UK Export Finance (UKEF), the export credit agency, has appointed Richard Simon-Lewis as head of civil, infrastructure and energy. Above: Richard Simon-Lewis Richard Simon-Lewis joins UKEF after a career in corporate finance. Most recently, he was finance director for Capture Power’s White Rose carbon capture and storage project, for which he led the project’s financing, structuring and capital formation before its collapse after backers pulled out. Before this, he led Lloyds Banking Group’s renewable energy project finance function from 2009 to 2013. Previous employers include Credit Lyonnais, Abbey National, NatWest and the Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan. Of his new job, he said: “UKEF is renowned for its innovative and flexible support for exporters, and for many reasons this is a hugely exciting time to join the department. I look forward to helping even more companies in the civil, infrastructure and energy sectors succeed in the global marketplace.” UKEF head of dusiness Gordon Welsh said: “He brings a wealth of experience to the role and will lead the team to deliver even more competitive and pioneering support to exporters in these important sectors.”       This article was published on 22 Sep 2016 (last updated on 22 Sep 2016). Source link

Plug is pulled on Help to Buy The Government has confirmed that the Help to Buy mortgage guarantee scheme will close to new loans on 31 December 2016, as previously advertised. The scheme was introduced in 2013 to increase the availability of high loan to value mortgages. According to the Government, confidence has now returned to the market with an increasing number of lenders offering 90-95% loans outside the scheme. The government will continue offer the highly popular Help to Buy equity loan and ISA schemes. In a letter to the Bank of England on 29th September,  the Chancellor Philip Hammond confirmed the scheme would not be extended. Paul Smee, Council of Mortgage Lenders Director General, said: “Help to Buy continues to give a welcome leg-up to many creditworthy buyers who may not otherwise have been able to get a foothold on the property ladder. The scheme has helped buyers right across the country, including a high proportion of younger borrowers and first-time buyers. Mortgages for those with small deposits are now becoming more common outside the scheme and Help to Buy has been a significant help for buyers when they were less readily available.” Stewart Baseley, executive chairman of the Home Builders Federation, said: “Help to Buy continues to drive demand for new build homes by making home ownership more affordable and realistic. Its success is directly leading to more homes being built as it provides the confidence developers need to invest in the land and people required to increase their output.” Richard Sexton, Director at e.surv comments: “To date, the government has demonstrated enthusiasm in its appetite to support the housing market. This U-turn by the Chancellor begs the question of whether a change of emphasis is afoot.  A fluid housing market is key to the overall health of the economy, and supporting first time buyers onto the property ladder is critical to achieving that.    The early success of the scheme led many high street lenders to include higher LTV products in their offerings. With this in mind, the withdrawal of Help to Buy may not have a dramatic an impact on the market.  However, lenders who made plans to include the scheme as part of their product range may now have to revise their strategies.   It will be interesting to see how this move affects transaction levels over the coming months, and how lenders and borrowers alike react to the change. While the housing market is certainly on the road to recovery, we are not out of the woods yet, and the industry and the government need to work together to ensure the market remains accessible to those looking to take their first steps onto the ladder.” Source link

Tarmac has a new cement packing facility at its Tunstead cement site, near Buxton, Derbyshire. Above: Bagging Mastercrete cement Tarmac said that its bespoke Haver & Boecker 10-spout Adams 2000 plant, the first of its kind in the UK, enhanced its packing capacity. The plant will manufacture Tarmac’s range of plastic packed and tubbed cement products for merchant and retail customers. With significant storage capacity, the plant will also be used to house the company’s new half-size 12.5kg mixer bags, launched earlier this year to provide the right amount needed for a cement mixer. Kevan Greenhalgh, packed business manager for Tarmac’s cement business, said: “This new plant is an exciting development for us. It enhances our existing UK-wide supply capacity, ensuring we continue to offer customers and end users superior packed cement products, service and supply. As a business with a strong culture of innovation, the plant will use some of our most pioneering developments, such as plastic packaging, which is now being adopted by others in the market. The launch comes as the site celebrates its 50th anniversary of cement production and coincides with the recent upgrading of Tunstead’s rail freight infrastructure.     This article was published on 4 Oct 2016 (last updated on 4 Oct 2016). Source link