CITB Wales’ Partnership Manager Celia Williams will call for more investment in construction apprenticeships when she speaks at the Business Growth North Wales conference at Pontio, Bangor today. Ms Williams will say that investment in apprenticeships by employers is crucial to meet the growing demand for construction skills in North
The University of Reading has begun construction at Thames Valley Science Park at Shinfield in Berkshire which, once complete, will provide more than 800,000 sq ft (74,322 sq m) of new offices, labs and conferencing facilities. Savills is the appointed letting agent for the scheme. The University Vice-Chancellor, Sir David
23 September 2016 | Herpreet Kaur Grewal Property, residential, construction and services group Kier has announced “significant revenue growth to £1.7 billion, up 34 per cent”, according to the firm’s full-year results. The company said the results for the year ending 30 June 2016 were underpinned by “a raft of
Construction on an €8bn private project to redevelop a sprawling coastal site south of Athens as a tourism and leisure hub has been cleared to begin this year after Greece’s parliament gave its backing on Thursday. The leftwing Syriza-led government dropped its opposition to the scheme after the privatisation agency,
The BBC is looking for a contractor to build a new set for EastEnders, to replace plywood scenery with purpose-built permanent buildings. Above: Albert Square, Walford Estimated contract value is £15m. The current Albert Square set has lasted for more than 30 years, following the programme’s first broadcast on 19th
McLaren Construction has been awarded a cut and carve refurbishment and extension contract to transform the Camden Town Hall Annexe. Above: Three storeys will be added on top McLaren will convert the building into a 270 bedroomed boutique hotel for developer Crosstree Real Estate Partners. The hotel, designed by ORMS,
©AFP “Lower for longer” is a maxim widely bandied about in oil markets of late, amid a prevailing view that crude prices will remain at depressed levels for some time to come. But Argentina isn’t having any of it. In fact, Juan José Aranguren, Argentina’s oil minister, is wagering that
The Association for Project Safety is calling for every new UK construction projects that will be designed by people who are equipped with a range about bespoke skills, knowledge and experience that will be best suited to each project in order to help to mitigate the fire risk of the
Tricon Foodservice Consultants have been looking into all day dining, or 3 meal restaurant. This offering is thought to spell the end of the sensory fulfilling and dynamic meal experience and creating a new way in which a restaurant could be deemed as a success. Determining the appearance of a
A range of leading professionals from the thriving property and construction sector in the East Midlands were invited by rg+p, the multi-disciplinary architectural practice in order to celebrate the opening of the firm’s new Leicester office. The office was officially opened in last month and sees the architectural company located
CITB Wales’ Partnership Manager Celia Williams will call for more investment in construction apprenticeships when she speaks at the Business Growth North Wales conference at Pontio, Bangor today. Ms Williams will say that investment in apprenticeships by employers is crucial to meet the growing demand for construction skills in North Wales. Figures from the Construction Skills Network (CSN) forecast strong growth in the nation’s construction output – 7.1% over the period 2016-2020, leading to the creation of approximately 5,400 new jobs each year. “The construction projects in North Wales offer a fantastic opportunity for young people, career changers, and also construction workers who have left the industry to return,” says Celia. “A look at some of the construction projects planned for Anglesey alone – the £800m Orthius Park Biomass Plant; the £120m Land and Lakes residential development; and Wylfa Newydd – demonstrate the many opportunities available. “The £151m Wrexham Prison project has demonstrated how a large construction project can benefit the wider community, with seven out of 10 workers coming from North Wales. “The range of projects in the pipeline means companies are looking to recruit new workers and upskill their existing staff. If you’re looking for long-term career opportunities in North Wales, construction is a good bet.” Source link
The University of Reading has begun construction at Thames Valley Science Park at Shinfield in Berkshire which, once complete, will provide more than 800,000 sq ft (74,322 sq m) of new offices, labs and conferencing facilities. Savills is the appointed letting agent for the scheme. The University Vice-Chancellor, Sir David Bell, was joined by the board of directors, senior staff members from the university and the project team at a ceremony to mark the ground breaking of the Gateway Building, the first property to be built on the 50 acre (20 hectare) site by GRAHAM Construction. Due for completion in summer 2017, the 75,000 sq ft (6,967.7 sq m) landmark building is already attracting small and medium sized innovation led and technology based occupiers to the park. This follows the recent opening of the new six-lane bridge over the M4, which will provide access to the Science Park. Built by HOCHTIEF (UK) Construction and funded by a loan from the Homes & Communities Agency, the newly named University Bridge is now open to southbound traffic; remaining tie-in works to open the bridge to northbound traffic will be completed by late August. This is part of the key infrastructure works set to improve connectivity to the site. Jon Gardiner, Head of National Office Agency at Savills, comments: “This major investment into the Thames Valley Science Park will reinforce the already pre-eminent status of the Thames Valley as one of Europe’s strongest knowledge economies as a top location for innovation and technology companies. When complete, the park will provide a campus of flexible laboratory and office space, which will be able to accommodate up to 5,000 jobs, along with a wide selection of new housing around Shinfield for staff.” Dr David Gillham, Director of Thames Valley Science Park, adds: “Starting work on the Gateway Building is the first step in the University’s ambitious long term vision. “Thames Valley Science Park will generate jobs, promote innovation and stimulate growth while nurturing start-up business and helping small firms grow rapidly. We are proud to be investing in the region, a major powerhouse of the British economy.” Source link
23 September 2016 | Herpreet Kaur Grewal Property, residential, construction and services group Kier has announced “significant revenue growth to £1.7 billion, up 34 per cent”, according to the firm’s full-year results. The company said the results for the year ending 30 June 2016 were underpinned by “a raft of strong facilities management contract wins, worth a total of around £100 million”. Underlying profit from operations of £150 million were up 44 per cent, according to the results, and this included a full year’s contribution from Mouchel, an increased share of post-tax results of joint ventures in the property division and margin recovery supported by cost efficiencies. Underlying earnings per share were up 11 per cent at 106.7p, it added. Kier’s FM and business services operations have been brought together under one division, Kier Workplace Services, which launched on 1 July 2016 and provides end-to-end workplace solutions for public and private sector clients, encompassing FM, property and asset management and business processing. Steve Davies, managing director, Kier Workplace Service, said: “The provision of a broader FM offer provides enhanced opportunities with local authority clients, while the combined expertise and experience of our FM and business services teams means we can provide public and private sector clients with an end-to-end solution for their business processes, leaving them free to concentrate on their core business.” Yesterday, Kier announced two contract wins with Imperial War Museums and the Royal Shakespeare Company, worth a total of £13.2 million over the terms of the respective five- and three-year deals. Source link
Construction on an €8bn private project to redevelop a sprawling coastal site south of Athens as a tourism and leisure hub has been cleared to begin this year after Greece’s parliament gave its backing on Thursday. The leftwing Syriza-led government dropped its opposition to the scheme after the privatisation agency, Taiped, tightened the terms of a sale-and-lease agreement that the previous centre-right led administration had signed with an international investor consortium. Alecos Flambouraris, minister for co-ordination and a senior Syriza member, told parliament before Wednesday’s vote to ratify the project: “We are [still] against privatisation but we are in favour of the development of publicly owned real estate.” It would be the most ambitious development project ever undertaken in Greece. Few in Athens believed it would go ahead even with pressure from bailout creditors, given the snail-paced progress of privatisation under successive governments. The 620-hectare site of the disused former Athens international airport at Hellenikon — larger than the principality of Monaco — would be transformed into a luxury resort featuring six-star hotels, a marina, apartment blocks and shopping malls, surrounded by what would be Europe’s largest metropolitan park. The 200-hectare park would almost double green space in Athens, one of Europe’s most densely built capitals. Euclid Tsakalotos, finance minister, soothed fears expressed by Syriza officials that the developers would limit public access to the metropolitan park, telling parliament: “Even though the master plan as presented is not binding on the investors, the amended agreement says no restrictions will be imposed on the movement of citizens.” Syriza’s endorsement of the project has revived the Greek travel industry’s hopes of making Athens a high-end global tourist destination over the next decade. “Hopefully, this project will boost Greece’s image and help reignite investment in tourism, even though it’s not enough on its own to change the whole picture,” said Andreas Andreadis, president of the Greek tourism enterprises association SETE. Greece is on track to welcome a record 24.5m tourists this year, 1m more than in 2015. But income from tourism, which accounts for a quarter of national output, was expected to remain at last year’s level of €14bn, Mr Andreadis said. “[Visitor] numbers are rising because of last-minute bookings but this category of tourists on average spend less,” he said. The Hellenikon site was abandoned after staging a handful of sports events at the 2004 Athens summer Olympics. The rundown former terminal building this year became a temporary camp for several thousand refugees and migrants stranded in Greece after countries along the so-called Balkan route to central Europe closed their borders to asylum seekers. Greece’s Lamda Development, leading an investor group that includes the Chinese conglomerate Fosun and Al Maabar, a real estate company linked to Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, said on Thursday that the amended agreement had “acquired the force of law” after the parliamentary vote. The ratification by parliament of the Hellenikon agreement was among 15 reforms demanded by creditors in order to unlock €2.8bn of funding from Greece’s €86bn third bailout. The investor consortium agreed to pay a total of €915m in instalments by 2022 for a 99-year lease on the site. It would invest another €7bn over a 12-year period to complete the development. This year’s budget foresees revenues of €365m from the project The development is expected to create about 70,000 jobs during the construction phase and 35,000 permanent positions. Sample the FT’s top stories for a week You select the topic, we deliver the news. Source link
The BBC is looking for a contractor to build a new set for EastEnders, to replace plywood scenery with purpose-built permanent buildings. Above: Albert Square, Walford Estimated contract value is £15m. The current Albert Square set has lasted for more than 30 years, following the programme’s first broadcast on 19th February 1985. It was constructed using the ‘traditional’ scenic build method of applying a plaster brick covering to a plywood backing, which was in turn fixed to timber bearers and a structural frame with a short-term lifespan. The BBC is now looking to build a replica in permanent materials next year at its Elstree studios in Hertfordshire to create a set with a more ‘authentic’ East London feel that won’t be shown up by high definition broadcasting. Further information on the prequalification questionnaire can be found by clicking ‘Current Opportunities’ at https://bbc.bravosolution.co.uk. The response deadline is 14th October 2016. This article was published on 23 Sep 2016 (last updated on 23 Sep 2016). Source link
McLaren Construction has been awarded a cut and carve refurbishment and extension contract to transform the Camden Town Hall Annexe. Above: Three storeys will be added on top McLaren will convert the building into a 270 bedroomed boutique hotel for developer Crosstree Real Estate Partners. The hotel, designed by ORMS, will be formed through extensive internal and external renovation. Three new floors will be added on top of the existing structure in the form of a steel frame box. The building’s separated west stair core will also be removed to open up a new north-south route. The building is on the main Euston Road, opposite St Pancras International railway station, making it logistically challenging. McLaren Construction managing director Phil Pringle said: “This is the first contract McLaren Construction has secured with Crosstree Real Estate Partners. We are thrilled to be a part of this exciting project and look forward to increasing our position in the ‘high end’ hotel sector and bringing our expertise to deliver this quality boutique hotel.” This article was published on 4 Apr 2016 (last updated on 4 Apr 2016). Source link
©AFP “Lower for longer” is a maxim widely bandied about in oil markets of late, amid a prevailing view that crude prices will remain at depressed levels for some time to come. But Argentina isn’t having any of it. In fact, Juan José Aranguren, Argentina’s oil minister, is wagering that during 2016 the price of locally produced oil will reach $67.50 a barrel. With May Brent crude futures trading at $40.90 — up from $34 in late February, the level set by Mr Aranguren betokens either uncanny foresight or rash optimism. More On this topic EM Squared Mr Aranguren, the former head of Royal Dutch Shell in Argentina, announced the government’s buy-in price of $67.50/barrel, around which Argentina’s oil industry will be organised, in January. Any producer is entitled to sell locally-pumped oil to refiners at this price. A report by FT Confidential Research, a unit of the Financial Times, shows that while other national oil companies in the region are retrenching, Argentina’s state-controlled YPF continues to invest to address the country’s energy deficit. Already, Argentina’s bullish stance on oil is turning the nation into the only potential bright spot among Latin America’s oil producing nations, now darkened by the global downturn and battered by huge losses. Brazil’s Petrobras lost $10.2bn in the fourth quarter of last year and Mexico’s Pemex $9.6bn in the same period. Mr Aranguren’s presence and the (widely forecast) appointment of Miguel Ángel Gutiérrez, formerly head of telecoms company Telefónica, as the new head of YPF, show the new business-friendly government of president Mauricio Macri is taking an energetic grip on the industry. Argentina’s enormous shale oil and gas reserves help further explain why oilmen and the oilfield service companies that support the industry are making tracks for Buenos Aires. The relative stability of YPF’s budget plans compared with peers in Brazil, Mexico and Venezuela — together with the generous buy-in price set by the new administration — add to Argentina’s appeal for oil majors. True, YPF is not immune to dwindling oil revenues. The company reported its first quarterly loss for at least a decade in the fourth quarter of 2015. However, this is still good going. Pemex, Mexico’s national oil company, hasn’t recorded a profit since 2012 — notching up its 13th consecutive loss in the final quarter of last year. YPF’s overall investment fell last year to 61.2bn pesos ($4.2bn), $2bn less than originally planned. However, the company plans to cut spending by a less savage 25 per cent in 2016, according to a March announcement. For oil majors eyeing Argentina, the drawcard is the vast onshore reserve of shale oil and gas, widely believed to be the largest shale reservoir outside of the US (see graphic). Argentina is already the biggest producer of unconventional energy outside North America. However, FTCR’s report cautioned that companies still risk overestimating the shale opportunity given the high cost of production and the fact Argentina is still in the proof-of-concept stage of development. Lucinda Elliott covers Latin America for FT Confidential Research 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
The Association for Project Safety is calling for every new UK construction projects that will be designed by people who are equipped with a range about bespoke skills, knowledge and experience that will be best suited to each project in order to help to mitigate the fire risk of the completed building. The Association for Project Safety, or APS, has made this all in a response to The London Fire Brigade’s recent assertion that, unless the construction industry started to take fire safety more seriously, another Grenfell Tower tragedy cannot be discounted. A spokesperson for the London Fire Brigade has said that it has taken a tragedy on such an enormous scale like Grenfell for everyone to take fire safety seriously and then listen to what the Brigade has been saying to them for year about the required aptitude and skill for building design. The President of the APS, Bobby Chakravarthy, has echoed the remarks made by the Brigade spokesperson, and added that all construction projects are different, but each one needs to be designed by people who have the right blend of skills, knowledge and experience for that particular project. The Association agrees with the London Fire service’s submission to the recent review of fire and building regulations. Fire safety is a vital part of construction and should never be seen as an off the shelf package that can be bolted on to the construction design. The key to an effective and fire safe design in the use of intrinsic fire safety elements that can then lead to a reduced risk of fire for the people living in and working in the buildings, but for firefighters and other emergency services who may be called out in the event of an incident. The construction industry needs to collectively examine how they minimise fire risk in order to avoid another Grenfell Tower incident.
Tricon Foodservice Consultants have been looking into all day dining, or 3 meal restaurant. This offering is thought to spell the end of the sensory fulfilling and dynamic meal experience and creating a new way in which a restaurant could be deemed as a success. Determining the appearance of a successful restaurant could be simplified to the being busy and having customers who are inspired to return. Tricon are the largest specialist foodservice consultancy in the UK and the Middle East. The company has worked with a range of leading architects in the past in order to offer a range of different services such as consultancy, guidance and advice on the strategic, operational and financial issues that are connected to the foodservice and hospitality operations of the built environment. When looking to design or create a restaurant, ensuring that the layout of the space is conducive to success can rely on design direction and support, a concept that could cover every and any aspect. In order to create a successful venture, Edward Harvey, the Food & Beverage Concept Director & GM of Tricon Dubai has created a list of common mistakes that should be avoided in order to create a successful all day dining experience. Firstly, it is vital to have strategy as well as vision, as the accompanying business and strategy for the creative restaurant vision is necessary in order to make a business successful. The creation of clear goals and objectives need to be solidified throughout the organisation. Next, it is vital to ensure that the design direction is not dictated entirely by the interior design experts, as there is the risk of a lack of substance that would be needed to create a successful food and beverage sensory experience for guests. Following on from this, there needs to be a concept and direction for the restaurant, with the final design considering the operating meal periods as well as the consumer market, financial modelling and the restaurant food and beverage programming. Another mistake that is made with the all-day dining experience is the use of a buffet, that fails to create an engaging dining experience, with the delivery of hot and cold structures filled with food and installed with sneeze guards and heat lamps is the go to for international hospitality operators where regionally expectations can differ and it has been widely assumed that the creation of a buffet is better and easier to execute. Finally, a restaurant needs an identity that consumers are able to trust and experience an enjoyable dining experience with. Also, today diners use social media to document and share their experience with a wider audience than ever before, therefore this is the perfect opportunity to create a unique and memorable housing experience.
A range of leading professionals from the thriving property and construction sector in the East Midlands were invited by rg+p, the multi-disciplinary architectural practice in order to celebrate the opening of the firm’s new Leicester office. The office was officially opened in last month and sees the architectural company located at Waterloo House in the city centre. The new Leicester office has been converted by rg+p into approximately 6,500 sq. ft. of open plan, design-led office space that will be able to cater for as many as 100 people. The new office includes a range of dedicated meeting rooms that have been fitted with the latest touch screen technology, a central collaboration space to be used for presentations, workshops and seminars as well as a kitchen and breakout zone that has games tables and a welcoming reception area. The new office has led to the complete transformation of how the company operates. Discussing the decision to move, the Director or rp+g, James Badley has said that part of the move was to create more space for the growing business, as the company now employs 96 members of staff across two different office locations. However, the main intention of the move was to re-imagine the work environment in order to be more inclusive for clients and colleagues. The integration of interactive technology means that the company is instantly more connected, and allows clients to better engage with the working drawings while also being able to work alongside their London team in a situation that emulates face-to-face communication. The creation of an open plan office allows sub teams to work more closely together. The result has been a greater amount of expertise drawn from their landscaping, interiors, animation, planning and architectural divisions drawn into one scheme. In order to celebrate the new scheme rp+g invited clients and contacts for an evening drinks reception which included a tour of the premises, technology demonstrations/workshops and a presentation about the architectural firm’s refreshed approach to working.
