©Bloomberg A shift in focus from central London to the commuter belt has delivered record first-half results and a steep dividend increase for FTSE 250 housebuilder Redrow. The group has stopped building highly priced apartments in central London and shifted its emphasis to the suburbs and the home counties, where
More housing markets in the United States were less affordable than their historically normal levels in the first quarter of 2016 than a year ago, new research shows. Some 9% of county real estate market were less affordable compared with 2% a year ago, according to the analysis of median
ISG has secured two contracts in Edinburgh, with a combined value of £20 million, which will further enhance the city’s reputation for hospitality excellence. ISG has been appointed by TH Real Estate to create the country’s newest ‘hub by Premier Inn’ hotel and is also main contractor for the first
Piling contractor Aarsleff Ground Engineering has taken over A&J Geotechnical Services. Above: A&J Geotechnical in action Doncaster-based A&J Geotechnical specialises in ground anchors, soil nails, bored piles, mini piles, geothermal boreholes, drilling and grouting. It was formed in 1999 by Dave Evans. Aarsleff managing director Chris Primett said: “The acquisition
Total new home sales in Australia fell for a second consecutive month in May 2016 but experts say it is cyclical downturn and nothing to worry about. Total seasonally adjusted new home sales declined by 4.4% following a 4.7% fall in April 2016. The sale of detached houses fell by
The social licence that a business leader needs to operate is no less real for lacking a physical form. It seems Mike Ashley, maverick founder of sportswear retailer Sports Direct, is about to lose his permit. Investors, politicians, unions and business groups are demanding Sports Direct changes its ways after
The Grandhome Trust is set to build more than 600 houses in Aberdeen after a £7.9 million housing loan provided by the Scottish Government. This is phase one of the Grandhome site which has been given planning permission in principle for a 4,700 home community that will include leisure, retail,
A brand new distribution warehouse property at the Trident Park development in Normanton is set to hit the market. The industrial agency team of Knight Frank in Leeds has been given instruction as the sole agents to market the purpose built 52,402 sq ft unit located on Rosie Road, which
From next September, the Dyson Institute of Technology is to offer engineering degrees. James Dyson will open an Institute of Technology that will offer free engineering degrees along with paid jobs at Dyson’s development and research campus in Wiltshire. Under the new plans set out by the Department of Education
North West construction firm ForWorks has secured three new housing contracts with housing providers. North Symphony Housing Group owns and manages 41,000 homes in the region and has given ForWorks the task of delivering its responsive, out of hours repair service to customers throughout Greater Manchester. West construction firm ForWorks
©Bloomberg A shift in focus from central London to the commuter belt has delivered record first-half results and a steep dividend increase for FTSE 250 housebuilder Redrow. The group has stopped building highly priced apartments in central London and shifted its emphasis to the suburbs and the home counties, where demand remains strong, opening new divisions in Kent and Sussex. More On this topic IN Construction Pre-tax profit was up 14 per cent to £104m, slightly exceeding analysts’ expectations, after completions rose 18 per cent to 2,178 in the six months to the end of December. “We abandoned looking for sites in central London as soon as the writing was on the wall, when the stamp duty changes came in. Those have killed high-end property,” said Steve Morgan, chairman of Redrow. Redrow’s shares however had dropped more than 5 per cent by midday on Tuesday, despite the positive results. Analysts said the fall might reflect Redrow’s failure to upgrade its guidance for the full year after market expectations it would do so. It might also be due to concern over Redrow’s existing three central London schemes, said Robin Hardy of Shore Capital. “That market is weak and could become insensitive to price cuts,” he said. An overhaul of stamp duty in December 2014 increased the charge for people buying homes costing more than £938,000, while reducing it for transactions below that. The shift helped to damp demand for expensive houses and apartments in the capital. That has prompted a group of three hedge funds to take up short positions against Berkeley Group, a builder focused on high-end London homes. Redrow, which builds houses at the cheaper end of the UK market, gained from the Help to Buy scheme that provides government loans for buyers of newly built properties and is supporting 44 per cent of the company’s sales. The group said it would double its interim dividend to 4p a share, and gave guidance that it would pay out 10p a share during the full financial year — a 67 per cent increase on a year earlier. The strong results from Redrow — whose share price gained more than any other UK housebuilder in 2015 — add to a string of positive updates from the sector as companies benefit from economic recovery and government support for homebuyers. Redrow’s operating margin rose to 18.2 per cent from 17 per cent in the six months to the end of December, while the company increased its land bank by more than 4,000 plots to 21,435, and its private order book was up 51 per cent to £655m. It plans to build 2,900 new homes on a flagship site in the north London suburb of Colindale. Outside London, the average selling price of Redrow’s properties rose 11 per cent to £300,000. But Mr Morgan said he welcomed moves by the Bank of England to limit mortgage lending to keep the housing market sustainable, as house prices rose almost 10 per cent last year. “It does us no good whatsoever to see house prices escalating away from reality. The Bank of England has tried to step in and temper those, and we welcome that,” he said. 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
More housing markets in the United States were less affordable than their historically normal levels in the first quarter of 2016 than a year ago, new research shows. Some 9% of county real estate market were less affordable compared with 2% a year ago, according to the analysis of median home prices from publicly recorded sales deed data collected by RealtyTrac and average wage data from the US Bureau of Labour Statistics. The affordability index was based on the percentage of average wages needed to make monthly house payments on a median priced home with a 30 year fixed rate and a 3% down payment, including property taxes and insurance Out of the 456 counties analysed in the report, some 43 had an affordability index below 100 in the first quarter of 2016, meaning buying a home was less affordable than the historically normal level for that county going back to the first quarter of 2005. That was up from 10 counties in the first quarter of 2015. At the peak of the housing bubble in the second quarter of 2006 some 454 of the 456 counties analysed, more than 99%, were less affordable than their historic norms. In the first quarter of 2012, when median home prices bottomed out nationally, only two counties out of the 456 analysed, less than 0.5%, exceeded their historically normal affordability levels. ‘While the vast majority of housing markets are still affordable by their own historic standards, home prices are floating out of reach for average wage earners in a growing number of U.S. housing markets,’ said Daren Blomquist, senior vice president at RealtyTrac. ‘The recent drop in interest rates has helped to soften the blow of high flying price appreciation in some markets, but the affordability equation could change quickly if interest rates trend higher and home prices continue to rise faster than wages,’ he explained. The top 20 county housing markets least affordable in the first quarter of 2016 compared to their historic affordability norms included counties in Denver, New York City, Omaha, Nebraska, Austin, Dallas, San Francisco and St. Louis. The five most populated county housing markets less affordable than their historic norms were Kings County, New York Brooklyn, Dallas County, New York County, New York Manhattan, Alameda County, California in the San Francisco metro area, Oakland County, and Michigan in the Detroit metro area. The top 20 county housing markets most affordable in the first quarter of 2016 compared to their historic affordability norms included counties in Boston, Baltimore, Birmingham Alabama, Providence, Rhode Island and Chicago. The five most populated county housing markets still more affordable than their historic norms were Los Angeles County, Cook County, Chicago, Harris County Texas, Maricopa County Arizona and San Diego County. Nationwide in the first quarter of 2016, the average wage earner needed to spend 30.2% of monthly wages to make monthly mortgage payments including property taxes and insurance on a median priced home at $199,000, up from 26.4% of average wages needed to buy a median priced home in the first quarter of 2015. When home prices were most affordable nationwide in the first quarter of 2012, the average wage earner needed to spend 22.2% of monthly wages to buy a median priced home. When home prices were least affordable nationwide in the second quarter of 2006, the average wage earner needed to spend 53.2% of monthly wages to buy a median priced home. The top five least affordable counties based on percentage of average wages to buy a median priced home were Kings County and Brooklyn New York at 120.4%, Marin County California at 109.2%, Santa Cruz County California at 106.9%, Manhattan New York at 105.1% and San Francisco County at 95.3%. The top five most affordable counties based on percentage of average wages to buy a median priced home were Wayne County Michigan at 8.5%, Baltimore County Maryland at 9.2%, Clayton County Georgia at 10.1%, Bay County Michigan at 11.5% and Rock Island Illinois at 12.3%. BOOKMARK THIS PAGE (What is this?) Source link
ISG has secured two contracts in Edinburgh, with a combined value of £20 million, which will further enhance the city’s reputation for hospitality excellence. ISG has been appointed by TH Real Estate to create the country’s newest ‘hub by Premier Inn’ hotel and is also main contractor for the first venture in Edinburgh by European operator, the Carlton Hotel Collection, delivered in partnership with The EDI Group. The new 145 bed Premier Inn hotel will be the second ‘hub’ site in Edinburgh and sees ISG transform the Hanover Buildings, in the city’s popular Rose Street, into Premier Inn’s innovative new hotel format, which offers guests connected city centre locations and intelligent design. ISG will comprehensively modernise and extend the former Edinburgh office building, adding a two-storey steel frame extension at roof level to increase the property’s total floor area by circa 4,900 sq ft. The existing façade will be cleaned and repaired and curtain walling elements installed to enhance the building’s aesthetics and improve thermal performance. The Market Street project will create a new four star 98 room boutique hotel, which will transform a key under-used site located next to Craig’s Close, which has remained vacant for more than 50 years. Conversion works, on what is currently a gap site, will involve ISG removing an existing building and carrying out associated works. Thereafter, construction will commence on the seven-storey, steel frame building, which will feature natural sandstone, granite and zinc cladding elements to its façade and transform the cityscape. Andy McLinden, ISG’s Scotland regional managing director, commented: “As Scotland’s hospitality scene continues to thrive, these important new wins, which will further enhance Edinburgh’s burgeoning hotel sector, demonstrate our strong sector credentials and reputation for delivering complex change-of-use schemes in logistically challenging city environments.” ISG was recently revealed as the contractor for a £multi-million upgrade at the prestigious Trump Turnberry resort, and these latest wins further cement the company’s growing reputation within the Scottish hotel sector. ISG already counts the iconic Old Course Hotel and Hamilton Grand development in St Andrews, as well as at the world famous Gleneagles Hotel and the luxurious Cameron House Hotel in Loch Lomond among its customer base. Source link
Piling contractor Aarsleff Ground Engineering has taken over A&J Geotechnical Services. Above: A&J Geotechnical in action Doncaster-based A&J Geotechnical specialises in ground anchors, soil nails, bored piles, mini piles, geothermal boreholes, drilling and grouting. It was formed in 1999 by Dave Evans. Aarsleff managing director Chris Primett said: “The acquisition of A&J Geotechnical Services is a strategic move, which now allows Aarsleff to provide more diverse and comprehensive ground package solutions.” He added: “A&J is a perfect fit for Aarsleff. Both companies have a vision of providing clients with a multidisciplinary offer where the best service, techniques and commercial offering is delivered by vastly experienced teams. The combination of both companies will greatly benefit Aarsleff’s clients and the industry.” This article was published on 22 Sep 2016 (last updated on 22 Sep 2016). Source link
Total new home sales in Australia fell for a second consecutive month in May 2016 but experts say it is cyclical downturn and nothing to worry about. Total seasonally adjusted new home sales declined by 4.4% following a 4.7% fall in April 2016. The sale of detached houses fell by 6.7% but apartments were up by 4.9%. The data also shows that detached house sales declined in three of the five mainland states with a fall of 11.5% in New South Wales, a fall of 8.2% in Victoria and a fall of 11% in Queensland. But detached house sales increased by 3.8% in South Australia and by 5.4% in Western Australia. The figures should not cause alarm, according to the Housing Industry Association. ‘There is a cyclical downturn ahead for new residential construction activity, as new home sales signal, but the early pull-back will be mild by historical standards,’ said HIA chief economist Harley Dale. ‘We remain of the view that a decline in new dwelling commencements will gather momentum in 2016/2017 and 2017/2018, following four years of growth which has delivered enormous benefits to the broader Australian economy,’ he explained. ‘This economic benefit delivered by new home construction in recent years is unprecedented. It creates a platform for the Federal government to provide leadership on the key issues of new housing supply, affordability and home ownership, which will in turn benefit Australia’s economic growth and future standard of living,’ he added. Meanwhile the HIA’s regular review of Australia’s $30 billion home renovations market show that the sector is very much in recovery mode with 2015 marking the second consecutive year of growth. This followed a deep slump during the early years of the decade. The Renovations Roundup report projects that renovations activity will increase by 2.5% this year with growth of 1.7% forecast for 2017. The HIA also projects that activity will grow by 2.8% in 2018 followed by a 2% increase in 2019, bringing the total volume of renovations activity to $33.30 billion. According to Shane Garrett, HIA senior economist, the recovery in renovations activity is being supported by the environment of remarkably low interest rates and very strong dwelling price growth in key markets. ‘In this context, many home owners have decided to shelve plans to move house and instead conduct major renovations work on their existing homes. The large pool of available home equity has made this possible,’ he explained. ‘However, the pace is growth is being held back by the weakness of earnings growth in the economy and the fragile condition of consumer sentiment. The importance of home renovations activity is often underestimated and it accounted for about 35% of total residential construction during 2015,’ he said. ‘With new home building set to decline over the coming years, the expansion of the renovations market means that its importance will only increase. The revival in renovations activity will provide a welcome offset to the more challenging situation emerging on the new home building side of the industry,’ he added. Source link
The social licence that a business leader needs to operate is no less real for lacking a physical form. It seems Mike Ashley, maverick founder of sportswear retailer Sports Direct, is about to lose his permit. Investors, politicians, unions and business groups are demanding Sports Direct changes its ways after allegations of sharp labour practices. The newest broadside against Mr Ashley comes from one of his oldest critics: the City of London. The Investor Forum has called on Sports Direct to launch an independent review of corporate governance at the company, whose shares have fallen 62 per cent in a year. So far, so toothless. One of the few sanctions City investors can muster is to vote against the reappointment of three independent non-executive directors at Sports Direct’s annual meeting on September 7. Even then, Mr Ashley is free to deploy his 55 per cent shareholding to keep them on board. A controlling stake has permitted the burly former squash coach to thumb his nose at the Square Mile ever since Sports Direct listed in 2007. He holds the weird title of executive deputy chairman so he can run the company with little direct accountability. The intervention of the Investor Forum matters, however, because the forces massing against Mr Ashley are beginning to look overwhelming. Last month, a committee of MPs likened conditions at Sports Direct’s Shirebrook warehouse to “a Victorian workhouse”. The British media is in gleeful pursuit of Mr Ashley, too. Opprobrium for controversial bankers, energy bosses and manufacturing chiefs have in the past forced them to withdraw from public life. Mr Ashley’s appearance before MPs showed how vulnerable he is. He stumbled red-faced through the hearing, admitting his knowledge of his business was often poor. Mr Ashley’s licence to operate depended on two bargains. First, he had to sell clothes at rock-bottom prices without extreme or visible nickel-and-diming of workers. Second, he had to deliver financial performance good enough for minority investors to put up with Sports Direct’s unconventional governance. Having failed on both counts, he should step back to an advisory role at Sports Direct. Old lieutenants, such as chief executive David Forsey, should give way to managers with the experience needed to regularise governance and employment practices. If Mr Ashley decides instead to fight it out, the UK establishment will make life very hot indeed for him. Rock star CRH is a lean, green M&A machine. The Irish building materials group has specialised in buying small “mom ’n’ pop” rivals affordably, then cutting their costs. It is less risky than making big acquisitions. So investors held their breath when CRH bought a bunch of assets for €6.5bn from Lafarge and Holcim last year. CRH is avoiding value traps, judging from full-year results. Pro-forma underlying earnings were 20 per cent higher at €1.1bn. Debt was a steep €7bn, but should fall to two times earnings by year end. Next year the company will be back to bolt-on buying, says chief executive Albert Manifold, a big man running a big company for big rewards. Lombard opined CRH was the kind of business you could invite home to meet the family when it switched its primary listing to London in 2011. So it has proved. The shares have doubled. At more than 17 times earnings they are now expensive, given the vulnerability of US construction to rate rises and the feebleness of European growth. Pork talk Cheery kids character Peppa Pig is the key asset of media group EntertainmentOne. But ITV’s decision to walk away from a £1bn takeover suggests the film and TV company draws greater inspiration from Miss Piggy, who once said: “I would like everyone to take a moment, a single moment out of their busy day, to think how lucky they are to know ME!” Related article Shares in Entertainment One drop more than 10% on abandoned bid ITV, whose shares have been depressed by worries over terrestrial advertising revenue, had mooted an offer at 236p per share. A statement from the broadcaster implies it was ready to go higher, given a look at eOne’s books, but this was not forthcoming. However it seems unlikely ITV would have contemplated bidding at 260p-280p, the takeout range suggested by Peel Hunt. While eOne has produced steadily rising earnings of the kind that strip out all manner of expenses, its generation of free cash has been disappointing. That will have been a mood killer for ITV. The gap between the expectations of chief executive Adam Crozier and eOne investors who bought in at around 290p, before shares slumped, was too wide to bridge. Mr Crozier can be forgiven for failing to bring home the bacon. jonathan.guthrie@ft.com Source link
The Grandhome Trust is set to build more than 600 houses in Aberdeen after a £7.9 million housing loan provided by the Scottish Government. This is phase one of the Grandhome site which has been given planning permission in principle for a 4,700 home community that will include leisure, retail, commercial and public space. For 2016-17, the Scottish Government’s Housing Infrastructure Fund has up to £50 million of loan and grant funding available to help unlock strategically important housing sites throughout Scotland. This year, Aberdeen City has already had their Affordable Housing Programme allocation pushed up to £10.9 million, which is an increase of 70% on last year. The Housing Infrastructure Fund is also considering other projects from throughout Scotland. Housing Minister Kevin Stewart paid a visit to the Grandhome site and he commented: “I am really pleased the first loan from this important Scottish Government fund is being used to unlock a key housing site. The first phase of 600 homes will include at least 90 affordable homes. “Today’s announcement underlines this Government’s determination to increase the pace and scale of development to deliver more homes. I look forward to further loans and grants being granted to projects across Scotland. “We have listened to our partners and are putting in place measures to support the increase in the supply of homes across all tenures, support jobs in the construction industry, and encourage inclusive growth in the wider economy. “We have committed to deliver 50,000 more affordable homes, with 35,000 available for social rent, over the next five years, backed up with investment of more than £3 billion. Projects such as this one today marks another step on road to delivering that pledge.” Meanwhile, Grandhome Trust trustee, Bruce Smith, said that the new community of Grandhome has been in the planning for over 10 years and the delivery of phase one infrastructure is a key milestone for them.
A brand new distribution warehouse property at the Trident Park development in Normanton is set to hit the market. The industrial agency team of Knight Frank in Leeds has been given instruction as the sole agents to market the purpose built 52,402 sq ft unit located on Rosie Road, which is just a mile off Junction 31 on the M62. The site was built for BSS Group and was finished earlier in the year, and is now available to be purchased immediately for either lease or purchase. Partner at Knight Frank in Leeds, Iain McPhail, said that they are pleased to be instructed to advise their client on such a prestigious high-quality, newly-constructed warehouse unit at a prime logistics site. McPhail continued: “We are confident that the building will attract early interest due to the lack of existing options of this size currently in the marketplace, as well as the unique nature of the property which offers an occupier a high-bay warehouse on a generously-sized site. “The property benefits from an excellent specification, including 13-metre eaves height, four loading doors, steel framed canopy, two storey offices and an over-sized service yard extending to approximately 2.35acres, which allows an occupier the flexibility to either further extend the building (subject to planning) or utilise for external storage or HGV parking.” The property is available for immediate occupation on either a freehold or a leasehold basis. Last month, Knight Frank reported a record turnover, although profits took a downturn. Chief executive Alistair Elliot said that expansion in China, India and central London had pushed the firm’s turnover up by 4% in the 12 months to March 31, but pre-tax profits had been hit by a quieter start to this year, dipping from £160.1 million last year to £152.6 million in 2016. “There is no question that the majority of residential and commercial markets were beginning to peak in the autumn of last year,” Mr Elliot said.
From next September, the Dyson Institute of Technology is to offer engineering degrees. James Dyson will open an Institute of Technology that will offer free engineering degrees along with paid jobs at Dyson’s development and research campus in Wiltshire. Under the new plans set out by the Department of Education in a recent white paper, the Dyson Institute of Technology will apply for degree awarding powers, which will allow it to become a new university. Dyson is hoping to use the institute to tackle the growing skills shortage of the industry and foster the next generation of engineers as he looks to double the engineering team at Dyson by 2020. Applications are now open for the first cohort of engineering students to begin in September next year. Through the institute, Dyson is set to invest £15 million over the course of the next five years and is planning to offer the “brightest aspiring engineers” a viable alternative to a traditional university degree. The new degree will combine academic learning with hands on experience with the development of Dyson products along with the current engineering team of 3,000 at Dyson. The idea behind the scheme is for students to come away from higher education without any debts, having earned a salary throughout their studies, and with the prospect of earning a full graduate wage having completed the four year scheme. James Dyson commented: “The UK’s skills shortage is holding Dyson back as we look to increase the amount of technology we develop and export from the UK. We are taking matters into our own hands. The new degree course offers academic theory, a real-world job and salary, and access to experts in their field.” Dyson engineers and WMG Warwick University developed the bespoke engineering degree, with the aim of bridging the gap between academia and industry.
North West construction firm ForWorks has secured three new housing contracts with housing providers. North Symphony Housing Group owns and manages 41,000 homes in the region and has given ForWorks the task of delivering its responsive, out of hours repair service to customers throughout Greater Manchester. West construction firm ForWorks has secured three new housing contracts with housing providers. ForWorks, based in Salford, has also been chosen by Rochdale Boroughwide Housing to carry out disrepair works to many of its properties. As part of the deal, ForWorks will install new kitchens and bathrooms and deliver repairs, as well as carrying out larger structural works, to 14,000 properties owned by Rochdale Boroughwide. The firm has also been chosen by Ribble Valley Homes to carry out bathroom and kitchen work on its properties. Stever Parrington, Managing Director at ForWorks, commented: “Securing three contracts with regional landlords demonstrates ForWorks’ ability to deliver first class services into the heart of communities. “We are delighted to have been selected for these projects as we continue our growth in 2016 and beyond.” The hat-trick of wins comes after ForWorks’ appointment to a £15.6 million contract to deliver grounds maintenance works for the City West Housing Trust. The North West based business will manage more than 500 sites across the city for client City West Housing Trust, with work including the maintenance of green spaces and hedges, playground inspections, tree and shrubbery inspections and other operational work. The team will also undertake the development of new and existing sites to enhance the local environment. The 13 year contract will allow ForWorks to create three new apprenticeships within its grounds maintenance team with a view to increasing this in the coming years, as well as take on 18 staff currently employed by the local authority. Earlier in the year, the firm was also awarded a six figure maintenance contract by health and social care charity Alternative Futures Group.
