26 March 2016 – by Amber Rolt The new Qatari owners of the Maybourne Hotel Group are considering the sale of The Berkeley hotel in Knightsbridge, SW1, for £750m. Constellation Hotels Holding, an arm of Qatar Holdings, is offering the hotel directly to select parties on an off-market basis.
Savills, on behalf of Balvraid Properties Limited, has let Tulip House on Craven Court, Newmarket to the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust. The accident and emergency service that covers Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire has agreed to a new five-year lease for the two storey building,
A company has been fined £2.6 million after an employee was killed when the trench he was working in collapsed on him in Lancashire. James Sim, a 32-year-old worker, from Barry, South Wales, a sub-contractor working on behalf of Balfour Beatty Utility Solutions Limited. On the 14 April 2010, Mr Sim
Law firm Howard Kennedy has hired new partner Martha Grekos to strengthen its Real Estate team. Grekos joined the business as a Partner and Head of Planning from Irwin Mitchell earlier in the week, where she previously led its infrastructure and planning team. She has also previously worked at Berwin
An exciting and brand new apprenticeship training centre has been built to help resolve the skills shortage in high technology and engineering firms. The Oxford Advanced Skills at Culham Science Centre is situated just outside Oxford and will eventually train 125 young people each year. The facility is a joint
Homes situated in the areas of top performing independent schools can add up to 25% to the value of a property over the average for their region. Real estate adviser Savills’ latest analysis of GCSE results shows that the average value of a property close to one of the UK’s
The Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering (CIPHE) has extended ADEY’s accreditation for its training and conference centre. The water treatment manufacturing firm’s facility was first given the accolade two years ago and this latest accreditation will extend its Approved Training Centre status for two further years. ADEY Professional
Arup fire engineers marked the anniversary of the Great Fire of London by teaming up with public arts event charity Artichoke and American ‘burn artist’ David Best. The London’s Burning festival lasted one week and the finale saw a 120 meters long wooden replica of the 1666 city skyline being
The latest research from the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) has revealed that two thirds of SME house builders have not yet seen any significant changes to their project pipelines since the Brexit vote. The survey was the first of its kind to be carried out since the EU referendum
26 March 2016 – by Amber Rolt The new Qatari owners of the Maybourne Hotel Group are considering the sale of The Berkeley hotel in Knightsbridge, SW1, for £750m. Constellation Hotels Holding, an arm of Qatar Holdings, is offering the hotel directly to select parties on an off-market basis. The hotel is the least prestigious of the trio within Maybourne, acquired through Constellation in April last year, and forms part of Qatar Holdings’ strategy of divesting some assets to diversify its concentration of European property holdings. Prospective buyers would have three options were a deal to take place for the 1970s-built 214-bedroom hotel. The most dramatic is a full-scale demolition and rebuilding, taking six years, for which preliminary plans have already been drawn up by Sir Terry Farrell. This would see it almost double in size, with a gross internal area of 600,000 sq ft. Half of the property could be designated as 70 luxury flats of 3,000 sq ft, which could be sold for as much as £15m each. The hotel element would include 131 bedrooms with suites of 600 sq ft. The property is not listed, and Westminster City Council has shown initial support. Alternatively, a scheme designed by Farrell, which makes minor amendments to a Richard Rogers-designed plan granted consent in 2007, could be implemented. This would involve adding 27 rooms as well as 80,000 sq ft of flats and 20,000 sq ft of retail and leisure space. The most straightforward option is to undertake a minor refurbishment. All the content from this weekís magazine, including this article, is available in the new app. The directors of Constellation – including Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al Thani, the former prime minister and foreign minister of Qatar – will only sell the hotel if the desired pricing is achieved. Constellation Hotel Group won control of The Berkeley when it acquired Maybourne holding company Coroin, buying out the Barclay brothers, who owned a 64% stake in the hotel group, and Irish businessman Paddy McKillen, who held a 36% stake. Constellation’s Maybourne strategy When Constellation made its bid for the Maybourne Hotel Group in April last year, its main motivation was to acquire trophy asset Claridge’s, which it intends to hold for the very long term. As a result the group has already turned down a £1bn bid for the hotel and a £1.8bn bid for the group. Middle Eastern royalty have been known to book entire floors at the hotel, sometimes for months at a time, both for business and personal privacy. It has also become a trend for Middle Eastern investors to buy their preferred hotels – The Sultan of Brunei owns The Dorchester, W1, and Saudi prince Al-Waleed bin Talal co-owns The Savoy, WC2. Alongside a potential sale of The Berkeley, the £350m Connaught in Mayfair, W1, is understood to not be seen as a long-term investment. It is expected that the fund will assess its ownership in the short to medium term. Source link
Savills, on behalf of Balvraid Properties Limited, has let Tulip House on Craven Court, Newmarket to the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust. The accident and emergency service that covers Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire has agreed to a new five-year lease for the two storey building, which totals 8,213 sq ft (763 sq m). William Clarke, associate director of business space at Savills Cambridge, comments: “Tulip House offers high quality office accommodation with strong links to Cambridge and the surrounding areas via the A14, A11 and M11. This is an ideal location for the East of England Ambulance Service to have one of its administrative and training facilities, adding to its current UK network. As a result, we are pleased to have secured this deal on behalf of our client.” East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust was unrepresented. Source link
A company has been fined £2.6 million after an employee was killed when the trench he was working in collapsed on him in Lancashire. James Sim, a 32-year-old worker, from Barry, South Wales, a sub-contractor working on behalf of Balfour Beatty Utility Solutions Limited. On the 14 April 2010, Mr Sim was working in a trench, laying ducting for new cable for an offshore windfarm that was being built off the coast by Heysham, Lancashire. The trench was dug to a depth of 2.4 metres, without any shoring. Mr Sim was killed when he became trapped in the trench after it collapsed on him. Balfour Beatty Utility Solutions Limited pleaded guilty at Preston Crown Court today after an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). The Court heard that Balfour Beatty failed to adequately risk assess the works or control the way in which the excavation took place. HSE inspector Chris Hatton said after the hearing: “The level of this fine should serve as a warning to industry not to ignore health and safety matters. “Balfour Beatty failed to adequately assess, plan and supervise the work being undertaken. Trench collapses are easy to prevent, and it is disappointing that James’ life was lost in such a tragic way. “The family has shown great patience and support throughout this investigation which is a credit to both them and James’ memory.” Balfour Beatty Utility Solutions Limited, of Park Square Newton, Chambers Road, Chapeltown, Sheffield pleaded guilty of breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, Regulation 31(1) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 and Regulation 3(1)(a) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 and was fined £2.6million with £54,000 costs. Notes to editors The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. It aims to reduce work-related death, injury and ill health. It does so through research, information and advice, promoting training; new or revised regulations and codes of practice, and working with local authority partners by inspection, investigation and enforcement. www.hse.gov.uk More about the legislation referred to in this case can be found at: www.legislation.gov.uk/ HSE news releases are available at http://press.hse.gov.uk More information about structural stability during excavations can be found at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/construction/safetytopics/excavations.htm Journalists should approach HSE press office with any queries on regional press releases. Source link
Law firm Howard Kennedy has hired new partner Martha Grekos to strengthen its Real Estate team. Grekos joined the business as a Partner and Head of Planning from Irwin Mitchell earlier in the week, where she previously led its infrastructure and planning team. She has also previously worked at Berwin Leighton Paisner, Herbert Smith and Eversheds. She has consistently been ranked as one of the UK’s leading lawyers by Chambers and Partners, The Legal 500 and Planning Magazine, and will bring to Howard Kennedy expertise in all areas of environmental law, energy, transport and infrastructure work. Grekos has a particular focus on the implementation and promotion of large complex regeneration projects and large infrastructure schemes. Included in her work are redevelopment projects which are often politically sensitive and involve considerable environmental impact assessments, compulsory purchase orders, planning agreements, highway orders and appeal court proceedings. Grekos commented: “Howard Kennedy is an entrepreneurial law firm that collaborates with its clients to deliver a commercial outcome. “Its 84-strong Real Estate department is behind some of the most exciting commercial, retail, leisure, residential and mixed use regeneration schemes in London and the South East, and I am thrilled to be leading its expanding planning team.” Meanwhile, Partner and Chairman of the Real Estate department at Howard Kennedy, Julian Hindmarsh, said: “We are delighted with Martha’s decision to lead our Planning team. She has a first rate track record, acting on major development and infrastructure schemes across the country. She will be a terrific asset to the firm and our clients.” Last month, Irwin Mitchell lost another four partners from its London real estate practice, all of whom defected to Dentons. London real estate head Rob Thompson joined Dentons with partners Lewis Myers, Rupert Dowdell and head of corporate real estate Jayne Schnider, while Grekos moved to Howard Kennedy at the same time.
An exciting and brand new apprenticeship training centre has been built to help resolve the skills shortage in high technology and engineering firms. The Oxford Advanced Skills at Culham Science Centre is situated just outside Oxford and will eventually train 125 young people each year. The facility is a joint venture between the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA), the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and other major employers. The centre will commence work this month and will be managed by leading training provider JTL. Former UKAEA apprentice David Martin is sponsoring the project and will lead Oxford Advanced Skills to raise the quality and standard of local apprenticeships through employer led training. The new site will give employers in Oxfordshire’s high tech sector ‘work ready’ trainees’, laboratory technicians and apprentice engineers by providing apprentices skills and self-discipline through workplace training. The centre will provide further value by working closely with local businesses, which will enable them to directly input into the qualification to make sure that the training provides the apprentices that local businesses require. In terms of non-profit endeavour, all funds are to be invested to deliver training and to ensure the highest quality. UKAEA’s Chief Operating Officer, David Martin, said: “With the support of high tech sector companies in the area, Oxford Advanced Skills will help resolve the critical skills shortages we are currently experiencing. “This venture highlights how seriously we take the need for exceptional quality young people making it into the workforce in this area. JTL has huge experience in providing work-based learning across England and Wales. “With over 6,000 apprentices currently working towards qualifications with them in the building services engineering sector.” Meanwhile, JTL Chief Executive, Jon Graham, said that these are exciting times for apprentices in the Oxford area. He added that the company has been working in Oxfordshire for many years but decided recently that in order to be able to provide the quality of training that young people deserved we needed to launch our own training facilities.
Homes situated in the areas of top performing independent schools can add up to 25% to the value of a property over the average for their region. Real estate adviser Savills’ latest analysis of GCSE results shows that the average value of a property close to one of the UK’s top 10% of state schools (where points per pupil average over 450 according to the Department of Education) is around £348,000. This is equal to a 12% premium above the average for their regions and unsurprisingly this rises to £414,000 in the postcode sector of the top independent schools, which is an average premium of £83,000. Non selective state schools, which usually offer places on the basis of proximity to the gate, push house prices up to an average of around £400,000, which is 20% (£66,000) above their regional average. In contrast, properties situated near to high performing selective state schools which are dominated by grammar schools, offer greater value at an average of just under £290,000, which is a marginal 2% premium above their national average. Homes situated near to the worst performing schools (under 300 points per pupil) cost just £220,000 on average, which is a 19% discount. The highest concentration of top performing schools is found in London and the South East, where over a quarter of all pupils attending such schools, be it state or independent, and in both outer London and the South East almost one in six (17%) pupils are in schools achieving over 450 points per pupil. By contrast, across the Midlands and the North that figure is between 6% and 7%. This is reflected in the regional pattern of house prices as the average cost of a home near to a high performing state school is £1 million in central London, £500,000 in outer London and £400,000 in the South East. In the South East, it costs around £80,000 more on average to live near to a non-selective state school.
The Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering (CIPHE) has extended ADEY’s accreditation for its training and conference centre. The water treatment manufacturing firm’s facility was first given the accolade two years ago and this latest accreditation will extend its Approved Training Centre status for two further years. ADEY Professional Heating Solutions first opened the facility three years ago after a £1 million investment and the refurbishment of its two acre head office site in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. The 7,000 sq ft site provides an internal and external conference and meeting venue, along with space to host advanced and supervised training on the firm’s leading range of magnetic filters and premium MC+ chemicals. National President of the CIPHE, Paul Williams, presented ADEY Chief Executive Officer John Vaughan with the plaque. Williams commented: “To have such a fantastic training venue on site is a real string to ADEY’s bow. We place great emphasis on training at the CIPHE and it’s clear that it’s something ADEY is passionate about too, whether that’s supporting youngsters just entering the trade or more established installers.” Meanwhile, Vaughan said that ADEY is delighted to have its Training and Conference Centre recognised by CIPHE once again. He added: “We’ve hosted a huge variety of events over the last three years including the finals of the HIP UK Heating Apprentice of the Year competition, training sessions for boiler manufacturers, installer events and seminars. It’s been a valuable addition to our head office and is a great way to continue to showcase ADEY as we’ve grown.” The Training and Conference Centre is a venue used by both ADEY and its industry partners, and also houses a boardroom, training and demonstration rooms, 100 seat auditoriums and a test rig laboratory. CIPHE recently appointed Paul Harmer as the company’s new Technical Director, who will work on some exciting new initiatives to support the institute’s technical development.
Arup fire engineers marked the anniversary of the Great Fire of London by teaming up with public arts event charity Artichoke and American ‘burn artist’ David Best. The London’s Burning festival lasted one week and the finale saw a 120 meters long wooden replica of the 1666 city skyline being set alight on the Thames in a re-enactment of the Great Fire on Sunday September 4. Artichoke commissioned Arup to provide fire and environmental advice for the project, with the fire engineering team’s key challenge being to enable a highly controlled, prolonged and visually spectacular fire that the people of London could enjoy safely. Prior to the event, the team provided consultancy and carried out fire safety assessments and conducted testing to inform the management of any risks to spectators, property or the environment. The lessons from the Great Fire of London are still as relevant as ever to architects, engineers and city planners as it raged for four days leaving significant proportions of the City destroyed, while thousands were made homeless as a result. The event marked a change in fire safety, which led to the introduction of new building regulations such as the London Building Act of 1667, which were enforced by surveyors for the first time. Arup Fellow and Global Fire Leader, Dr Barbara Lane, said that even 350 years on, the impact of the Great Fire is still relevant in their approach to planning for and dealing with fire in the built environment. Lane continued: “As we push the boundaries of architectural design and use innovative materials and modern methods of construction for environmental reasons, a total fire engineering approach where fire risk is considered from project inception to operation, is more important than ever. “We are immensely proud to contribute to the commemoration of an event that shaped London as we know it today.”
The latest research from the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) has revealed that two thirds of SME house builders have not yet seen any significant changes to their project pipelines since the Brexit vote. The survey was the first of its kind to be carried out since the EU referendum and showed that 69% of businesses are yet to see any significant changes to their businesses since the referendum outcome. Chief Executive of the FMB, Brian Berry, said that SME house building firms are crucially important to achieving the government’s ambition to construct one million homes in the next four years, which means Ministers will no doubt be bolstered by the initial findings post Brexit. Berry continued: “Despite some fears that the referendum result might put new projects on hold, the overwhelming majority of SME house builders are reporting that no decisions have yet been influenced by the referendum result. “This matches the view expressed by many small construction firms that so far, the market appears to suggest that it’s ‘business as usual’. Only one quarter of small house builders have seen any negative effect on their projects from the Brexit decision, and most of these are the result of delayed decisions rather than actual project cancellations.” Berry also said that aside from Brexit, we should not be painting an overly rosy picture of the situation that SME house builders face. He believes that the barriers to building that existed before the referendum are still hindering delivery, and as the housing crisis continues to be a pressing concern, the need to empower smaller developers must be a priority for May’s Government. He concluded: “To this end, it’s worth noting that more than half of SME house builders state that the removal of unnecessary red tape should be the most important consideration for the new Government as they begin to negotiate the UK’s exit from the EU.”
