In a hammer blow to the UK’s renewable energy industry, two of nation’s leading clean energy firms have gone into administration within hours of each other, and a third has sold his UK business, with two of them blaming the government about-turn on energy policy. Nearly a thousand staff have been laid off as the Mark Group, one of the UK’s leading solar-panel installers, fell into administration yesterday. On the day same, Climate Energy, which describes itself as ‘the UK’s largest provider of energy efficiency solutions’, posted a notice on their website saying they have gone into administration. Speaking to Greenpeace’s Energydesk, world-leading solar clean tech giant SunEdison, which sold the Mark Group just months after acquiring it, blamed the government’s ‘draconian policy proposals’ which it said ‘will essentially eliminate the solar PV market in the UK’. The Mark Group management told local media that ‘recent changes to Government policy on energy efficiency put a lot of pressure on the business.’ The news comes just a day after the prime minister, David Cameron, boasted that there are “more foreign investment flooding into our country than anywhere else in Europe” in his speech at the Conservative party conference. It followed a speech by George Osborne in which the chancellor insisted on the need to build more infrastructure projects. In a further embarrassment to government claims that consumers are their top priority, new Bloomberg data has shown the costs of wind and solar keep falling. It also shows onshore wind is now the cheapest source of power in the UK. Commenting on the latest development, Greenpeace UK chief scientist Dr Doug Parr said: “For all his rhetoric about building, it’s not scaffolding George Osborne is bringing to Britain’s clean energy sector but a wrecking ball. Evidence is growing that the Chancellor’s policies are putting people out of jobs, damaging investment, and harming one of the country’s most promising industries. “This should be a wake-up call for David Cameron, who faces international embarrassment ahead of crucial climate talks. As prime minister, he has a duty to leave internal party politics aside and rein back a rogue Chancellor who’s putting investment, jobs, and growth at risk.” Last month, a report by financial consultancy EY said the government’s policies on renewable energy threatened to undermine investor confidence in fracking and nuclear projects, as well as in the green sector. In a strongly worded report, the firm said the Conservatives had sentenced the renewables industry to “death by a thousand cuts.” Friends of the Earth energy campaigner Alasdair Cameron added: “These huge job losses are likely to be the first of many as Government attacks on efforts to build a low-carbon economy begin to bite. “Government policy threatens over 20,000 UK solar jobs – with many more at risk in other green sectors. “It seems the Treasury is happier to give sky-high subsidies to Chinese nuclear power, than support British solar. “The renewable energy industry around the world is booming and costs are falling rapidly, but the UK government seems to be stuck in the wrong century.” Source link

The Savills Manchester team was out in force at the North West Business Insider’s Property Awards last night (12th May) where senior director and former head of office Patrick Joynson was named Property Personality of the Year. The award for industrial agency of the year also went to Savills, with judges stating the team’s transactions are ‘impossible to ignore’.  Completing the hat trick was the award for property deal of the year, which Savills won for its £250 million sale of a 50% stake in MediaCityUK in 2015.  The accolades didn’t stop there, with Manchester-based teams also named runner up for Investment agent of the year and shortlisted for Office agent of the year. Patrick established the Manchester office in 1996 along with Mark Ridley and Peter Mallinder, setting up the highly successful office agency team based there.  During his five years as head of office, he also oversaw its expansion from 120 to 200 staff and had unrivalled involvement in landmark schemes such as Piccadilly Gardens, First Street and One St Peter’s Square.  Judges said: “Patrick’s wit and warmth has pervaded the property industry for over 25 years and stretches far beyond the confines of the North West.  He is a key figure in creating the narrative and the buzz which gives other the confidence to invest either in buildings or people in our region.” James Evans, head of Savills Manchester, adds: “This was an exceptional evening and one which made us all very proud to be part of the Savills team.  I’d like to congratulate Patrick and all of the others from the Manchester office who’s hard work and dedication was rewarded last night.” Mark Ridley, CEO of UK & Europe, adds: “The team continues to go from strength to strength and Patrick’s personal recognition was so well deserved.” Source link

The surprise decision by the Bank of England not to announce a cut in the UK’s already historic low interest rates is unlikely to have much impact on the property market with some experts believing it could boost real estate. Even if the bank rate had been cut to 0.25% from 0.5% there would have been little room for improvement, according to David Whittaker, managing director of Mortgages for Business, who pointed out that mortgage rates are already at record lows and there is little room for them to go much lower. ‘Inter lender competition has played a significant part in this and with yields on swaps and UK gilts remaining near record lows, mortgage borrowers will continue to benefit from enhanced affordability for some time. Property investors with sound financial planning and a long term outlook are therefore well placed to take advantage of continued generous pricing,’ he said. ‘Property prices could be a little bumpy in the short term and the Monetary Policy Committee has highlighted a weakening of activity in the housing market. This might trim some short term capital gains on offer but in the long term, the outlook for investors remains positive. Supply of housing in the UK remains significantly out of sync with demand which will support price increases over coming years. Furthermore, high levels of demand for rental accommodation will provide landlords with strong yields,’ he added. Lucian Cook, Savills UK head of residential research, explained that the two year fixed rate has already levelled out. ‘We may now see lenders margins edge up. However, this is likely to be no more than a squeeze on affordability for mortgaged home owners, suggesting that what happens to the housing market in the short term will have more to do with sentiment than the cost of debt,’ he said. ‘The cost of borrowing will become more important once we see the economic impact of the decision to leave the EU, but for now the Bank still has the option of reducing rates up its sleeve,’ he added. ‘A greater level of political stability following the appointment of the new Prime Minister probably helped to steer the decision to hold interest rates, according to Andrew Burrell, head of forecasting at JLL. ‘This can also be taken as a move to reassure the market that the Bank will not take knee jerk reactions and will remain calm under pressure. The market itself is also operating at low rate levels which may have removed the urgency to cut rates this month,’ he pointed out. ‘Indeed, interest rates continue to soften along the yield curve with most maturities at record lows. A cut shouldn’t be ruled out in August, however, after the market has been given more time to adjust and longer term sentiment is clearer,’ he concluded. Adam Challis, head of residential research at JLL, pointed out that even if there had been a cut it was unlikely that this would have been passed on by lenders and a rate move could have been perceived as a rush to judgement and may also have sent the wrong signal to the market at this stage. ‘Improved housing market activity supports labour mobility, which may become more important during a period of weaker economic uncertainty. As a result, support for the housing market will remain a key priority for the Bank of England going forward,’ he added. Meanwhile, Jean Liggett, managing director of property investment consultancy Properties of the World, said that as a result of the decision clients have said they are keen to get on with buying properties. ‘Many say that regardless of a hold in interest rates, they are still losing money in real terms by keeping it in the bank as inflation is higher than the interest they have and will be earning,’ she explained. ‘We believe however there will be an interest rate cut following the Bank of England’s next scheduled meeting in three weeks’ time which will result in a further increase in enquiries from both first-time buyers and new and experienced investors alike,’ she said. The firm has also been seeing an increase in enquiries for commercial properties after the Referendum. ‘In an uncertain market following the Brexit vote, investors like the fact that hotels, student accommodation and care homes offer fixed returns of five or more years and the return is over twice what they would get from most residential buy to lets,’ she explained. ‘In the current climate where buyers feel greater uncertainty, fixed returns offer peace of mind and mitigate risk. Buyers know for example that they will get a circa 8% return year in and year out with a care home, student accommodation or hotel room compared to residential buy to let where the returns are not fixed and hence could fluctuate greatly year on year,’ she added. According to Ben Madden, managing director of the London estate agents Thorgills, no change in the base rate may give the property market more of a boost than if the Bank had cut. ‘It’s by no means business as usual in the property market but for rates to remain unchanged suggests the Bank of England believes there is no reason to panic. For the time being anyway. An August cut is still very possible but the Bank of England has clearly decided the appointment of Theresa May has brought in a degree of political stability that simply wasn’t there a week ago,’ he said. ‘On the ground, we are not seeing panic in the property market. In fact, since the EU referendum result came in, there has been a small spike in new sales instructions and an increase in buyer registrations. The implosion of the property market simply hasn’t materialised. People have to get on with their lives and whatever happens, it’s now almost certain that interest rates will stay very low for the foreseeable future,’ he concluded. Peter Williams, executive director of the Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association (IMLA), pointed out that regulation of the

EnQuest has reduced operating costs by 50 per cent since the collapse in oil prices two years ago in a sign of the aggressive steps being taken by North Sea producers to remain competitive and control rising debts. The UK company said costs had fallen from $46 a barrel in the first half of 2014 to $23 in the same period this year. More On this topic IN Oil & Gas EnQuest also revealed a further $150m cut in expected capital expenditure on its new Kraken field, east of the Shetland Islands, on top of the $425m already saved on a project now expected to cost $2.6bn. Deep spending cuts have been crucial to keeping EnQuest and other heavily indebted independent producers such as Premier Oil afloat as prices have fallen from more than $100 per barrel to below $50 in the past two years. Neil McCulloch, president of EnQuest’s operations in the North Sea, said the company had found more efficient ways of drilling and “relentlessly” sought savings from suppliers. The cuts could not prevent EnQuest’s net debt rising 9 per cent from last year to $1.7bn in the first half as the company pushed ahead with its Kraken development while contending with weak prices for its existing production. But Amjad Bseisu, chief executive, insisted the company could weather the debt storm until Kraken delivered its first oil in the first half of next year, after which capital expenditure and debts should begin to fall. EnQuest said it was holding “constructive discussions” with creditors about possible debt restructuring and was looking at potential asset sales; this included talks with Delek Group of Israel over the proposed disposal of a 20 per cent stake in Kraken. Kraken, 70.5 per cent owned by EnQuest with the remainder held by Cairn Energy, is one of the biggest new heavy oilfields under development in the North Sea, with projected peak production of 50,000 barrels a day. EnQuest has pushed ahead with the project against the backdrop of declining investment in the North Sea as the ageing basin battles to remain competitive. Mhairidh Evans, analyst at Wood Mackenzie, the energy consultancy, said operating costs across the North Sea industry fell by an average of 20-30 per cent between 2014 and 2015. With the easiest savings already made, the focus was now on structural changes that could produce lasting improvements in productivity. Examples included operators sharing services and equipment such as helicopters and boats. Analysts said EnQuest was doing a good job controlling costs and maximising output, with production up 43 per cent in the first half at 42,520 barrels per day. This helped increase earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation by 7 per cent to $242.9m. Michael Alsford, analyst at Citi, warned that EnQuest’s stretched balance sheet remained a concern. The company was “likely to require additional drawdowns from its revolving credit facility and a further waiver of covenants if oil prices remain below $50 per barrel through 2017,” 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

A North West NHS Foundation Trust has been fined over its inappropriate management of the use of bedrails at its hospitals.  Following a guilty plea in Carlisle Magistrates’ Court the District Judge referred the case to Carlisle Crown Court for sentencing.  HSE told the court that University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust failed to ensure that they managed the risk of bedrails, which is a fundamental element of patient safety for which extensive and comprehensive guidance on risk, management and policies existed.  An initial HSE visit to the Trust in February 2012 identified issues with bedrail management, and a second visit in May 2012 resulted in the service of an Improvement Notice (IN) on bedrail management and a letter with recommendations. The Trust identified actions to improve bedrail management, but failed to implement them. When the Trust was inspected in July 2013, inappropriate bedrails were found to still be in use and management systems were not appropriate to manage the risk. A further IN on identification and maintenance of third party bedrails was served.  The Court was told that the Trust had a policy on bedrail management but did not have the systems or procedures to underpin the implementation of the policy.  Elements of the failure were the lack of a system to identify and inspect third party bedrails; the lack of planned preventative maintenance on manual beds and bedrails; a lack of an effective system to rectify faults with inappropriate bedrails; lack of provision of appropriate training, and a lack of procedures to audit and monitor the effectiveness of the bedrail management system.  Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust, that has its headquarters at Westmorland General Hospital, Burton Road, Kendal, Cumbria, admitted breaching Section 3 (1) of the Health & Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.and was fined £100,000 and ordered to pay full costs of £18,465.  After the hearing, HSE Inspector Carol Forster said: “The need for adequate risk assessment and management of third party bedrails has been recognised in the healthcare sector for a number of years and guidance and advice has been published by the relevant bodies to this effect.  “Bedrails are used to protect vulnerable people from falling out of bed but the risks from inappropriate use of bedrails include the risk of entrapment by the head or neck, potentially leading to injury or asphyxiation.  “In this case there was a lack of management systems to recognise the risk of bedrails, apply standards and safety alert information, and a corporate failure to prioritise the need to manage bedrails effectively. “The Trust failed to comply with the expected standards and I hope this case will send a strong message to others with responsibilities for bedrail management.” http://www.hse.gov.uk/healthservices/bed-rails.htm Notes to Editors:  The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. It aims to reduce work-related death, injury and ill health. It does so through research, information and advice, promoting training; new or revised regulations and codes of practice, and working with local authority partners by inspection, investigation and enforcement. www.hse.gov.uk  More about the legislation referred to in this case can be found at: www.legislation.gov.uk/   HSE news releases are available at http://press.hse.gov.uk Journalists should approach HSE press office with any queries on regional press releases. Source link

Image: House of Trace by Tsuruta Architects © Tim Crocker A beautiful and unconventional extension to a London terraced house designed by Tsuruta Architects has been awarded the 2016 Stephen Lawrence Prize. The prize, set up in memory of Stephen Lawrence who was setting out on the road to becoming an architect before his tragic and untimely death in 1993, and supported by the Marco Goldschmied Foundation, is intended to encourage fresh architecture talent and reward the best examples of projects that have a construction budget of less than £1 million. Stephen Lawrence Prize founder Marco Goldschmied said: “It is always encouraging to see a vibrant young practice recognised through the Stephen Lawrence Prize and I am delighted that Tsuruta Architects is this year’s winner. House of Trace is a clever and creative response to the terraced house extension – congratulations to the architects and clients for their combined talent and ambition.” ENDS Notes to editors: 1. For further press information please contact Callum Reilly in the RIBA press office callum.reilly@riba.org or 020 7307 3757 2. House of Trace citation: “House of Trace is a surprising and delightful rethink of the terraced house extension. The play between old and new creates intriguing and playful spatial relationships within the house. The central void, marking the split between the old and new, forms a focal point where living and communal spaces have a direct connection to the sleeping and private spaces upstairs. “The House of Trace represents the merging of two cultures (British and Japanese). The architects wanted to keep a sense of everyday memory, while simultaneously allowing the new intervention to have its own identity. The demolition of the original extension and its replacement called for an intervention that can be read as a part of the original main building without replicating classical vocabulary or gesture.” Comment by Stephen Lawrence Prize judge Niall McLaughlin: “The brief for a typical London back extension has been interpreted in an unusually inventive way. The rear return has been retained and enlarged. The architect has painstakingly preserved the very ordinary construction of stock bricks and brought it into a tense, even mannered, relationship with the new work. It allows a strong charge to exist between continuity and change. “In the interior, most of the new construction is marked by the systematic use of CNC-cut plywood, bound together with simple tenon joints. This technique extends to many elements, from spatial enclosure to furniture making. It allows an elaborate interplay to develop between the aged and weathered elements of the old house and the systematic, prefabricated nature of the new work. The plywood is subtly marked with routed assembly instructions and the occasional stray cartoon character. “This conflation of the systematic and the winsome has a peculiarly Japanese quality that playfully pulls against the stolid character of the Victorian shell. The architect has a very sure sense of situation and every room feels easy and natural. The balance between quotidian domestic life and architectural poise is highly successful. It reminds us that invention thrives in intimate contact with ordinary life.” 3. The judges for the 2016 Stephen Lawrence Prize were Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon, Doreen Lawrence CBE, the mother of Stephen Lawrence; Marco Goldschmied, RIBA Past President and Founder of the Marco Goldschmied Foundation, which established the Stephen Lawrence Prize in 1998; and Niall McLaughlin, founder of Niall McLaughlin Architects, which won the Stephen Lawrence Prize in 2015. 4. Previous winners of the Stephen Lawrence Prize include The Fishing Hut by Niall McLaughlin Architects (2015); House No 7 by Denizen Works (2014); Montpelier Community Nursery by AY Architects (2013); Kings Grove by Duggan Morris Architects (2012); and St Patrick’s Primary School Library and Music Room by Coffey Architects (2011). 5. The Architects’ Journal is media partner for the RIBA awards, including the Stephen Lawrence Prize. For more information visit: www.architectsjournal.co.uk 6. The Royal Institute of British Architects (@RIBA) is a global professional membership body that serves its members and society in order to deliver better buildings and places, stronger communities and a sustainable environment. www.architecture.com   Posted on Thursday 6th October 2016 Source link

Industry professionals believe Brexit would be bad for the UK’s energy system, a survey by the Energy Institute has found. On eight out of nine issues – from supporting renewable energy to improving energy efficiency – the majority of respondents said leaving the EU but remaining in the single energy market would have a “negative” or “very negative” effect on Britain’s energy system. Only on supporting oil and gas production did the professionals surveyed think the UK would be better off leaving the EU.  Supporting innovation and research was the issue for which the most respondents thought Brexit would be detrimental. 120 said leaving the EU would have a negative or very negative impact in this area, compared to 35 who thought it would have a positive or very positive impact. Addressing climate change and sustainability came second (116 to 27), followed by securing energy supplies (115 to 30). Energy Institute president professor Jim Skea said: “An overwhelming majority of contributors to the Barometer foresee negative effects on the UK energy system in the event that the UK were to leave the EU. In terms of securing energy supplies, renewable energy development, climate change and sustainability, and air quality, about four times as many respondents anticipate negative effects.” The Energy Institute also asked about the potential risks and opportunities in three different scenarios: Britain remaining in the EU; Britain leaving but remaining in the single energy market; and Britain exiting both. Across all three scenarios energy security was highlighted as a major concern, with it topping the cited risks for both of the leave scenarios. Conversely it was also highlighted as an opportunity in all three. Britain leaving both the EU and the single energy market was the situation most frequently cited as being a risk to energy security. This concern is supported by the perception from respondents that leaving the EU would have a negative impact on support for new nuclear and renewable power generation; the fourth most cited negative effect. The report follows comments from energy minister Andrea Leadsom this week that warned the UK’s energy security will be “compromised” by the European Union if Britain votes to remain.   eration. Source link

Average Grade A rents in London’s City Fringe market have increased by 87% in the last six years according to international real estate advisor Savills with the best new buildings now trading at a discount of only 3.5% to the same quality of building in the City Core (a saving of circa. £1 per sq ft). The once ‘cheap’ office location of Central London has matured into a leading global tech address and, with a number of new mixed use developments underway and more planned, Savills says its success is set to continue. According to Savills research, the first quarter of 2016 saw average Grade A rents in the City Fringe reach £59.42 per sq ft (compared to £61.60 per sq ft for non-tower Grade A office buildings in the City Core).  Accelerated by new office developments including Derwent’s White Collar Factory and Helical Bar / Crosstree’s Bower Development, both EC1, and key deals to Adobe, BGL Group, Stripe Limited and CBS Interactive. Ben Raywood, associate in the research team at Savills, comments: “The City Fringe emerged as a fall-out office location offering lower rents to the prime City Core and West End markets. It has grown in tandem with the success of the tech sector to become the phenomenon of London’s offices market and a globally recognised business location. Landlords that have adapted buildings to suit these new generations of prevalent tech and digital occupiers have seen the best rents and the ‘right’ buildings are likely to continue seeing strong rents and possible growth.” The rental increase in the City Fringe, according to Savills 12 Cities report,  is not unique to London. The research shows tech, creative and digital office rents in Hong Kong and San Francisco rose by 52% and 48% respectively between December 2008 and December 2015, while worldwide rents in this sector increased on average by 12.8%. In cities including Sydney, Dubai and Paris the rental gap between tech occupiers and the financial sector, typical of the City Core, has already closed. Paul Bennett, director in the Central London team at Savills, adds: “We think cost-savings are no-longer the main driver for businesses locating to the City Fringe; its vibrant neighbourhood, with an ever stronger tenant mix and an abundance of retail and leisure, is unrivalled in London. Occupiers looking to attract young, bright talent will continue taking space there and pay the price to do so.” Meanwhile Savills says occupiers driven by a desire for cheaper office space, once the product of the City Fringe, will look to new neighbourhoods giving way to a series of new office markets. Investors who can read the headwinds, act quickly and provide the right environments for this sector will see the best returns. Source link