The Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply stands accused of damaging the UK building materials sector with a ‘highly misleading and unhelpful’ commentary on the state of the industry. Above: CIPS chief executive David Noble – ‘sloppy narrative’ Every month the CIPS, in conjunction with Markit Economics, produces a survey of construction industry purchasing managers to produce a growth index for the sector. In the latest report, released earlier this week, CIPS chief executive David Noble commented: “Supply chains were weighed down by the pressures of a shortage of bricks and blocks as delivery times became longer in an attempt to fulfil recent orders from last year.” But the Brick Development Association (BDA), representing UK brick manufacturers, said that Mr Noble had it completely wrong and hit out at his ‘sloppy narrative’. The BDA said that brick production had risen ‘significantly’ over the last two years. Department for Business, Innovation and Skills figures released this week point to brick production in December 2015 being 16% higher than in December 2014. The BDA challenged CIPS to produce statistical evidence to support its claim. In response, the BDA was told: “We used the term bricks as generally representative of building materials as a sector. We see a shortage of various building materials and picked on bricks as a readily understandable terminology.” BDA chairman Michael Ankers said in response: “This is sloppy narrative that is very damaging to our industry. The BDA represents 99% of the brick manufacturers in the UK. We can report with absolute authority that there has been a significant increase in brick production over the last 12 months and this is confirmed by the latest ONS statistics. “If there are delivery issues further down the supply chain it would be very helpful to understand the cause. Unfortunately, CIPS was unable to provide information on the number or organisation type of respondents finding bricks hard to obtain. Without that evidence, I find it astonishing that the CIPS felt authorised to comment on the availability of bricks.” However, the CIPS subsequently defended its chief executive’s statement, saying: “Anecdotal evidence from respondents to the survey pointed to shortages in bricks and supplies, which was reflected in our commentary.”           This article was published on 4 Feb 2016 (last updated on 4 Feb 2016). Source link

Winchester City Council has awarded Osborne a five-year extension to its housing maintenance contract. Osborne Property Services will continue to maintain approximately 5,000 homes in a contact worth £12m over the next five years.  As well as looking after a number of council buildings, Osborne will continue to carry out responsive repairs and prepare empty homes for new residents. Councillor Caroline Horrill, the Portfolio Holder for Housing, said: “The council has always viewed its contract with Osborne as a long-term partnership. Osborne continues to deliver excellent services to Winchester tenants, who have told us how much they value the work that Osborne does. Osborne also continues to be very active within the local community, working with the council by contributing to local resident newsletters and supporting good causes, such as the Trinity centre, Winnall Primary School and Winchester Young Carers.”       This article was published on 25 May 2016 (last updated on 25 May 2016). Source link

Mortgage Trust announces autumn product refresh Mortgage Trust has announced this morning that they have launched a series of products catering for BTL property purchases and remortgages. The products, which include two, three and five year fixes are amongst the most competitive ever offered by Mortgage Trust and benefit from the recent reduction in market rates. The new five year fixes are well priced and designed for those landlords looking for financial security over the long-term, offering 3.29% for borrowing up to 75% Loan to Value (LTV). These longer term fixed rate products also feature interest coverage ratios starting at 125% at 4%.  Highlights of the range include a two year fix at 2.49% and a three year fix at 3.10% for lending up to 75% LTV. For lending up to 80% LTV the range includes a two year fix at 3.69% and a three year fix at 3.75% – each of which come without a product fee. John Heron, Director of Mortgages at Mortgage Trust, said: “Market volatility following the referendum has not brought good news for everyone but with rates expected to be lower for longer we have been able to deliver one of the most competitive series of products we have offered in 20 years of buy-to-let lending.” Join our mailing list: Source link