Range Resources, a leading US natural gas producer, on Monday announced an agreed deal to buy rival Memorial Resource Development for $4.4bn, in a move that showed a flicker of life in what has recently been a dormant market for energy mergers and acquisitions. The deal is the largest acquisition
This autumn the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) presents a new commission by multi-disciplinary artist Giles Round. Round was invited to explore the RIBA Collections, and through extensive research has created an exhibition for the Architecture Gallery that focuses our attention on one of the most familiar and unavoidable architectural
Chris Rekowski, Sales Negotiator at the Keyline Swindon branch, has qualified as an HGV driver thanks to the company’s ‘Warehouse to Wheels’ programme. Having joined Keyline in September 2017, Chris has received his HGV licence and now, in addition to his current role, he will be acting as a backup
Progress on the award-winning Acton Gardens development in West London is steaming ahead, with Mick George Demolition Ltd appointed on behalf of Countryside Properties and L&Q to complete the forthcoming demolition works of Charles Hocking House as part of Phase 6.2. This sequence of work will focus on community facilities
Changes to stamp duty and a lettings fee ban protecting tenants means several new costs have now been placed on property managers by the government. This means that property managers are now looking for ways to reduce costs in other areas. One of the ways to do this is to
Lee Baldwin, Product Development Manager at Sika, is introducing coloured concrete, which will give the drab-looking material a new lease of life in terms of its usage. From industrial units to art installations, coloured concrete has become a go-to solution for designers and those who want their structures to look
Construction work has officially started on Kajima Properties’ major new 84,000 sq ft office and retail development at 77 Coleman Street, London, EC2. The development was designed in collaboration with Buckley Gray Yeoman architects and it will provide a high quality office space in the heart of London, directly overlooking
Kier Construction has been selected to deliver the first stage of the Citizens Theatre’s £19.4 million redevelopment project in Glasgow. During this comprehensive redevelopment of the Victorian building, the theatre will be closed starting with the summer and will reopen in late 2020. “This appointment marks the next phase in
Global certification firm Bureau Veritas is urging business to take safety very seriously and ensure they are ‘ISO 45001 compliant’ to help improve standards for all. Although ISO 45001 is not coming into full effect until March 2021, businesses are encouraged to embrace the new standards now to create the
Range Resources, a leading US natural gas producer, on Monday announced an agreed deal to buy rival Memorial Resource Development for $4.4bn, in a move that showed a flicker of life in what has recently been a dormant market for energy mergers and acquisitions. The deal is the largest acquisition of a US oil and gas production company since Encana’s $6.8bn all-cash purchase of Texas-based Athlon Energy in November 2014, according to Dealogic. This year’s previous biggest deal in the North American sector had been Terra Energy Partners’ $910m acquisition of the Rocky Mountain business of WPX Energy. The flow of deals in the energy industry has been slow since the oil price crashed in 2014, with commodity market volatility making it difficult for buyers and sellers to agree on valuations. Range is focused on the Marcellus Shale of Pennsylvania, which has been the fastest-growing gas-producing region of the US in recent years. Memorial has gas reserves in the Terryville area of north Louisiana. Jeff Ventura, Range’s chief executive, said the agreed deal would give “added beneficial exposure to growing natural gas demand”, and would also strengthen cash flow and its balance sheet. However, news of the deal brought an initially unfavourable response from the market, with Range shares dropping 10.3 per cent to close the day at $37.69 in New York. Memorial’s proposed takeover by Range would bring to an end its short life as an independent listed company. It is less than two years since Memorial was floated on Nasdaq in June 2014, right at the peak of the latest oil price cycle. Range is offering 0.375 Range shares for every Memorial share, valuing the equity at $3.3bn based on Friday’s closing prices. It is also taking on $1.1bn in debt. The offer is worth $15.75 per Memorial share, giving a relatively small premium of 17 per cent to the price on Friday, and is 26 per cent below the $21.26 opening price for Memorial shares at its flotation in 2014. Jay Graham, Memorial’s chief executive, said the two companies had complementary assets, and “the all-stock nature of the transaction will allow our shareholders to benefit from the combined assets”. Memorial shareholders will end up with 31 per cent of the combined company’s equity. Range shareholders will own the remainder. Last year Range was the 13th-largest gas producer in the US, with average output of just under 1bn cubic feet per day, according to the Natural Gas Supply Association. Its production in the first quarter of this year was 1.38bn cubic feet equivalent of gas and oil per day, more than three times Memorial’s production of 420m. Memorial is in a relatively healthy financial position compared with many of its peers in the oil and gas sector, with debt equal to 2.6 times its annualised earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation. However, it also has control of an affiliated business, Memorial Production Partners, an oil and producer which has a significant debt burden. In March Moody’s, the credit rating agency, confirmed Memorial Resource Development at B2 with a stable outlook, reflecting its “good liquidity”. At the same time, it downgraded Memorial Production Partners to Caa2, citing its “deteriorating credit metrics, and its weakening liquidity”, and warned that the partnership could breach its lending covenants by mid-2017. In April, Memorial Resource Development said it would sell its controlling interest in Memorial Production Partners to the partnership for $750,000, with the deal expected to close by the end of June. Source link
This autumn the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) presents a new commission by multi-disciplinary artist Giles Round. Round was invited to explore the RIBA Collections, and through extensive research has created an exhibition for the Architecture Gallery that focuses our attention on one of the most familiar and unavoidable architectural features of the city: the façade. Inspired by the work of a wide-range of architects represented in the RIBA’s world-class architectural collections, Round explores the increasing tension between the static exterior and changing interior of the architecture around us. He highlights the aesthetic qualities of facades in their original conception, and the subsequent contemporary use and reuse of these buildings. Round also explores the ways in which we currently ‘collect’ and preserve facades, creating an archive of buildings in real space and time. Original works of iconic façades by Berthold Lubetkin, Venturi Scott Brown and Jane Drew feature in the exhibition alongside representation and re-appropriation of façades from other architectural periods with unique graphic qualities – from Greek Revival and Art Nouveau, to Modern and postmodern architecture. A key component of the exhibition is the transformation of the gallery to a production studio. Here, façades from a ‘stylebook’ compiled from RIBA’s Collections are applied to architectural sculptures that mimic the structure of buildings. Over the course of the exhibition period these will form an installation recognisable to visitors as an assembly of façades – a new city scape. The sculptures will be on sale in the gallery during the exhibition period. Giles Round: “Central to the exhibition, an idea reflected in the title, is the re-appropriation and repurposing of buildings that no longer fulfil the functional requirements for which they were designed. Working with the RIBA Collections, I focused on particular facades that I found interesting either graphically or due to their backstory. Throughout the exhibition the graphic quality of the selected facades are appropriated, stylistically altered, into new forms and different media.” Marie Bak Mortensen, Head of Exhibitions: “This is the second year running of RIBA’s artist-architect commission in which we invite creative practitioners with an interest in architecture to create an exhibition for the Architecture Gallery. A key aim of the commission is to introduce new ways of engaging the public with architecture and RIBA’s Collections, recognised as one of the most important architectural resources containing drawings, models, photographs and archival material from the Renaissance to the present day. By inviting an artist to work with us, we hope to show the contemporary relevance of the collections to creativity and artistic and architectural endeavours. The Giles Round commission will follow this line of enquiry and bring new unexpected, rigorous and provocative interpretation of architecture material to our audiences.” Giles Round Giles works between art, architecture and design. Previous projects and exhibitions of his have bridged graphics, design, art, architecture, interiors, and set design. He has created immersive installations in a multitude of settings from the home to galleries and outdoor spaces. The works range from small objects to large-scale sculpture, wallpapers and installation. A firm believer that design and architecture play an active role in well-being, Giles’ work uses these tactics to create immersive and thought-provoking viewer experiences. Press view – the press view for the installation will take place at 9.30am at RIBA, 66 Portland Place, London on Wednesday 21 September at 9.30am. RSVP to beatrice.cooke@riba.org The commission is curated by Corinne Mynatt, Curatorial Programmes Coordinator at RIBA with Colin Sterling, Project Curator at RIBA and Lotte Juul Petersen, Artists & Programmes Curator at Wysing Arts Centre The exhibition is sponsored by Wedge Group Galvanising and is supported by Cockayne – Grants for the Arts and The London Community Foundation. The RIBA has worked closely with Wysing Arts Centre in the collaboration with Giles Round. ENDS Notes to editors: 1. For further information contact Beatrice Cooke in the RIBA press office: beatrice.cooke@riba.org; 020 7307 3813. Images from the RIBA Collections that have inspired aspects of the installation can be downloaded here: https://riba.box.com/s/vm9bmve0oyh75950a9swjbjweixw3wbv 2. The Architecture Gallery at RIBA is open from 10am – 5pm Monday to Sunday and until 8pm every Tuesday. Free entrance. RIBA is at 66 Portland Place, London, W1B 1AD. Nearest tubes are Oxford Circus, Regent’s Park and Great Portland Street. The exhibition is part of a RIBA season of wide ranging events and workshops, designed for all ages and experience levels. For further information go to www.architecture.com/whatson 3. The Architecture Gallery opened in February 2014 in the RIBA’s Grade II* listed Art Deco HQ. Through regular, free exhibitions that explore the past, present and future of our built environment the gallery programme will help visitors discover and explore architecture. The gallery offers the opportunity for the RIBA to display its world class collections contained in the British Architectural Library. 4. About the exhibition sponsors: with nearly 150 years of history Wedge Group Galvanizing is the UK’s largest hot dip galvanizing organisation. They have 14 plants around the UK which are designed and equipped to set industry-leading standards for sustainability and low environmental impact. For further information go to: www.wedge-galv.co.uk 5. For further information about Cockayne – Grants for the Arts and The London Community Foundation go to: www.londoncf.org.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 7. The RIBA is a registered charity and it relies on the generosity of individuals, companies, trusts and foundations to preserve its world-class collections, to maintain free public access to its exhibitions and develop a diverse and exciting public events programme. 8. Wysing Arts Centre, established in 1989, develops new ways to support artists and enables art and ideas to engage a wide range of people in unexpected ways. Programmes include artistic residencies, retreats, study days, summer schools, courses, programmes for young people, schools and families as well as an experimental music festival. In 2011 Giles Round was an
Chris Rekowski, Sales Negotiator at the Keyline Swindon branch, has qualified as an HGV driver thanks to the company’s ‘Warehouse to Wheels’ programme. Having joined Keyline in September 2017, Chris has received his HGV licence and now, in addition to his current role, he will be acting as a backup driver. The programme is open to all Keyline branch staff and takes four to six months to complete. Those on the course receive introductory training on the roles and responsibilities of drivers, as well as a tailored programme of driving tuition before taking their practical test. At the end, a category C licence is received meaning the driver can take charge of vehicles weighing over 3.5 tonnes. Warehouse to Wheels allows Keyline to utilise existing loyal members of staff, instead of relying on agency drivers, and Chris was recently presented with his licence by Jason Southern, Keyline Swindon Branch Manager and Paul Tkocz, Assistant Branch manager. Jason commented: “The Warehouse to Wheels programme highlights Keyline’s commitment to staff development and ensures we have quality drivers who exceed our customers’ expectations. Since joining Keyline, Chris has become an invaluable member of the branch team and has shown great dedication in ensuring our customers receive the best service possible. Congratulations to him for gaining his HGV licence.”
Progress on the award-winning Acton Gardens development in West London is steaming ahead, with Mick George Demolition Ltd appointed on behalf of Countryside Properties and L&Q to complete the forthcoming demolition works of Charles Hocking House as part of Phase 6.2. This sequence of work will focus on community facilities designed to support a reinvigorated neighbourhood. A new nursery, doctor’s surgery, retail space and incubator office locations are all set to be created, anticipated for completion by Summer 2020. The project will coincide with Phase 6.1 and will see new homes built above ground floor retail units, residing on the former Hardy Court. The retail space will contain Oaktree Community Centre, Bollo Youth Club, a dental surgery, supermarket and Café operations. L&Q, the landlord for the new buildings will also have a permanent office built here. In its entirety, a total of 308 residential properties will be available on phase 6. Acton Gardens is one of the largest residential regeneration schemes in London, aiming to transform a 52-acre site of the former South East estate in to a vibrant new urban quarter. When complete, the £600m scheme will deliver over 2,500 new homes, along with enhanced transport links, retail and community facilities and extensive public open spaces, throughout a 21 multi-phased initiative that is anticipated to be complete in 2026. Mick George Ltd has already completed Asbestos Management and Demolition works on former stages of the Acton Gardens development, with this contract bringing the total valuation of works undertaken to date beyond the £2.1million mark. Michael George, Contracts Director at Mick George Ltd commented: ‘’Having worked in partnership with Countryside Properties on a number of developments in the past, we’re pleased that they have recognised our credentials in providing multiple services on a project of this magnitude. Our contracting services are becoming increasingly sought after up and down the country, which is a testament to the quality of service that the business is providing.’’ George continued: ’’Acton Gardens is undergoing a tremendous transformation. This purpose-built community section will be crucial in developing a strong communal spirit at the heart of any desirable location.‘’
Changes to stamp duty and a lettings fee ban protecting tenants means several new costs have now been placed on property managers by the government. This means that property managers are now looking for ways to reduce costs in other areas. One of the ways to do this is to reduce time (and therefore money) spent on admin. By introducing software designed specifically for the property sector (aka PropTech), businesses can streamline their management business, allowing them to scale more easily or simply reduce the cost of their current business. Property managers have to jump through hoops every day: this person must be sent that bit of information, otherwise a terrible thing will occur. Trying to keep track of it all can be a nightmare. However, thanks to developments in technology, there is now software out there to make life easier. Be that new payment systems such as GoCardless, e-signature platforms such as Signable or full management systems such as Arthur Online. At its heart, property management is a people business. Managers are tasked with keeping tenants, owners and contractors happy whilst trying not to tear their own hair out at the same time. One way that PropTech is making management easier is by bringing all these groups together. In the past, disparate communication between the different groups involved meant a manager would spend half their time on the phone, typing with one hand and writing an address with another and heaven forbid if they had to produce proof that someone received it. Thanks to technology, property managers can send emails with recorded delivery to ensure that they have proof someone received the information. Systems like this protect a property manager against potential problems in the future. Alternatively, managers can use CRM systems to email their contacts; this means that all their conversations are marked against the contact. By keeping records of interactions with someone against their contact card, management is made a lot easier. The best solutions bring all the different groups onto one platform, allowing them to communicate with only the people that they need to. This prevents different people using different platforms. One of the areas that property managers can spend a lot of time trying to deal with is financials. With the best will in the world, rents don’t get paid, payments get missed and it can cause managers a lot of problems. However, now there are a lot of different options for managers to make their life easier. New payment portals such as GoCardless and Stripe allow managers to have larger control over charging and recharging tenants when payments are missed. On top of this, managers are now using cloud accounting software like Xero and QuickBooks to follow live payments and reconcile charges to easily see the state of their portfolio. Finally, by linking management platforms together as well, automated communication can be had with tenants notifying them of outstanding charges. By creating this sort of ecosystem around the payment of monies, arrears can be reduced and management time can be saved, thus making the management of a property portfolio easier. Property management can involve a vast amount of paperwork. Previously, this meant having a room dedicated to filing cabinets. That was until software such as Dropbox and Google docs came to be. This solved part of the problem; everything moved online and that other room could be used for more exciting things! However, they were not specific to the property world and you still had to come up with a less than ideal way to easily share these documents with other people. Furthermore, what happens when a certificate needs to be renewed? Now, true document management systems for property people have been created. There are several different areas where these systems can be very helpful and streamline your business. The first is by constantly updating your documentation to ensure you have a legal contract, notice etc. The second is by reminding property managers when something needs to be done. As an expiry date approaches for a certificate, systems are able to automatically contact contractors or managers to inform them of the news. This prevents a manager’s business from falling behind in terms of compliance. The best PropTechs on the market are the ones that know what they are, Arthur Online is one of these. By knowing what they are, the software doesn’t try and shoehorn in functionality. Instead, in this wonderful world of cloud software, systems can integrate by using their APIs. This means the two systems have a conversation, pushing and pulling data to offer a user a complete solution. Marc Trup is the Founder and CEO of Arthur Marc fell into the property sector after selling his first business in 1998 to BUPA healthcare. Focusing on residential property, he built up a portfolio in and around the London area, starting off with a small block of flats. Over the following 15 years Marc grew his portfolio to manage over 85 properties. He wanted a system that allowed him to manage the portfolio from his iPhone, while drinking his espresso at the local coffee shop. Having searched online to find an app to help him do just that, he realised that it simply didn’t exist. So, he founded Arthur to make not only his life easier but that of other property managers. Arthur is a cloud-based platform that enables property managers to respond instantly and solve problems fast – be it with tenants, contractors, property owners or letting agents.
Lee Baldwin, Product Development Manager at Sika, is introducing coloured concrete, which will give the drab-looking material a new lease of life in terms of its usage. From industrial units to art installations, coloured concrete has become a go-to solution for designers and those who want their structures to look good, as well as last. Sika has been a leader in the development of the pigment that has allowed concrete structures to look differently for the past 15 years. To achieve a coloured concrete, it is necessary to add liquid or powder-form pigmented metal oxides, mainly iron oxide, to a concrete mix. The dosage is normally 0.5 – 5.0% of the cement weight and higher dosages do not enhance the colour intensity but may adversely affect the concrete quality. At Sika, primary colours are available, including yellow, red, black, and white, which can then be mixed to create a spectrum of shades. Now that coloured concrete exists, there are no more limitations to how and where it can be used. It can be blended in with its environment or designed to stand out. A good example of pigmented concrete’s harmonious capabilities can be seen at Payers Park, Folkestone where it was used in the formation of sandstone-coloured steps as part of a recent Sika-based project. Other projects that will use the Sika Concrete Coloured range include specification at the new Concorde Museum in Bristol, where it will be used to create dark grey flooring, as well as being the colourful base for a skate park. Pigmented concrete can not only be used in commercial projects, but also as a domestic installation. It is durable and requires little to no maintenance, which made it a solid alternative to tarmac. If used in kitchens, the coloured concrete created hard, marble-like flooring and chips and minor damaging to it does not affect its look. Pigmentation has added a new flexibility to concrete, this most unyielding of materials. Its grey days are over and a brighter, more colourful new era awaits.
Construction work has officially started on Kajima Properties’ major new 84,000 sq ft office and retail development at 77 Coleman Street, London, EC2. The development was designed in collaboration with Buckley Gray Yeoman architects and it will provide a high quality office space in the heart of London, directly overlooking Coleman Street Gardens and less than a minute’s walk from the new Elizabeth Line station at Moorgate. “77 Coleman Street is well placed to capitalise on the growing demand for multi-functional accommodation in well-connected London locations. Whilst 77 is located in the very heart of the City, and will appeal to traditional Square Mile occupiers, we see it as a ‘London’ building that will attract design-conscious occupiers from across the wider city seeking amenity, flexibility and accessibility. 77 Coleman Street is a genuinely rare occupier opportunity, creating both an outstanding commercial space and an attractive new retail and social destination, right in the middle of London,” said John Harcourt, Head of Kajima Properties. The offices will spread across the ground and seven upper floors, while a 13,000 sq ft retail and leisure space will be accessible off Moorgate. The offices will be accessed through a generous new entrance at 77 Coleman Street, including an integrated café and shared workspace. The development will also offer terraces on the upper floors, with impressive city views over the public realm and gardens, as well as 146 cycle spaces. A new link connecting Coleman Street with Moorgate will also be created by extending Nun Court to give people a quick and bright route. “We are excited to be involved in this prestigious City project and looks forward to working with Kajima Properties to deliver a high end, ’wow factor’ building which not only complements the surrounding area, but looks to the future in terms of functionality, quality and style,” said Stuart Deverill, Managing Director at VolkerFitzpatrick, the General Contractor appointed for the development. The scheme is set to be finalised by the end of 2019.
Kier Construction has been selected to deliver the first stage of the Citizens Theatre’s £19.4 million redevelopment project in Glasgow. During this comprehensive redevelopment of the Victorian building, the theatre will be closed starting with the summer and will reopen in late 2020. “This appointment marks the next phase in our Redevelopment Project. Kier has a wealth of experience in delivering theatre and heritage projects and it’s hugely exciting to be welcoming them to the team, led by architects Bennetts Associates, to realise our vision for the Citizens Theatre,” commented Judith Kilvington, executive director of Citizens Theatre. “Our new building has been redesigned to create level access for staff, participants and audiences members. When we reopen to the public they will easily be able to visit and view some of the best examples of theatre heritage in Europe.” For the project, Kier will work alongside the Theatre and its Design Team to make sure the Second Stage is achieved. Then, the company will carry out the construction work to transform the Victorian building. It will also contribute to the local community by providing employment and training opportunities. “We’re delighted to restore, improve and protect the iconic Citizens Theatre. This builds on our solid record of working on major heritage projects, including The Mackintosh Building at Glasgow School of Art, Edinburgh College of Art, Aberdeen Music Hall and most recently, The Burrell Collection,” said Brian McQuade, Kier Construction Scotland and North East managing director. Owned by Glasgow City Council, the Category B listed building has been leased to the Citizens Theatre Company for more than 70 years. Over the next two years, the company will keep producing shows at Tramway, Scotland Street School Museum and other venues throughout the country. The redevelopment project has already secured £17.8 million from Creative Scotland, Glasgow City Council, Heritage Lottery Fund, the Scottish Government, The Robertson Trust and other trusts and individuals. Those wishing to contribute to the remaining £1.6 million can do so through the theatre’s ‘We Are Citizens’ public fundraising campaign.
Global certification firm Bureau Veritas is urging business to take safety very seriously and ensure they are ‘ISO 45001 compliant’ to help improve standards for all. Although ISO 45001 is not coming into full effect until March 2021, businesses are encouraged to embrace the new standards now to create the safest and healthiest environment possible for employees. ISO 45001:2018 was published on the 15th of March this year and it is the world’s first occupational health and safety international standard. It replaces the current OHSAS 18001 and is intended to offer one single set of requirements designed to help organisations of all types and sizes create and implement systems that proactively prevent work-related injury and ill health. “Unfortunately, the reality is that poor workplace safety remains a huge international issue with the estimated global total of fatal occupational accidents and work-related illness increasing by almost a fifth (19%) in the last three years alone,” explained Gregg Elwell, UK technical manager for Bureau Veritas. Customers are also becoming more demanding, which results into tighter deadlines and added pressures. “As such, it is more important than ever for businesses to take proactive steps to improve health and safety management. Although ISO 45001 will only come into effect following a three year transitional period, we would urge businesses to embrace the new standard ahead of time to ensure they are promoting absolute best practice,” added Gregg. To help business understand better this transition, Bureau Veritas has launched ‘Understanding the Transition to ISO 45001’, a paper detailing how the new standard will help organisations improve workplace safety. It explains the benefits of adopting a health and safety management system, while providing information on key differences between the new standard and the existing ones. “The new standards create a fresh framework for excellence and, for the first time, align occupational health and safety certification with other global ISO-certified management systems,” said Gregg. Bureau Veritas supports its clients with the transition to ISO 45001 through the LEAD platform, while also making the paper available for download at: http://bureauveritas.co.uk/white-papers/understanding-the-transition-to-iso-45001-white-paper.
