Builders work on a Barratt development in Surrey The UK’s largest housebuilder Barratt Developments on Wednesday reported heightened demand for its homes since the Brexit vote, in the latest sign that the referendum has not so far dented the market for new housing. As it reported annual results that hit post-crisis records,
A joint venture between First Bus and Weston-Super-Mare based Crosville Motor Services, Somerset Passenger Solutions, has been confirmed as the contractor for services to the new Hinkley Point nuclear station. The 10 year deal with EDF Energy will operate high frequency services for employees to Hinkley Point C from dedicated
Construction work has got under way on a £5.5 million operations and maintenance facility in the Wirral for major renewable energy firm DONG Energy. Robertson North West, which is part of the £300 million turnover infrastructure group Robertson, has begun work on-site on the project at Kings Wharf in Seacombe.
United Utilities (UU) has announced in its latest trading statement that it is continuing to accelerate its AMP6 capital investment programme this year. The accelerated programme will allow the firm to deliver operational benefits early customer service, enhancing asset resilience and optimising performance under its outcome delivery incentives (ODIs). Total
At his annual State of the City address, the Mayor of Bristol, George Ferguson, has announced the shortlist of five experienced design teams for the 12,000 capacity Bristol Arena. The announcement comes after the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) International Invited Design Competition which launched in August. More than
Built asset consultancy firm Arcadis has been appointed by Wakefield Council to deliver its property and facilities services. The deal is expected to be worth £3 million per year over seven years, with the option of a three year extension. Arcadis is a part of Wakefield Council’s strategic partnership team
The largest supplier of plumbing and heating products in the world, Wolseley, is to spend £100m on slashing 800 jobs and closing 80 branches in the UK. The company outlined the cutbacks as part of a review of its operations in Britain, which has been hit by tepid demand and
Builders work on a Barratt development in Surrey The UK’s largest housebuilder Barratt Developments on Wednesday reported heightened demand for its homes since the Brexit vote, in the latest sign that the referendum has not so far dented the market for new housing. As it reported annual results that hit post-crisis records, Barratt said reservations of new homes in its developments were up 6 per cent from a year earlier since the start of July, with homebuyers reserving an average of 0.75 homes a week per site. More On this topic IN Property “We had a very strong start to the year — the prior year is a strong comparator so this is very pleasing. We really see that this is about business as usual,” said David Thomas, chief executive. “When we look at the market generally, ‘business as usual’ is what the customer is saying to us and what the banks are saying to us.” The positive signs follow a year in which the FTSE 100 group increased pre-tax profits by 21 per cent and built its largest number of homes since the 2008 credit crunch, extending a winning streak for a sector underpinned by a housing shortage and government support. Leicestershire-based Barratt made £682m in net profit during the year to the end of June, in line with analysts’ expectations, as it completed 17,300 new homes. Anthony Codling, analyst at Jefferies, said the robust results were partly down to Help to Buy, a government scheme providing loans enabling people to purchase houses and flats with deposits of only 5 per cent. This supports 30 to 40 per cent of most large housebuilders’ sales. “Whilst we are still trying to understand what Brexit actually means, the message of Help to Buy is clear and simple: the government will help you buy your home,” Mr Codling said. “It appears that home ownership aspirations are higher than any concerns first-time buyers may have about our future role in Europe.” Barratt noted that an extension of the Help to Buy scheme for London, enabling government loans of up to 40 per cent of the purchase price, had boosted demand for homes in the capital costing up to £600,000. “The high end of the London market is definitely slower, but that’s not a new trend. That was in the market prior to the referendum,” Mr Thomas said. “The upside of the fall in sterling is that there is actually more interest from the overseas market.” Barratt’s shares opened down 0.49 per cent at 504.5p on Wednesday morning. They remain 12 per cent below pre-referendum levels, having recovered from a much deeper initial plunge after the June 23 vote, prompted by investor worries over potential Brexit knock-on effects on the housing market. Whilst we continue to monitor market conditions closely, current trading trends are positive – David Thomas, chief executive of Barratt Developments In the year to the end of June, Barratt increased its average selling price by 10.4 per cent to £289,800, helping to boost revenue by 13 per cent to £4.2bn. The group said it expected “modest” growth in output during the current year. It increased its final dividend by 19 per cent to 12.3p a share and added a 12.4p special dividend, bringing the total for the financial year to 30.7p — a 22 per cent rise on a year earlier. Unlike some peers, which have issued long-term fixed payout pledges, Barratt links its special dividends to net earnings. The FTSE 250 housebuilder Redrow also issued a buoyant outlook on Tuesday, predicting “another excellent year” in 2017 after announcing its third straight year of record results. 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
A joint venture between First Bus and Weston-Super-Mare based Crosville Motor Services, Somerset Passenger Solutions, has been confirmed as the contractor for services to the new Hinkley Point nuclear station. The 10 year deal with EDF Energy will operate high frequency services for employees to Hinkley Point C from dedicated park-and-ride sites, staff campus accommodation and from surrounding towns and villages for employees living throughout the region. The joint venture will also provide internal site shuttles and transport for visitors from airports, railway stations and hotels. EDF Energy has estimated that around 25,000 jobs will be created through the construction of the new power station and around 5,600 people will be employed on site during its peak. Somerset Passenger Solutions is starting a recruitment campaign for the 300 staff it will need and is planning to order up to 160 new buses. Jonathan Jones Pratt, chairman, Crosville Motor Services, said: “This is great news for our company and this region of the UK, especially given the local training legacy that we will bring to the table.” “Our joint venture brings together unique skills and experiences. I’m delighted that our partnership and the good work we’ve been doing in providing bus services to the site under the current interim contract has been recognised.” Alex Carter, managing director, First Bus in the South West, added: “This contract is great news for our business and the wider community, and will help to secure and create jobs. We look forward to providing EDF Energy’s employees with simple, seamless, frequent and reliable bus services during the construction period.” Crosville was awarded the interim contract status two years ago and has invited First Bus to form the joint venture, Somerset Passenger Solutions in June 2014 to meet the scale of the main contract.
Construction work has got under way on a £5.5 million operations and maintenance facility in the Wirral for major renewable energy firm DONG Energy. Robertson North West, which is part of the £300 million turnover infrastructure group Robertson, has begun work on-site on the project at Kings Wharf in Seacombe. The facility is situated at the entrance to the Birkenhead dock system. Once complete, it is anticipated that the facility will be home to 45 full-time staff serving the Burbo Bank offshore wind farm along with the new Burbo Bank Extension which is due to be complete next year. Office space, and changing, welfare and ancillary facilities, will be arranged across two floors with an accompanying warehouse. Regional managing director of Robertson North West, Carl Wilde, commented: “We are delighted to start construction on this exciting development that will regenerate a site in an important docklands location. “We look forward to working closely with DONG Energy to deliver this project, and providing them with a quality base from which they can operate and maintain their wind farms.” Senior construction engineer at DONG Energy, Brian McMorrow, added: “It was important for us to use a regionally based construction company so we’re really pleased to be working with Robertson North West. DONG Energy is committed to investing in the UK and we are very proud to be playing an important role in the redevelopment of this part of Kings Wharf.” The project is due to be complete in mid-2017. DONG Energy has also announced plans to build what it claims will be the biggest offshore wind operations and maintenance hub in the UK in Grimsby to support its work in the area. The Danish energy firm announced on Friday that subject to planning approval, the new multi-million pound hub is set to be developed in the town’s Royal Dock and will initially support DONG’s Westermost Rough, Race Bank and Hornsea Project One offshore wind farms.
United Utilities (UU) has announced in its latest trading statement that it is continuing to accelerate its AMP6 capital investment programme this year. The accelerated programme will allow the firm to deliver operational benefits early customer service, enhancing asset resilience and optimising performance under its outcome delivery incentives (ODIs). Total regulatory capital investment for 2016/17, including infrastructure renewals expenditure, is anticipated to be around £800 million, which is similar to last year. This continued high investment level will help UU to improve and maintain customer services, deliver more environmental benefits and provide a major contribution to the regional economy. The firm said it has seen continued strong performance in the areas of pollution incidents and private sewers. It added that the modernisation programme at its Davyhulme wastewater treatment works is also progressing well. UU said in a statement that its current trading is in line with group expectations for the six months ending September 30, 2016.It continued to deliver improvements in operational performance and customer service. Earlier in the year, UU attained ‘industry leading company’ status, as measured through the annual assessment of the Environment Agency, and earlier in the month it retained its Dow Jones Sustainability Index ‘World Class’ rating for the ninth year in succession. The firm said it was also encouraged by Ofwat’s 2016/17 first wave service incentive mechanism (SIM) qualitative score, which highlights more improvement in customer satisfaction in comparison with the previous year. The company said it will also continue to invest in its ‘systems thinking’ approach, which integrates the use of its assets, leverages data intelligence and employs new work processes and technology to support operational performance enhancement. It will roll out additional new capability later in the year, supporting its drive for more improvement. Group revenue is expected to be slightly lower than the first half of last year, reflecting the accounting impact of UU’s Water Plus business retail joint venture, which completed on June 1, partly offset by its allowed regulatory revenue changes.
At his annual State of the City address, the Mayor of Bristol, George Ferguson, has announced the shortlist of five experienced design teams for the 12,000 capacity Bristol Arena. The announcement comes after the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) International Invited Design Competition which launched in August. More than 30 teams from throughout the world expressed an interest in designing the cultural venue that will be situated near to Bristol Temple Meads Station and is due to open towards the end of next year. The five shortlisted multi-disciplinary design teams (in alphabetical order) are: Grimshaw, MANICA Architecture, Thornton Tomasetti, M-E Engineers and Neil Woodger Acoustics IDOM (in collaboration with Foreman Roberts and Nagata Acoustics) Populous Arena Team (Populous / Feilden Clegg Bradley / Buro Happold / Vanguardia) White Arkitekter with Arup and Sandy Brown Acoustic Consultant Wilkinson Eyre with Arup The multi-disciplinary teams are made up of architects and engineers who have all got experience of delivering major venues both in the UK and overseas. They will now work on their design proposals for the Bristol Arena. A public exhibition of all five design proposals will take place in January before a decision is made in March. Mayor George Ferguson said: “We are at a really exciting stage in the development of Bristol’s long awaited arena. I am delighted with the level of interest that we have had to the RIBA design competition. “We now have five very capable and talented design teams with a wealth of experience between them drawing up proposals for an arena that will contribute to the regeneration of the Bristol Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone and provide one of the very best experiences for audiences and major acts. These are really very important milestones and take us several steps closer to the delivery of this major venue for the city region.”
Built asset consultancy firm Arcadis has been appointed by Wakefield Council to deliver its property and facilities services. The deal is expected to be worth £3 million per year over seven years, with the option of a three year extension. Arcadis is a part of Wakefield Council’s strategic partnership team to deliver its property and facilities management services. It will work along with Engie, the council’s recently appointed external partner to deliver its property and facilities services. It will also deliver project and professional services. Wakefield sought a partnership “which will help secure jobs for local people and enable staff, customers and services to benefit from private sector expertise and investment”. Arcadis will be supporting the council in its ambition to generate up to £27 million in savings this year. It is hoped that the appointment will help to support economic growth in the area, while also helping the Council to improve infrastructure and create new jobs for the people of Wakefield, according to Arcadis. Arcadis head of strategic partnerships, Bill Green, commented: “Councils are under more pressure than ever before to deliver better outcomes using fewer resources, and that looks set to continue. “With less money available, public sector organisations are turning to long term partners to optimise the benefits from combining public and private sector capabilities.” Earlier in the year, Arcadis hired transport and logistics veteran Jonathan Beard, who joins the firm from ICF International where he was a Vice President. In his new role, as Head of Transportation & Logistics for Arcadis’ Asia operation, Beard will have responsibility for the company’s regional transports and logistics strategy and landing new clients. He is based in Hong Kong. Before he joined Arcadis in Hong Kong, Beard was a Vice President and Global Practice Leader for Ports, Logistics & Transport Services at ICF International.
The largest supplier of plumbing and heating products in the world, Wolseley, is to spend £100m on slashing 800 jobs and closing 80 branches in the UK. The company outlined the cutbacks as part of a review of its operations in Britain, which has been hit by tepid demand and tough competition in the property repair, maintenance and improvement market. Wolseley, which owns brands such as Plumb Center, said that the overhaul of its business in the UK was intended to generate yearly cost savings of up £25-£30 million over two to three years once complete. The division accounts for just 8% of the FTSE 100 group’s trading profit, with most of this coming from its US arm. Chief Executive, John Martin, said the objectives were to improve levels of customer service, increase availability of materials and generate better returns for shareholders. It will also involve the closure of a distribution centre. He said: “Regrettably this will result in job losses which we will handle sensitively and minimise through redeployment and attrition as far as possible.” The announcement came as Wolseley revealed a windfall from the weaker pound. Trading profits increased by 7% to a record £917 million in the year up to July 31, mostly because of the lower exchange rate, while revenue increased by 8.5% to £14.4 billion, half of which was because of currency effects. Fewer one-off costs saw a 43% rise in pre-tax profit to £727 million. However, Mr Martin offered a sober outlook: “Demand across our markets remains mixed, with some uncertainty in the economic outlook.” Shares in Wolseley fell by 1.3 per cent on Tuesday to £42.44. Analysts at Liberum called the results “a little disappointing” and flagged that management had warned of a slow start in the current financial year. They added: “However, the announced UK restructuring is welcome, and should generate good returns once complete.”
