If you have ever wondered what it’s like to spend a night sleeping rough in a car park, then take a look at CEF’s latest video which shows a group of their senior managers doing just that. Part of the Big Sleepout, the group spent a cold and wet November evening sleeping rough to raise money for St Basils, a charity that works with young people aged 16-25 who are homeless or at risk of homelessness across the Midlands.   The video shows how the group coped with wind and rain throughout the evening, but more importantly it raises the issue of homelessness amongst young people. Charlie Beddows, managing director of CEF, says: “The evening was a reality check for all of us but it was for an extremely worthwhile cause and I hope that this video will help to raise awareness of the great work which St Basil’s does. St Basil’s has helped over 4,000 people to break the cycle of homelessness in the last year alone and they continue to provide much needed support to young people who find themselves in this situation.” Three tonnes of cardboard and 1600m2 of plastic sheeting were put to use in the course of the evening to construct a variety of shelters which included a CEF branch and van. But as the CEF team discovered, these were no match for the elements and as the rain continued to pour the appreciation of what it is like to be homeless really sunk in. Beddows continued: “The community spirit throughout the evening was fantastic and this is really apparent in the video which shows everyone working together to survive the evening. It also highlights the point that it does take a whole community to look after homeless young people and that only by supporting charities like St Basil’s can we hope to make a difference.” The CEF team raised over £24,000 by taking part in the Big Sleepout. To see how they got on and to experience the challenges young people have to face while living on the streets, click on the video link below. http://www.cef.co.uk/blog/1727-2015-st-basils-bigsleepout If you want to make a donation, you still can by visiting the CEF Just Giving page: justgiving.com/cefsleepout/, or you can find more information about the charity at Stbasils.co.uk Source link

Keepmoat, Lakehouse, Lovell, Mitie, Seddon Construction and United Living are among the firms that will compete for work through the frameworks. Fusion21 procurement manager Nick Verburg said: “Achieving a place on these frameworks is significant, as they will not be renewed until 2020. “Part of our evaluation process measured the ability of bidders to deliver social value – and so Fusion21 members accessing these frameworks will benefit from working with contractors and suppliers who are committed to the creation and delivery of social value in local communities. “This is in addition to our members gaining greater efficiency savings of up to 30 per cent on market prices.” Jon Edgar, bid director at Forrest, which won a place on both frameworks, said: “Our relationship with Fusion21 dates back to 2003 so we are really pleased to secure a place on this latest round of frameworks to continue working in the partnership.” Service, Maintenance & Installation of Heating Systems Framework Aaron Services British Gas Services BSW Building Services Burgin C & J Heating and Plumbing Concept Heating Systems Craig Hickin Plumbing & Heating DFP Services Dodd Group Midlands EON Fieldway Supplies FSG Property Services Gas Advisory Services (Phoenix Compliancy) Gas Contract Services Hadfield & Britain Heatforce Wales Helena Partnerships Hewer FM Housing Maintenance Solutions HT Forrest Huyton Plumbing & Heating Icon Training & Assessment K&T Heating Services Keepmoat Regeneration Liberty Gas Mitie Morgan Lambert Orton Mechanical Services P&R Installation Pacifica Group TA 0800 Repair Parker Bromley Pennington Choices PH Jones Phoenix Gas Services Princebuild Robert Heath Heating Rothwell Plumbing Services Sayes Service Seddon Construction Sure Maintenance T Brown Group T Jolly Services The AM Group The Sovini Group TSG Building Services Tudor Northwest Vinshire Plumbing and Heating Warmer Energy Services Wheldons Heating Contracts Services Planned Maintenance Framework A Connolly AW Byrne Contractors  AD Construction Group (Architectural Decorators) Allied Roofing & Construction Amber Construction Services Anthony Dever Construction Axis Europe BAAS Construction Bell Decorating Group Bullock/United Living (North) CLC Contractors Craig Hickin Plumbing & Heating D R Jones Yeovil DLP Services (Northern) Durkan DW Contractors (Oxford) EFT Systems Emanuel Whittaker Esh Construction Foster Property Maintenance Frank Rogers Building Contractor G M Jones Harding Building Services Herbert T Forrest House Line Building Services Housing Maintenance Solutions Jackson and Jackson and Sons Jistcourt Keepmoat Regeneration Lakehouse Contracts Lawtech Group Lovell Partnerships Masher Brothers  Matthews and Tannert Mi-space (UK) Mitie Property Services Mulalley and Company Neo Property Solutions Novus Property Solutions Orton Mechanical Services P Casey & Co Penny Lane Builders PiLON Richmond Joiners and Builders Rothwell Plumbing Services Sovini Property Services Top Notch Contractors UPS Building and Maintenance Wirral Partnership Homes trading as Magenta Living Building Services Wright Build Source link

Joseph Robinson, Head of Client Services at Stirling Ackroyd, explains why he thinks that while Brexit may have come as a shock to those in the industry, it doesn’t mean there will be any lasting damage. “For most of us in London ‘Brexit’ was something that was never really on the cards. It came as a genuine shock to all of us in the industry and throughout the media, it sent the country into a state of sheer panic Firstly, we saw the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 taking major hits but with Property PLCs taking the heaviest blow. Secondly, we saw the GBP hitting a 31-year low against the dollar and various media articles emerged predicting the end of Britain as we knew it. Scaremongering was out in full force and confidence in the UK’s economy and property markets faltered. However, now that we’ve had time to call off the witch hunt, ‘Brexit’ looks to be more of a hangover rather than anything with any lasting damage. The large multinational banks have taken a U-Turn on the predicted doom and gloom – Most of the corporate and high street banks warned they would look to move operations overseas due to passport rulings, turmoil in the markets and future uncertainties if the UK left the EU. However the majority of these corporations seem to have taken a U-turn and no one’s jumped ship just yet. Goldman Sachs’ Chief European Economist, Huw Pill, stated that “The downturn in the UK – while still substantial – is likely to be shallower than we thought in the immediate aftermath of the referendum.” By injecting confidence in the UK economy this will in turn add confidence to the property market, which currently remains calm. House prices are continuing to rise as growth continues – The Office for National Statistics recently reported that house prices on average grew by £1,000 in July post ‘Brexit’. It is true that we have seen a drop in property growth, however we are a long way away from property prices stagnating, let alone falling. The Halifax Index still shows an annual growth rate of almost 7% and Simon Rubinsohn, RICS Chief Economist stated that “There are clear signs that the housing market is settling down after the initial surprise of the outcome to the EU Referendum”. Demand still outweighs supply – London has and always will be somewhere people look to move to and according to the Office of National Statistics London will reach an estimated population of 10 million by 2024. With this rate of influx into the Capital we will struggle to keep up with the demand for properties as there is already a chronic shortage and this will inevitably drive prices higher and higher as we see vendors compete to secure the best deals. Stirling Ackroyd’s Managing Director -Andrew Bridges, believes that “Rising prices are being fueled by the ongoing shortfall of properties on the market – there are simply not enough people selling or enough new homes being built to match demand.” A serious look at the Capital’s planning process needs to be addressed if population growth continues. In conclusion, the market might seem to be slowing but if we look at the underlying driving factors which move property prices, London’s historical property trends look to outweigh the result of ‘Brexit’. Finally not only are London prices continuing to grow, overseas investors are returning to the market and property is continuing to sell and ultimately we must remember that until London works out its property supply problem, prices will continue to rise for the foreseeable future.” Source link

Investors in student housing assets are starting to shift their emphasis into mainland Europe, with countries on the continent seeing a 21% year-on-year growth in investment volumes as of Q2 2016, reaching a total of $1.8 billion, according to the latest analysis by international real estate advisor Savills. In volume terms, the UK and US markets still received the most investment into existing student housing assets in the first half of 2016 at $1.4 billion and $5.4 billion respectively. As of the second quarter of 2016, year-on-year investment volumes of existing student housing stock grew by 82% in the US, but fell by 64% in the UK, returning to approximately their medium-term average after reaching an exceptional high in 2015 due to the acquisition of a few large portfolios. With a combined student population of 20 million, growing international enrolment – with foreign students attracted by a increasing number of courses taught in English – and a very low provision of purpose built accommodation, Europe offers strong investment potential, especially as the US and UK markets are now mature, says Savills. In particular, €350 million was invested into German student housing in the first seven months of 2016 which is more than double the total invested in the country’s student housing sector in the whole of 2015 – while in France €345 million has been transacted so far this year (up to August 2016). Click here to see the size of European student populations. Cross-border investment continues to grow with Savills reporting that global investment outside the country of origin has accounted for 40% of all deals in the sector over the past three years. Investors have sought to diversify portfolios, with large outbound flows from the US, Canada and Singapore heading into the UK and continental European markets.  Marcus Roberts, Director of Student Investment and Development at Savills, comments: “The US and UK student housing markets have dominated global investment in the last three years, but with the maturing of these markets investors are looking to other areas which are suffering from a pressured housing supply, shortage of student  accommodation and immature management solutions. While Germany and France continue to attract attention, we are seeing new frontiers open up in markets such as Austria, Ireland, the Netherlands, Italy and Spain. These are markets where student housing is currently undersupplied but demand is likely to grow due to increased domestic and international mobility of students, rising demand for well managed and designed accommodation and expanding volumes of foreign students choosing to study in Europe. “Student housing has proven itself to be a resilient asset class to date, and with its  counter-cyclical fundamentals many institutional investors are turning to the sector where they can achieve strong occupancy and rental growth. This will be further exacerbated as central banks continue quantitative easing and a regime of low interest rates.” Click here to see the World Student Housing Spotlight Source link