Rental values in the prime central London lettings market fell by 3.6% in the year to July 2016 but activity is stronger than last summer, the latest index shows. Values were down due to higher stock levels and a degree of uncertainty surrounding the European Union referendum result, according to the report from international real estate firm Knight Frank. Where the rental value is regarded by prospective tenants as being right properties are being taken up and the number of tenancies agreed in the three months to June rose 3% compared to 2015 and viewings increased 15.8%, the data from Knight Frank also shows While overall the number of new prospective tenants fell 6.8% over the same period, the number of tenancies started via Knight Frank’s corporate relocation service increased 72% in the same period but prime gross rental yields were flat at 3.1%. According to Tom Bill, head of London residential research at Knight Frank, there are parallels between the lettings and sales markets because the Brexit vote has reinforced the existent pricing trends rather alter market fundamentals. ‘Demand has been relatively flat since the start of the year due to uncertainty surrounding the state of the global economy, particularly in the financial services sector, which contributed towards a slowdown in rental value growth from its last peak of 4.2% in May 2015,’ he said. ‘This trend has been compounded by higher levels of supply as stock has moved across from the sales market, with more vendors becoming landlords due to weaker conditions in the prime sales markets,’ he pointed out. ‘In the three months to the end of June this year, the number of new rental properties placed on the market rose by 49% compared to the same period last year. As a result, landlords are reducing asking rents to prevent void periods and tenants are becoming more selective,’ he explained. Indeed, properties where the asking rent is perceived as too high are struggling to get viewings and Bill believes that the referendum result has simply reinforced this dynamic and landlords are increasingly taking a pragmatic approach to asking rents against the background of wider Brexit uncertainty and rising stock levels. He also pointed out that despite the three month decline in the number of new prospective tenants registering, the expectation is that rental volumes will continue to rise over the summer and into the autumn. ‘The uncertainty ahead of the Brexit vote could be an explanatory factor for weaker registrations, although early signs are positive with no significant announcements that companies are pulling back from relocating staff to London following the referendum,’ he added. Knight Frank also found that relocation budgets in many cases have risen due to the effects of a weaker Sterling, which means tenants are looking in higher-value areas and at higher value properties compared to last year. The number of new prospective tenants registering with a budget of £1,500 plus per week increased 11% in the three months to 24 July compared to 2015. ‘Combined with the fact that rental values have been declining, it means tenants are widening their searches to higher value areas. For example, senior executives are increasingly able to rent in areas like Mayfair while some young professionals are looking in areas like Kensington rather than east London,’ said Bill. However, activity in the £5,000 plus per week super prime market has been quieter by comparison since the Brexit vote following a relatively strong 12 months. ‘Tenants in this higher price bracket are typically more discretionary and able to take a longer term view as the precise implications of the Brexit vote become clearer over the coming months,’ Bill added. Source link

©Reuters Kemi Adeosun: Nigeria’s finance minister Nigeria is considering selling a Chinese panda bond to help finance a budget deficit of about $11bn, its finance minister has said. “The opportunity now, with the renminbi being a reserve currency, we are looking obviously at the lowest cost of funds to fund our budget deficit. Initially we were looking simply at the eurobond but then we began to explore opportunities in the renminbi market so there is a possibility of issuing a panda bond,” Kemi Adeosun told the Financial Times and Reuters in an interview. Panda bonds are renminbi-denominated debt sold by foreigners into China’s bond markets. More On this topic IN Africa Economy The priority, Ms Adeosun said, is to borrow “the cheapest possible money” — a total of 1.8tn naira ($9bn) from international and Nigerian markets. She said it seemed that a renminbi-denominated bond would be cheaper than issuing a eurobond. She also said that, given Japan’s negative interest rates, “there’s the possibility of doing a Samurai [yen-denominated bond] which is also an option we’ll look at. We’re simply shopping around for the best deals.” President Muhammadu Buhari, elected last year, is visiting China in the coming week for a visit “aimed at securing greater support from Beijing for the development of Nigeria’s infrastructure, especially in the power, roads, railways, aviation, water supply and housing sectors”, the presidency said in a statement. Ms Adeosun told the FT in January that Nigeria planned to tap the eurobond market to plug the deficit. Nigeria started talks in January with the World Bank and the African Development Bank for loans of $3.5bn to plug the deficit. Nigeria is continuing talks started earlier in the year with the World Bank over a budget support loan, Ms Adeosun said in the interview on Saturday. She is set to travel to Washington this weekend for the World Bank’s spring meetings in the coming week. Ms Adeosun said Nigeria has already begun implementing a “whole policy framework” to “support” the World Bank loan under discussion. She said Nigeria and the World Bank are “within the process” to obtain the loan and expect to complete that process “within the second quarter”, by August at the latest, she said. She said aspects of this policy framework include “fiscal housekeeping, improving [non-oil] revenues, controlling costs” and reform of the state-owned oil company. Mr Buhari proposed record spending of 6.06tn naira in a budget that was delayed by political wrangling but approved by parliament last month. Financing of the deficit from international lenders and markets has been held back due to the delay in passing the budget, Ms Adeosun said. Ms Adeosun said Nigeria needs an expansionary budget to jump-start an economy that has suffered a dramatic slow down due to the global oil price crash. Nigeria is Africa’s top oil exporter. Spending on infrastructure such as power and roads is “really what is needed to get the economy out of where it is now”, she said, adding that the government plans to run a deficit for the next two to three years. The 2016 deficit of 2.2tn naira is 2.2 per cent of GDP, she said. The International Monetary Fund forecasts growth will slow to 2.3 per cent this year, its lowest rate in more than 15 years. The minister said the administration understands that life is very difficult for the majority of citizens in the country of more than 180m, but says the changes the government is implementing will see the country turn a corner. Despite benefiting from years of oil prices over $100 per barrel, Mr Buhari said state coffers were barren when he took office last May — a discrepancy he blamed on pervasive corruption in government. Ms Adeosun said the push to develop infrastructure outlined in the budget was essential to help Nigeria diversify away from oil in the longer term. Though the government intends to pay for some of these projects through the budget, it is also looking abroad, namely to China, for funding for them. 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

Beama has welcomed the government’s response to the National Infrastructure Commission’s Smart Power Report.  The UK energy system faces profound challenges as it adapts to a decentralised generation mix and major new loads.  Meeting this challenge, whilst keeping down costs to consumers, demands that the UK develops and adopts innovative solutions.  Beama members are at the forefront of providing these innovations and welcome all government and regulatory support for making these ‘business as usual’ as quickly as possible.   Beama members strongly welcome the support for interconnection, storage, demand response and the development of the distribution system operator role. It will be vital to avoid making the regulations and commercial arrangements for these overly complex and expensive to operate. Ofgem should ensure that RIIO provides an appropriate balance of pressure and reward for the network companies to adopt new approaches.  The current review of P2/6, the network system reliability standard, offers an excellent opportunity to create a market for system flexibility whilst reducing costs and Ofgem should ensure this opportunity is taken. Beama looks forward to contributing to the Government’s summer consultation on smart power.  Beama members believe the UK can take the lead in developing modern, smart networks with benefits for UK customers and the creation of large export opportunities.  However, the government must understand that as well as strong encouragement for the adoption of innovative solutions, they must also address the need for a supportive framework for the UK supply chain, putting manufacturers at the core of innovation via the NIA/NIC and the responding to the need for skilled engineers to design, build and operate the network. Source link

Category: Construction Industry Today | Subscribe to Construction Industry Today Feed Published Tue, Jul 12th 2016 Glazing systems by Kawneer feature on several buildings at Swansea University’s new Bay Campus. Posted via Industry Today. Follow us on Twitter @IndustryToday Architectural aluminium systems by leading supplier Kawneer have played a key part in the design of the facade of what was the largest construction project in South Wales. Kawneer’s curtain walling, windows and doors feature on several buildings on Swansea University’s £450million Science and Innovation Bay Campus site, one of the few global universities with direct access onto a beach and its own seafront promenade, which is being delivered by the UK’s leading regeneration specialist and University partner St. Modwen. The project comprised a 1,000,000ft2 development in Neath Port Talbot on the exposed shores of Swansea bay, including 465,000ft2 of academic space and 1,462 student residences, associated retail space, highway works and on-site infrastructure for the 5,000 students and 1,000 staff. Designed to BREEAM standards, the Kawneer elements on Phase 1 by main contractor VINCI Construction UK were installed by approved specialist sub-contractors APiC UK and AB Glass. These include Kawneer’s AA®100 zone-drained curtain walling with 50mm sightlines, AA®541 top-hung, open-out casement windows and series 190 heavy-duty commercial entrance doors on the School of Management (pictured), Great Hall and Bay Library buildings. AA®110 mullion-drained curtain walling, with 65mm sightlines, is being installed on the School of Management. The education element apart, Kawneer’s AA®100 zone-drained curtain walling and AA®541 side-hung, open-out casement windows were also used on the student residences. In addition, Kawneer’s AA®100 zone-drained curtain walling and AA®541 top-hung casement windows were installed on the Institute of Structural Materials (home to Swansea Material Research and Testing Ltd ‘SMART’) and Engineering East (home to Engineering Manufacturing Centre) – part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund through the Welsh Government. Glyn Parker, associate with frequent Kawneer users Powell Dobson Architects, said the Kawneer systems were „key to the weathering and aesthetics of the buildings,“ with their aluminium make-up contributing to the BREEAM scoring. He added: “They were a key part of the architectural appreciation, meeting the requirements of the technical brief with pleasing aesthetics. Skilful detailing by the designers ensured the weathering characteristics were achieved.“ Typically constructed of steel frame cladding and precast masonry systems, the academic part of the 65-acre campus on the former BP storage and transit site is formed of low-rise, modern-style buildings incorporating teaching space and R&D facilities, the latter in partnership with international and national companies. The student residences are traditionally-styled collegiate blocks arranged in courtyard configurations with fabulous views across the Swansea bay area. Designed by architects Prophyrious (site master planners and concept architects) with Hopkins, the project is aimed at delivering world-leading research, innovation and education facilities to the city and surrounding community. Development work will continue up to 2020. ENDS St. Modwen is developing the Bay Campus with contractors VINCI Construction UK, Galliford Try and Swansea University’s framework contractor Leadbitter, a Bouygues UK company. Visit www.swan.ac.uk/campus-development Photo: Swansea University Source link