Senior executives of the two largest property owners in the world have come out in support of the UK remaining in the EU. Gerry Murphy, chairman of Blackstone Europe, and Bruce Flatt, chief executive of Brookfield, were among 1,200 business owners to sign a pro-remain letter published in The Times this
Uniper shares have risen in the first morning of trading after the newly formed company was floated on the Frankfurt stock exchange. The stock market debut marks the completion of the spin-off of Eon’s conventional power generation and energy trading operations into a separate company. Eon shareholders
It has been released that the average British worker spends up to 120 hours a year using their smartphones in the workplace. It has also been released that those who work in the construction sector are amongst the worst culprits. Research has been carried out by LaptopsDirect.co.uk, the gadget and
Sweco UK has been awarded the BREEAM Assessor Company of the Year. The leading consultancy company for engineering, environment and design have won the award for the third time. Their expertise in sustainability assessment methods for master planning projects, infrastructure and buildings has helped Sweco claim the title three times.
McCoy Contractors have invested in two Thwaites dumpers. The company’s increased growth the groundwork and civil engineering contractor has taken delivery of the two new vehicles. The groundworks company based in Birmingham, has won a number of new contracts over the last few months. The latest contract won my McCoy
Stevenswood Trade Centres Limited was established in 1997. Operating a network of 25 different trade centres across Scotland as well as the North of England and the South East. Stevenswood focuses on distributing windows and doors to the installer market. It has been announced that Stevenswood Trade Centres has successful
The standard for apprenticeships in the UK is expected to increase due to new apprenticeship schemes in bricklaying and plastering. Brian Berry, the Chief executive of the Federation of Master Builders has suggested that the initial announcement to attempt to increase apprenticeships to 3 million by 2020 could have led
The UKs largest brickmaker, Ibstock has achieved an ISO 14001 accreditation as part of its system for environmental management. The accreditation is for the Ibstock-Kevington factory located in Sharpthrone, but now it means that all Ibstock’s UK production sites will hold this accreditation. The Independent Organisation for Standardisation is a
Senior executives of the two largest property owners in the world have come out in support of the UK remaining in the EU. Gerry Murphy, chairman of Blackstone Europe, and Bruce Flatt, chief executive of Brookfield, were among 1,200 business owners to sign a pro-remain letter published in The Times this morning. The letter backed a vote to stay in the EU, saying that the UK leaving would hurt both companies and their employees. “Our reasons are straightforward: businesses and their employees benefit massively from being able to trade inside the world’s largest single market without barriers,” the letter said. “As business people, we always look to the future – and a future inside the EU is where we see more opportunities for investment, growth and new jobs.” Click here for more news, analysis and comment on the EU referendum. Those in the property industry who signed the letter include: Mark Glatman, chief executive, Abstract Securities Eric Van Der Klej, co-founder and chief executive, Adeptra Matt Pullen, managing director, AkzoNobel Ross Bailey, founder and chief executive, Appear Here Surinder Arora, chairman, Arora Group David Thomas, chief executive, Barratt Homes Rob Perrins, managing director, Berkeley Group Tony Pidgley, chairman, Berkeley Group Gerry Murphy, chairman, Blackstone Europe Chris Grigg, chief executive, British Land Bruce Flatt, chief executive, Brookfield Asset Management Chris Oglesby, chief executive, Bruntwood Sir George Iacobescu, chairman and chief executive, Canary Wharf Group Stephen Stone, chief executive, Crest Nicholson David Atkins, chief executive, Hammerson Christian Salbaing, deputy chairman, Hutchison Whampoa Andrew Williams, partner and chief executive, LJ Partnership Charlie Cornish, chief executive, Manchester Airports Group Gary Landesberg, managing director, Mountain Capital Marc Vlessing, chief executive, Pocket Living Charlie Fillingham, managing director, Strutt and Parker (Farms) • To send feedback, e-mail karl.tomusk@estatesgazette.com or tweet @ktomusk or @estatesgazette Source link
Uniper shares have risen in the first morning of trading after the newly formed company was floated on the Frankfurt stock exchange. The stock market debut marks the completion of the spin-off of Eon’s conventional power generation and energy trading operations into a separate company. Eon shareholders were allocated 53.35 per cent of Uniper shares when the split was officially registered in Germany on Friday. They received one Uniper share for every ten shares they owned in Eon. The two companies have effectively been operationally independent since Uniper came into being at the beginning of this year. Uniper is not listed in the main indices on the Frankfurt stock exchange, unlike its parent company Eon which is listed on the blue chip index DAX. This is likely to have provided some downward pressure on Uniper’s share price, as indices trackers offloaded their newly created stocks. Nevertheless, after being floated in an opening auction at a price of €10.015, the shares gained ground over the first half of the day. At the time of publication, they were trading at €10.538 – valuing the company at around €3.85 billion. Speaking ahead of the floatation Eon chief executive Johannes Teyssen said: “Eon and Uniper now have every opportunity to be successful with their clear focus on their respective segments of the energy industry. They can now develop without compromises and serve the needs of their respective customers. “This strategy is the right way forward for Eon, for Uniper and for the customers, shareholders and employees of both companies. The new and the classical energy worlds are so fundamentally different that they each require a totally different entrepreneurial approach.” Eon shares dropped 13 per cent in the first half an hour of trading this morning from €8.12 to €7.10. It meant the company’s value fell by around €2 billion to roughly €13.85 billion. At the time of publication, the shares had fallen further to €7.05. Source link
It has been released that the average British worker spends up to 120 hours a year using their smartphones in the workplace. It has also been released that those who work in the construction sector are amongst the worst culprits. Research has been carried out by LaptopsDirect.co.uk, the gadget and technology etailer. The research was conducted on 2,012 UK adults and revealed that construction workers admit to using their smartphones during working hours. The survey asked questions that has uncovered that 120 hours have been lost per year per employee by personal smartphone use. 78% of those asked admitted to responding to a personal text message during working hours. The results also discovered that 59% will regularly take personal phone calls while they are working. Other results from the technology company’s survey includes 52% of participants say they answer instant messages from platforms such as WhatsApp and Facebook, and 9% have sent a Snapchat while at their workplace. However, 44% of respondents say their workplace permits reasonable use of smartphones, with 14% of those asked have been told off for using their phones at work, with 4% being disciplined for their own devices during work time. The construction sector was the 5th worst sector for using their smartphones at work, with 78% admitting to personal phone use. The results of the survey have been compiled to show the top 10 business sectors that use their personal smart phone at work. Top of the list is the Marketing sector, with 98% admitting to using their personal phone while at work, with Information and communications coming in a close second with 96% using their smartphones. Coming 10th on the list is healthcare, with 23% of participants from this sector admitting to using their phone while at work. Other sectors included in the survey includes retail, 64% of whom admit to using their phone for personal reasons while working.
Sweco UK has been awarded the BREEAM Assessor Company of the Year. The leading consultancy company for engineering, environment and design have won the award for the third time. Their expertise in sustainability assessment methods for master planning projects, infrastructure and buildings has helped Sweco claim the title three times. The Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methodology, BREEAM, have recognised Sweco for the third time because of the consultancy company’s consistency when it comes to achieving the highest BREEAM ratings on its projects over a 12-month period. This rating has led to Sweco producing some of the most sustainable as well as user focused buildings. Sweco is part of planning and designing of communities and cities of the future. The consultancy company has a hand in designing sustainable buildings with efficient infrastructure as well as access to electricity and clean water. The consultancy company employs 14,500 people throughout Europe, and carries out a variety of different projects in 70 countries around the world every year. Sweco is Europe’s leading engineering, environment and design consultants and receiving this BREEAM accolade three times cements their reputation. The awards ceremony was held on March 7th at the London Marriott Hotel in Grosvenor Square. The event was attended by hundreds of industry professionals. BREEAM is an association that is internationally recognised in their measure of sustainability for buildings and communities. BREEAM’s measure is used in more than 70 countries and has issued more than 530,000 certificates to over 24,000 projects around the world. This wide spread reputation has led to more than 2.2 million buildings and communities being registered for the BREEAM certification. Sweco has been involved in a variety of different projects over the past year including the 107-meter-tall South Bank Tower based in London. The design consultants were also involved in the Four Pancras Square building, a 170,000 sq. ft. building in the Kings Cross area of London.
McCoy Contractors have invested in two Thwaites dumpers. The company’s increased growth the groundwork and civil engineering contractor has taken delivery of the two new vehicles. The groundworks company based in Birmingham, has won a number of new contracts over the last few months. The latest contract won my McCoy is a project valued at £800,000 for a new mixed use project located in Milton Keynes. As a result of this success, McCoy Contractors has purchased two 9 tonne Thwaites Dumper trucks. These Forward-tipping trucks were purchased by McCoy from BTE Plant and Sales. The new dumper trucks are being put to use straight away on their project in Milton Keynes. Chris Haughey is the Operations Manager at McCoy Contractors, who is a midlands based contractor. McCoy works on projects in both the local area and on a national scale. The Civil Engineering contractor focuses of delivering their contracts in the safest, most dynamic and client-focused way. McCoy works in a variety of different sectors including commercial, housing, highways, health and retail. The civil engineering company focuses on early stage building works, this means their role on site is to work on things like drainage, building foundations, concrete structures, constructing roads, surfacing with tarmac, earthworks and ground stabilisation as well as internal and external concrete slab work. Investing in modern equipment like the new dumper trucks is part of the companies aim to deliver projects in the safest and most efficient way. Purchasing the new trucks from BTE will be cost effective, seen as though they have been immediately put to work on McCoy’s current project in Milton Keynes. Using the equipment straight away also emphasizes the company’s intention to use the highest quality equipment while fulfilling their contracts. McCoy Contractors offer an all-encompassing package for groundworks to their clients, which is delivered on a full labour, plant and materials basis for all their projects.
Stevenswood Trade Centres Limited was established in 1997. Operating a network of 25 different trade centres across Scotland as well as the North of England and the South East. Stevenswood focuses on distributing windows and doors to the installer market. It has been announced that Stevenswood Trade Centres has successful completed the acquisition of Truemans Holdings Limited. The acquisition was supported by investment from Cairngorm Capital Partners LLP. This acquisition by Stevenswood supports their objective to develop a national network of trade counters in order to become the leading trade counter distributor in the UK. Truemans was established in 1997, and is a family business that has expanded rapidly as a trade counter. The company operates four trade counters in Burnley, Doncaster, Sheffield and Crewe. Truemans have another trade counter scheduled to open in the spring this year, in Reading. Truemans employs 41 people and is expected to achieve a revenue on £10 million in 2017. The acquisition is a perfect opportunity for expansion, as Stevenson has gaps in the English market that are filled by Truemans’ trade counter locations. The managing Director of Truemans, Joe Trueman will join the senior management of the Stevenswood team. Trueman will be appointed the Commercial Director and will focus on driving Stevenwood’s expansion strategy. Stevenswood founder, Ron Hepburn will retire now that the acquisition of Trueman is complete. Hepburn has built the business from a small independent window fabricator into one of the UK’s leading distributors of windows and doors. John Declerck will now become a full time member of the team as Group Chief Executive, after being a non-executive director. Declerck bring s more than 15 years of experience as a global executive in procurement, merchandising, brand strategy and digital marketing for building materials. John Declerck will be supported by an already successful team including Duncan Murray who is Chief Operations Officer.
The standard for apprenticeships in the UK is expected to increase due to new apprenticeship schemes in bricklaying and plastering. Brian Berry, the Chief executive of the Federation of Master Builders has suggested that the initial announcement to attempt to increase apprenticeships to 3 million by 2020 could have led to an ideal that quantity is better than quality. However, this week the Government has improved its commitment to working with the construction industry by increasing the quality of the apprenticeship training and approving these new standards alongside the increased encouragement to deliver more apprenticeships. Research carried out by the FMB has shown that two-thirds of SMEs, or Small and Medium Enterprises, think that the overall quality of apprenticeships in the construction industry has decreased over the past 30 years. The research has also revealed that over 70% of smaller construction companies would be more likely to train an apprentice if the quality of construction apprenticeships and standards improved. It is noted that SMEs in the construction industry are who train two thirds of all apprentices, and if they are reluctant to take on apprentices due to the low quality of training. Therefore, the government putting their weight behind improving the quality and standards of apprenticeships will be reassuring for those construction companies when taking on apprentices. Named the Government’s Trailblazer process, the intention is to give more control back to the employers in order to make sure that the apprenticeship training does actually reflect what is required when working on site. A number of different large and small employers have given up their time in order to create these apprenticeship standards. Because of this the standard reflects what will actually be necessary to work in the construction industry. The standards set out by the construction companies means that there will be a higher standard of training for apprentices, which will mean that they will be taught to perform more technical tasks.
The UKs largest brickmaker, Ibstock has achieved an ISO 14001 accreditation as part of its system for environmental management. The accreditation is for the Ibstock-Kevington factory located in Sharpthrone, but now it means that all Ibstock’s UK production sites will hold this accreditation. The Independent Organisation for Standardisation is a non-governmental independent membership organisation. The ISO is also the world’s largest developer of voluntary International Standards. Being awarded with the ISO 14001 means that a business works within the standard that was internationally agreed and focuses on requirements for an environmental management system. The requirements laid out for the standard makes sure that the business improves their environmental performance. This improvement can come from more efficient use of resources and a reduction of waste. By giving Ibstock-Kevington site the ISO accreditation, and thereby giving all Ibstock sites the accreditation meaning that tis company is the first to be awarded the certificate since 2001. The achievement is testament to Ibstock’s hard work to improve the environmental impact of their business. Ibstock paces a great deal of importance on continuously improving the environmental impact of their business. The company continuously aims to reduce the impact of their company on the environment. The company intend on improving their systems in the long term in order to match up to their commitment to sustainability. Ibstock plan on opening a new £54 million brickworks at their site in Leicestershire that the company hopes will provide strength to their sustainability plans. The site of the new brickworks is expected to have new energy efficiency plans and water and waste recovery systems that will set new sustainability standards for the company. Ibstock has won other awards for their sustainability, as it was awarded a rating of very good for responsible sourcing of materials. This certification for responsible sourcing was the BES 6001. Ibstock has also been accredited with the internationally recognised ISO 50001 as a result of the company’s work on energy management at all of its brickworks.
