7 May 2016 – by David Hatcher Malaysia’s government fund for Muslim pilgrims, Lembaga Tabung Haji, is looking to recoup a further £220m from the sale of London property. The fund is suffering from dwindling reserves amid concerns it may not be able to pay dividends to its depositors.
For those that don’t know, Go Construct is an industry initiative, funded and facilitated by CITB, to attract, inform and retain talented people in the Construction and Built Environment sector. Working with employers, education providers and federations, Go Construct is designed by industry for the industry. Last week, just a
10 September 2016 – by David Hatcher Valuers are edging towards removing uncertainty clauses from their reports ahead of the end of the month and the next quarter valuation date. The clauses were widely applied after the result of the EU referendum owing to the unusual market conditions and lack
Almost half of second time buyers in the UK have no plans to save for a deposit to buy their next home as they believe the equity in their current property will pay for their deposit, new research shows. Some 44% plan to rely on equity but the growth in
SES Engineering Services, part of the Wates Group, has picked up two substantial M&E packages in central London together worth more than £30m. Above: Argent’s S2 building at King’s Cross SES has been appointed to deliver mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) services on Argent’s 12-storey S2 office building for Google,
Keepmoat has started building the first homes of a £800 million rental property investment project in Sheffield. The contractor is underway with work to deliver 24 apartments on land off Park Grange Road in Norfolk Park. Construction is expected to be completed in September 2017. The scheme is part of
Dundee City Council has outlined plans to invest almost £400 million on infrastructure projects across the city over the next five years. The £387m programme to be undertaken between 2017 and 2022 takes in play areas, schools, the V&A Dundee, a replacement of Craigie House and initiatives designed to enhance
If you are planning on redesigning your bathroom in the near future, it is important that you aware of some of the common mistakes that people make when taking on this type of project. Common Mistakes to Avoid when Designing your Bathroom There are actually quite a few different mistakes
With over 400,000 reported burglaries from April of 2015 to March of 2016, it’s still very important for those who live in the UK to protect their homes from these criminals. A single burglary can cost you a lot of money as well as your sense of safety, making it
7 May 2016 – by David Hatcher Malaysia’s government fund for Muslim pilgrims, Lembaga Tabung Haji, is looking to recoup a further £220m from the sale of London property. The fund is suffering from dwindling reserves amid concerns it may not be able to pay dividends to its depositors. It is being pressed by the state to repatriate funds and has exposure to 1MDB, the country’s investment fund, which is currently the subject of an investigation into whether cash has been siphoned off the fund by officials. All the content from this weekís magazine, including this article, is available in the new app. Tabung Haji, which invests savings for muslims to travel to Mecca, has appointed Savills to sell 10 Queen Street Place, EC4. The price for the 221,198 sq ft UK headquarters of law firm King & Wood Mallesons reflects a yield of 4.3%. Click here to read more Source link
For those that don’t know, Go Construct is an industry initiative, funded and facilitated by CITB, to attract, inform and retain talented people in the Construction and Built Environment sector. Working with employers, education providers and federations, Go Construct is designed by industry for the industry. Last week, just a few days after marking its first anniversary, Go Construct won a prestigious design award. Beating the world-renowned Gü Puds and Guardian Holidays to the ‘User Experience and Design’ prize at the Masters of Marketing Awards, is a momentous achievement. Winning the award for “User Experience and Design” is even more special and recognises not just the website design but also the journey that has been taken to get where we are now. It proves that we, as an industry, are on the right path in making a difference to attracting more people into construction. Our co-design process has been significant. Involving over 400 industry employers and stakeholders in the design of the website has been crucial to its success. It really shows what can be achieved when we all come together and work collectively for the greater good of the construction industry. Where it all began I recall a day around two years ago when I convened a workshop with CITB colleagues from England, Scotland and Wales to understand what the key issues and potential solutions were around attracting and supporting people to join our industry. I left that workshop with a page saying ‘inspire, discover, experience, join’. Those words have stuck with me ever since and became the key elements of developing a supportive set of solutions to help people to be inspired about a career in construction, then discover the wide range of opportunities we have to offer. How we then help people to experience our industry and then join us. Following that workshop CITB reached out to employers, federations, educators to test and confirm what needed to be done and refine the collective action approach to co-design, co-invest and co-deliver a set of solutions . Before we knew it, together we began developing the Go Construct initiative and website around those four words. To see that this has now evolved into an award winning website, which has attracted half a million visits in just over a year, is an incredible triumph! But this is just the start. Play your part We are only a year into what will be a long journey. There is so much more to come from Go Construct and you can be a part of it. Whether you’re an employer, employee, educator, or anyone involved in the industry – you can be at the forefront of Go Construct’s success. You could: Download and use the resources on Go Construct to use in your engagement activities with target audiences and promote the industry using our collective advertising space on materials you are using for activities, initiatives, site hoardings and vehicles. Provide good stories from your experience in construction for the website Join our co-design groups Spread the word and promote the industry via your social media channels. Follow and share Go Construct posts on Facebook (facebook.com/goconstructuk) , follow and share twitter posts (@GoConstructUK) and Instagram (@GoConstructUK) Plus much more… I personally cannot thank all those who have contributed enough, and this award is a credit to them all. We want the Masters of Marketing Award to be the first of many, so please get in touch and make a difference to your industry! About the author Sarah Fenton is CITB Partnerships Director for the Midlands & North. Source link
10 September 2016 – by David Hatcher Valuers are edging towards removing uncertainty clauses from their reports ahead of the end of the month and the next quarter valuation date. The clauses were widely applied after the result of the EU referendum owing to the unusual market conditions and lack of deals just after the vote. As transactional evidence mounted over the summer, valuers have been gaining confidence in their valuations. The removal of the clauses is of particular importance to open-ended retail fund managers, some of which have been pressing for the removal of the clauses to provide clarity to their trustees and investors. The funds themselves experienced a run of redemptions following the vote but sentiment has been improving in recent weeks. Today most funds have reduced penalties for redemptions and some that were gated have since reopened. All the content from this weekís magazine, including this article, is available in the new app. Since exception clauses were applied the day after the referendum, the major valuation firms have been working with RICS and the Association of Real Estate Funds to ensure that a unified uncertainty clause is applied to all open-ended funds so that no one fund is seen to have more of an advantage than another and to agree best practice. Last week the valuers of the open-ended funds removed a more extreme sentence from within the clause which stated that the likelihood of them coming to an accurate valuation had reduced (see box). Valuers are personally responsible for their own valuation and for applying the clause if needed. RICS does provide guidance to its members and on 26 July Fiona Haggett, RICS’ UK valuation director, encouraged members to revisit the use of the clause based upon transactional evidence that had become available. “There is the intention to move away from the clause gradually, depending on the market. This will happen earlier in some markets than others,” she said. Click here to read more Source link
Almost half of second time buyers in the UK have no plans to save for a deposit to buy their next home as they believe the equity in their current property will pay for their deposit, new research shows. Some 44% plan to rely on equity but the growth in house prices has outpaced flats over the last 10 years potentially leaving buyers short when they look to move up the ladder, according to the study from price comparison site uSwitch. However, over the past decade, prices for terraced, detached and semi-detached properties have risen by 21% while flats have increased by 15% over the same time period. First time buyers often buy a flat and then look to move up to a house. The research found that the widest disparity in growth rates between flats and houses can be found in Preston where the difference is 16.5%, Colchester 10% and York 9%. At the other end of the spectrum, flat owners in Aberdeen, Wolverhampton and Milton Keynes have seen their property prices increase in price more than local houses at 10%, 3.5% and 1.7% respectively. With 62% of second steppers looking to buy a house, the firm suggests that they should consider starting to save now to avoid a falling into a deposit deficit. The study also showed that 61% of second time buyers haven’t saved anything towards the big upfront costs such as stamp duty, surveying costs or removal costs which can amount to almost £12,000. ‘Second steppers have been lulled into a false sense of security by rising house prices. In some parts of the country houses have far outstripped flats and so if you are looking to move up the property ladder you need to carefully plot your next steps,’ said Tashema Jackson, money expert a uSwitch. ‘Whatever your situation, plan ahead to find out what you can afford and how much you need to save. Don’t just take the first mortgage offered to you, consult a range of providers to find the best deal for you as this will help prevent paying over the odds,’ Jackson added. Source link
SES Engineering Services, part of the Wates Group, has picked up two substantial M&E packages in central London together worth more than £30m. Above: Argent’s S2 building at King’s Cross SES has been appointed to deliver mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) services on Argent’s 12-storey S2 office building for Google, which is part of the King’s Cross regeneration. It has also secured an £18.6m MEP contract on Barts Square Phase One, a £110m residential development by Helical next to St Bart’s Hospital in Farringdon. Carillion is the main contractor for both projects. With logistics a key consideration in city centres, especially London, offsite construction is playing a key role in both projects. SES was previously Shepherd Engineering Services until its acquisition by Wates in 2015. Wates said that the two contract awards represented a major milestone for SES’ London and southeast operation. It attributed the King’s Cross win to SES’ digital engineering expertise, responding to the client’s requirement for building information modelling (BIM). With a 38 week programme set to complete in December 2017, SES will use its off-site manufacturing facility SES Prism to deliver 22 risers and a CHW roof plantroom. Off-site manufacturing techniques at SES Prism will also be used on the Barts Square project to design and install service cupboards for each apartment. These installations include a KNX power distribution system to allow residents to remotely control technology throughout the apartment, a heat interface unit, a heat recovery unit, cooling interface unit, underfloor heating manifolds, BT Home Hub and space for a washing machine. These units will be built off-site, in the SES Prism factory. SES regional director Tim Cunningham said: “This is a truly exciting time for our London and South East operation and the growth of our business is down to our teams’ exemplary work and innovative off-site approach. “Our SES Prism facility is at the forefront of M&E installations, meaning we can offer the most effective solutions to even the most technically complex projects, adding real value to our clients so we’re delighted to be able to demonstrate this again on both these schemes. “We’re tremendously proud of our work on The Plimsoll Building and the Gasholder residential schemes at King’s Cross so we’re thrilled to continue that relationship for the S2 office project. Likewise, our ability to deliver these critical city-centre residential schemes on time and on budget has been essential to winning the innovative and prestigious Barts Square project.” This article was published on 15 Sep 2016 (last updated on 15 Sep 2016). Source link
Keepmoat has started building the first homes of a £800 million rental property investment project in Sheffield. The contractor is underway with work to deliver 24 apartments on land off Park Grange Road in Norfolk Park. Construction is expected to be completed in September 2017. The scheme is part of a partnership between Sheffield Housing Company (SHC) and Sigma Capital Group, who plan to deliver 2,300 new homes over the next 15 years in Sheffield. The scheme has also allowed Keepmoat to form a joint venture (JV) with Sigma Capital Group to build 5,000 new homes across the country by 2021. John Clephan, Project Director with SHC, said: “The choice of housing in any area is crucial for its strength and prosperity. We are already seeing some very positive changes in some of the city’s neighbourhoods as a result of the housing investment which has been made in the past five years. I am certain that the rented homes, through Sigma, will be a great addition to the neighbourhoods in which they are built.” Martin Smithurst, regional managing director at Keepmoat, added: “We’re pleased to be delivering the first scheme of this major investment in a thriving city like Sheffield, where the need for wider housing solutions is apparent across the board. “We’re proud to be working in partnership with Sigma and look forward to identifying more sites in the region that could benefit from their investment.”
Dundee City Council has outlined plans to invest almost £400 million on infrastructure projects across the city over the next five years. The £387m programme to be undertaken between 2017 and 2022 takes in play areas, schools, the V&A Dundee, a replacement of Craigie House and initiatives designed to enhance jobs and regeneration. Details of the projects will be outlined to the council’s policy and resources committee on October 31. Depute policy and resources convener, Councillor Willie Sawers, said: “The council, its partners in the city and the Scottish Government have been working extremely hard together to put improvements in place for the people of this city. “This annual review of the current Council Plan identifies a number of successes and highlights why we have extremely good grounds for optimism. “But the report does highlight that there are a number of areas we need to keep concentrating on and we are all determined to make more efforts on the future. “That is why I am pleased to see the ambition that is shown in the capital plan to take forward projects that will benefit people in communities across the city. “School buildings, the V&A Dundee, well insulated council housing and a replacement for Craigie House are among the highlights of this excellent vision for our city.”
If you are planning on redesigning your bathroom in the near future, it is important that you aware of some of the common mistakes that people make when taking on this type of project. Common Mistakes to Avoid when Designing your Bathroom There are actually quite a few different mistakes that can be made when going about designing a bathroom at home, so you will therefore want to know what they are in order to avoid big problems later on. The more you learn about these mistakes, the better prepared you will be to take on this sort of project. Not establishing a firm budget Before you go ahead with your bathroom design project at home, you will first need to make a point of deciding how much money you can spend on it overall. It is important that you take the time to write down all of the expenses you are going to incur over the course of this project and determine how much you can afford to spend on each one individually. Some of these expenses will include: Total cost of bathroom design project Fixtures and fittings Total cost of installation Plumbing work Not taking your specific needs into consideration One common mistake that people make is to not take into consideration their own specific needs when designing a new bathroom for their home. Do you have pets or kids? If so, you will have to at least partially base the decisions you make around those things. Not setting aside enough room for storage Although it can be easy to get caught up in making your new bathroom look at nice as possible, it is also very important that you leave enough room for storage so that you have a place for all of your things. A lot of people do not take this into consideration, and as a result they don’t have an adequate amount of room after the project has been completed. Not considering ventilation Proper ventilation is absolutely essential for all bathrooms, so you will have to keep this in mind. If you don’t want to deal with problems like mold and mildew later on, it is imperative that you have a good ventilation system installed when doing this project. The last thing you want to deal with is big repair bills because of damage caused by mold in this part of your home. Not focusing on the Flooring You will definitely need to carefully consider the kind of flooring you have installed in your bathroom for a number of reasons. The flooring that is put in your bathroom shouldn’t get very slippery when it gets wet, because you will not want to risk slipping and tripping on it. It’s also a good idea to take a decent amount of time to look at different flooring materials so you can choose one in particular that will look good in your bathroom while keeping you safe. Select a color of flooring that will go well with the rest of this room so that it doesn’t clash at all. Not having the proper lighting installed The lighting fixtures that you have installed in your bathroom should look nice and function properly at all times. There are lots of different lighting options to choose from, so you will need to look into a few before making a final decision. A dimmer might be a nice touch, depending on what your preferences are. Not paying enough attention to the little details It’s all the little details of your bathroom that will truly make it yours. If you want a bathroom that is a reflection of you as a person, you will definitely want to add some personal touches so that it’s completely unique.
With over 400,000 reported burglaries from April of 2015 to March of 2016, it’s still very important for those who live in the UK to protect their homes from these criminals. A single burglary can cost you a lot of money as well as your sense of safety, making it crucial for you to take the necessary measures to keep your home as safe and secure as possible. While most people believe that they are perfectly safe in their own homes, many of them are more vulnerable to burglars than they think. Any home that does not have a comprehensive security system is at extreme risk for being broken into. And while there may be places throughout the UK that are safer than others, it is still necessary to make a point of protecting yourself. Sometimes owning a large dog is enough to deter a burglar from breaking into your home, though it’s always a good idea to take other precautions. These days there are many homes in the UK that are outfitted with CCTV surveillance cameras as well as motion sensor lights and alarms. You will find that all of these things can be highly effective in deterring criminals from breaking in. If you want to have peace of mind when you are at home, it is important to do everything in your power to deter these criminals. Home security technology is still evolving by leaps and bounds, so you will need to find out what your options are right away. Infographic provided by Ironmongerydirect.co.uk
