MCR, represented jointly by Savills and TSG, has brought to market two recently refurbished office buildings at Century Park in Altrincham. The vacant properties, which had previously been combined to create a data centre, have now been separated and each provide 4,008 sq ft (372 sq m) of office space across two storeys.  MCR has carried out extensive improvement works in preparation for the sale, including suspended ceilings and the installation of new lighting and carpets throughout. Located north of Altrincham town centre, Century Park sits within the mixed-use commercial area around Atlantic Street which is accessed directly from the A56.  Daniel Barnes, associate in the office agency team at Savills, comments: “We are pleased to be marketing these high quality office buildings close to Altrincham and anticipate strong interest from potential investors and owner occupiers.”   Source link

©Bloomberg Denmark’s Dong Energy has won a bid to build two offshore wind farms off the Dutch coast that industry experts claim will be the cheapest schemes of their kind. The projects will be built for €72.70 a megawatt hour, well below the €103 MWh record set last year by Sweden’s Vattenfall for a scheme off the coast of Denmark. More On this topic IN Energy “This is the cheapest we’ve ever seen by a long way and it puts offshore wind on a par with what it costs to build a new coal or gas power station,” said Oliver Joy, a spokesman for the wind industry trade group, WindEurope. The deal agreed by Dong, the world’s largest offshore wind developer, does not include the cost of transmission cables and equipment linking the project to onshore power networks. But wind industry executives said that adding in such costs would still put Dong’s project at about €87 MWh. Dong had set a cost target over the life of a project of €100 MWh by 2020 and said it was pleased to be meeting its goal already. “We are reaching a critical industry milestone more than three years ahead of time. This demonstrates the great potential of offshore wind,” said Samuel Leupold, head of wind power at Dong. A number of factors contributed to the low cost of the Dutch deal, which will see two wind farms built 22km off the coast of the province of Zeeland. The relatively low cost of the steel used to build offshore wind turbines helped as did the cheaper cost of capital available in the Netherlands. We are reaching a critical industry milestone more than three years ahead of time. This demonstrates the great potential of offshore wind – Samuel Leupold In addition, the tumbling cost of oil has led to a glut in offshore installation vessels used to transport the massive wind turbines out to sea. News of Dong’s scheme comes a month after European energy companies, including Germany’s RWE and Eon, pledged to cut the cost of offshore wind farms closer to that of gas and coal power stations. Along with several other companies, including wind turbine makers such as Germany’s Siemens, the group said they believed offshore wind farms could be “fully competitive” with new fossil fuel power stations under the right conditions. Offshore wind farms are newer than their onshore equivalents and more popular in many countries because they have no impact on rural views. The technology has boomed over the past decade, mostly in Europe, with generating capacity more than doubling in the past four years alone. But they have been so expensive that some energy experts have raised doubts about whether they could ever compete with conventional power stations. 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

New research launched by Savills this week reveals that property price growth in York has significantly outperformed the rest of Yorkshire and the north of England since the credit crunch, and buyers from outside the region are moving to the area from all over the UK. In the prime housing markets, average values are now 13.4% above their 2007 peak, compared to values of -18.8% below this level on average as you move outside York to the surrounding villages and countryside. Sophie Chick from Savills residential research team, says: “The strong growth in York city centre highlights a continuing trend seen across the UK. Attractive towns and cities that are well connected, have a core of good quality family housing and a choice of high performing schools have become the focus of a widening profile of affluent buyers. York ticks all these boxes and more. “Buyers moving from the capital still play an important role as we see the ripple effect continue. In some cases, the London commuter belt reaches as far as York, with 24% of buyers of prime property in York and 7% of buyers in the surrounding villages working in London, although often just three days a week. This comes as buyers recognise the very large value advantage”. In the 15 months to March 2016, the average sale price across York, which includes the city but stretches from Strensall in the north to Copmanthorpe in the south, was £243,000*. This is 43% higher than the regional average of £170,000 for Yorkshire and the Humber. The most expensive areas are the wards of Derwent to the east of the city, which covers the village of Dunnington, and Rural West York, containing Upper Nether Poppleton, which saw average sale prices of £322,000 and £312,000 respectively. Across North Yorkshire, the average sale price was £217,000. High value locations include Harrogate and the Howardian Hills, the latter of which had an average sale price of just under £360,000, two thirds higher than the county average. On the coast, the highest value village is Scalby, which had an average sale price of £238,000. Ben Pridden, head of residential at Savills York, comments: “It is extraordinary how resilient the prime York market has been, particularly the growth in property values which have significantly outperformed prime villages surrounding the city. It is incredibly encouraging however, to finally see signs that the price gap between country and city is beginning to close.” Sophie adds: “Prime property values across the north of England are forecast to rise by an average of 18.2% over the five years to 2020, as the local economies strengthen and buyers become more aware of the comparative value this region offers”. An event was held at Merchants Adventurers Hall in York on Thursday 19 May to launch the latest residential research document, titled: Spotlight: Savills York and Darlington Residential Offices. The event also included an update on Yorkshire’s development and rural land markets and a closer look at the county’s commercial sector. Click here to view the full Savills Spotlight: Savills York and Darlington Residential Offices research report. Farm agency updateAndrew Black, director in the farm agency team based in York, comments: “We are expecting land values across Yorkshire to decrease by up to 10% over the next three years due to reduced profitability in farming, but we then expect to see prices recover by approximately 5% during the following two years to 2020. We anticipate that arable land on the Yorkshire Wolds will remain strong despite this average trend. “As ever, competitive interest will determine the overall sale price for land and farms, both within the county and further afield”. Development updateMatthew Jones, director in the Leeds development team, comments: “When considering the Yorkshire market overall, land values are generally still below 2007 and we can still see areas in the county where they are some 60-70% below their 2007 peak. To sustain the market, we need to pull through more planning permissions and the local plan process and strategic land market is vital to keep the land supply coming through the system. “It is all about location at present and in pockets of Yorkshire, the residential land market is strong with land values increasing in a controlled manner. Locations including York City Centre, North West Leeds, East Riding Market Towns, West Hull and North Yorkshire market towns stand out as housing land hotspots, with the land market reigniting in both Leeds City Centre and the district of Harrogate.” Commercial property updateClare Bailey, associate director in the commercial research team at Savills, comments:  “Yorkshire’s office investment market is thriving, with transaction volumes reaching more than £347 million in Leeds last year and £106 million elsewhere in the region.  Looking ahead, Yorkshire’s economy is forecast to grow by 23.5% over the next 10 years and this could create up to 54,000 more office-based jobs, in turn driving a requirement for an additional five million sq ft of office space. “Speculative development will therefore be vital, as Leeds currently has less than one year’s supply of space left at average annual take up despite the 556,000 sq ft due to be delivered at schemes including 6 Wellington Place and Central Square this year.  Supply constraints combined with an increase in ‘northshoring’, as firms looks outside of London in search of lower property and staff costs, will also drive rental growth across Yorkshire’s big cities.” Source link

Campaigning trade body for Scotland’s electro-technical industry SELECT and trade union Unite the Union have agreed a new four year wage agreement for the electrical contracting industry in Scotland. The unprecedented four year wage deal will come into force from January next year and included in the agreed measures are an increase in wages of 2% next year, 2.5% the following year, 2.75% in 2019 and 3% in 2020. Among the other measures are the introduction of a new mileage rate and mileage allowance to replace travelling time and travelling allowance, as well as an increase in annual holidays to 23 days in 2019 and 24 days in 2020, with more apprentice recruitment also encouraged. Alick Smith, Chief Negotiator at SELECT, said that he was very pleased with the results of the negotiations which will provide certainty at a time when the wider economy is facing a considerable period of uncertainty. Smith added: “Having a four-year settlement gives SELECT, together with Unite, the opportunity to address broader issues and achieve agreement on long-term changes which are necessary to modernise the industry.” Meanwhile, Bernard McAulay, Unite National Officer, said that its members have voted to accept a settlement for wage increases over the next four years and conditions in the settlement that will deliver stability in industrial relations during a particularly difficult economic climate. McAulay added: “The electrical contracting industry is changing at a pace and now is the time for the parties to address the challenges of tomorrow, ensuring our members are at the forefront of installing the latest hi-tech equipment which is central to delivering the next generation of low carbon buildings in the UK.” The agreement has been put in place for the 1,200 members of SELECT who account for about 90% of all of Scotland’s electrical installation work.

The construction market in Turkey is in a significantly healthy state after it was revealed that active construction projects are valued at $350 billion. Growth in the nation’s construction sector has been sustained but steady, with an overall turnover increase of 4.6% in 2014, while in the same period, overall production climbed by 3%. The strength of the market at present is further evidenced by the latest report from online projects tracking service MEED Projects, which showed that the value of the major active construction works in Turkey currently stands at just short of $350 billion. MEED states that the current expansion of the construction market in Turkey can be put down to two things: the country’s rising population and its burgeoning economy. In 2014, GDP growth stood at 2.9% in the face of the challenges that many of the world’s major economies are coming up against. Furthermore, in the first quarter of 2015, it increased by another 2.3%, which surpassed the 1.7% forecast of a Wall Street Journal survey. The country’s population is also on the rise, which is creating an increased demand for housing and infrastructure and also means that the country has more consumers than ever before to spend and earn money. Since 1960, Turkey’s population has nearly tripled to 75.8 million, with annual growth standing at 1.2% at the end of 2014, even though many developed markets populations are shrinking. However, population and GDP growth are not the only reasons that developers are attracted to build in Turkey. Another important reason is the work by the Turkish government to ensure a positive climate for investment, with most construction schemes carried out as public private partnerships, which has allowed contractors to invest on a long term concession basis and cut down their exposure to risk. MEED Projects Director of Content and Analysis, Ed James, said: “The combination of a large and liberalised projects market along with transparent tendering processes makes Turkey an immensely attractive proposition for contractors, consultants and suppliers alike, who are concerned about a potential slowdown in project activity in the Middle East caused by lower government spending on the back of falling oil revenues.”

The Federation of Master Builders (FMB) has said that the government must take action in order to prevent a recession for the construction industry. The group wants to see a significant capital investment programme put in place by the government immediately to tackle the construction recession threat. The comments from the association have come after it was revealed that the construction sector has suffered negative growth in the last two quarters, as reflected in this week’s latest numbers from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). FMB Chief Executive, Brian Berry, explained that the construction industry has enjoyed steady growth over the last few years and the last two negative growth quarters show how powerful uncertainty and a lack of confidence can be on the sector. Berry added: “The government must now take bold action and do everything in its power to prevent these preliminary estimates by the ONS from becoming more concrete or sustained. “A firm commitment to invest public funds in capital projects such as house building and infrastructure would go a long way to assuaging fears that demand will dive in the wake of Brexit.” Berry also believes that the huge skills shortage in the sector, along with the UK’s housing crisis, has contributed massively to the suffering of the construction industry during the most recent economic downturn, adding that it is crucial for the sector to learn from past mistakes and ensure that Britain carries on building. Meanwhile, earlier this month the FMB said that Theresa May was wrong to scrap the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC). The group believes that the decision is worrying as it shows that improving the energy efficiency of our existing buildings has been relegated down the list of government priorities. Berry said that Ms May should focus on existing buildings as there are huge benefits for jobs and growth.