pointed out that there are over three million Magna Clean filters installed in Britain, and the Board’s growth ambitions are driven by the scope for more local authorities, businesses and households to benefit from ADEY’s low cost energy saving products. The company currently supplies its products in Britain and mainland Europe, but there are plans in place for the firm’s expansion into a range of new markets, including Eastern Europe, Asia and the US, along with further investments in the development of new products. Earlier in the year, ADEY was rewarded for its ‘best practice approach to central heating maintenance’ at the industry’s awards ceremony.
Siemens has secured a wind turbine deal with Gamesa, a Spanish renewables group. The German company will pay 3.75 Euros per share to Gamesa shareholders as part of a deal that will see the two firms’ wind businesses combine to form the biggest turbine builder in the world, with a valuation of around 10 million Euros. The two companies have been in discussion about the terms of the terms of the deal since the start of the year and it has been decided that Siemens will take a 59% ownership of the combined entity. After the merger has been completed, the business will be listed and have its headquarters based in Spain, with an anticipated order backlog of around 20 billion Euros, with operating profits of 839 million Euros and annual revenues of 9.3 billion Euros. Furthermore, the companies hope the deal will lead to around 230 million Euros of earnings synergies every year, before tax and interest. The cash payment of 3.75 Euros per share by Siemens represents 26% of the Spanish firm’s share price of January this year, before it was announced that talks were taking place between the two companies. Gamesa’s shared closed at 15.475 Euros on Thursday before they were suspended the following day. Chairman of the Spanish firm, Ignacio Martin, said that the deal to merge with Siemens has come from a recognition of the company’s work over the past few years and is evidence of its commitment to long term generation value through the creation of substantial synergies which extend the horizon of profitable growth for the firm. He anticipates that the combined group will become one of the dominant players in wind turbine construction, adding that they are embarking on a new era along with a world leading player in the wind industry. He told investors that Gamesa will now be able to continue their work as part of a stronger organisation with a better ability to provide its customers with end to end solutions.
Gateway Housing Association – Champion of the Community (The Following is a Promoted Article) “As a landlord, the biggest challenge you face is delivering a high quality, responsive repair service – particularly in the social housing sector,” insists Makanjuola Akinyemi, Director of Property Services at Gateway Housing Association, one of London’s oldest independent housing associations. “Here, we’ve proved that – with the right volume of work, in a conducive geographical environment – it is not only viable but advantageous to bring repairs and maintenance in-house.” Turning 90 years old this year, Gateway Housing Association has long-remained a champion of the community, providing vital social housing and sheltered accommodation to those most in need. Operating in Tower Hamlets, Newham and Hackney, the organisation currently manages under 3,000 properties and stands as the largest provider of older people sheltered housing in Tower Hamlets. Despite continuing to serve the whole East London community with a range of properties and a range of tenures, in recent times, Gateway Housing Association has renewed its emphasis on elderly care. The organisation has launched a number of new residential development schemes dedicated solely to the older generation across the London borough. And whilst elderly-only residences are undeniably commonplace up and down the UK, Gateway Housing Association has taken a radically different approach to the types of property available, establishing a number of shared ownership schemes to accommodate older residents. Akinyemi provides an insight into the initiative: “Many older people live in very large properties and, as their needs change, they’re looking to downsize. They want something that can both cater for their current needs and support them into the future. This is where the concept of older people shared ownership comes into its own: residents enjoy the independence that comes with home ownership while we, as a landlord, can provide support as and when they need it and provide opportunity for owners to access safely repair and maintenance work that they might otherwise find challenging in a wholly-owned property.” William Cubitt Lodge is the first of its kind within Tower Hamlets to offer shared ownership homes for older people. The Isle of Dogs residence comprises 21 one-bedroom flats, including four flats adaptable for wheelchair users, as well as eight two-bedroom older persons shared ownership (over 55s) flats. Gateway Housing Association will open a second scheme, William Guy Gardens in Bromley-by-Bow, later this year and the organisation is committed to developing its specialism in residential care for the years to come. Whilst the most visible changes in focus for the organisation are undoubtedly these two, new developments, significant work continues to go on behind the scenes. Wielding a new initiative dubbed Vision 2020, Gateway Housing Association has recently undergone major internal transformation in a bid to improve the day-to-day lives of 5,000 locals. By far, the biggest change came last August with the founding of its own, in-house responsive repair business, Gateway Homeworks. “One of the core strategies of our Vision 2020 drive is to deliver a consistently great service where one call solves it all, and one click does the trick,” details Akinyemi. “Part of that involves keeping pace with technology and providing various, quick-and-easy ways to access the service. More than that though, the service, itself, has to be responsive and of high quality. By bringing responsive repair works in-house with Gateway Homeworks, we’re able to ensure work is to the standard we expect, and residents deserve.” Eight months down the line with the business now well-established, Gateway Housing Association has received zero complaints about the level of service provided which, for an organisation of its size, speaks volumes. Of course, whilst the strategy of investment was always geared toward residents and improving the service they receive, the creation of Gateway Homeworks has also allowed the organisation to significantly reduce its repair expenditure. The average cost of repairs is now around £85 whereas previously this was around £120 per job. What amounts to nearly 30% saving provides more capital that can spent on further improvements to the service including plans to build 500 new homes by 2020. As part of Vision 2020 and the organisation’s ethos more generally, Gateway Housing Association continues to work hard to support the local community – not just with the provision of contemporary and high-quality housing but also within the procurement process. Procuring services and materials through the Central Housing Investment Consortium (CHIC), the organisation benefits from the purchasing power of 300,000 units despite only owning 10% of that figure. And whilst membership primarily affords the organisation a strong buying position with national firms, it has also granted it greater knowledge of what’s available closer to home. Indeed, Gateway Housing Association regularly calls upon a number of small, local building merchants for specialist services and products. Despite being a somewhat sizeable business then, the organisation has nevertheless retained an incredibly local feel and has yet to lose sight of its aims: chiefly, to continue to serve the region of East London in an attentive and high-quality manner. Between concentrated internal investment and the development evident across its three operating boroughs, the organisation demonstrates a keen awareness of modern day residents’ needs and continues to meet those requirements – and more – with some flourish.
UK: Mitsubishi Electric is to begin marketing and selling Climaveneta branded chillers in the UK, following the acquisition of the Climaveneta brand last year. The Climaveneta NX range of air source and water cooled chillers will be available from Mitsubishi Electric from July 4. These will be in addition to Mitsubishi Electric’s own range of e-series chiller, launched in the UK, and other European countries last year. Each chiller model in Climaveneta’s NX range is offered in up to six different configurations. Two levels of efficiency available and a further three options on sound emission levels: standard, low noise, and super low noise. Capacities range from 39 to 371kW with a choice of plate or shell and tube heat exchanger. “Climaveneta is a well-respected and high quality European chiller brand and we are proud to be able to add these products to our portfolio,” commented Mitsubishi Electric UK’s commercial director Donald Daw. “This addition allows us to deliver a comprehensive and versatile range of solutions for our customers, whatever their need and regardless of whether they are involved in a new-build or retro-fit situation. “We have had a lot of interest following the initial purchase of Climaveneta and with the range available from the 4th of July we are expecting to be busy,” he added. Mitsubishi Electric says it will be working in partnership with Climaveneta Powermaster, the existing Climaveneta distributor in the UK, to ensure that customers are offered the best solution for their chiller projects.
