Two new offices in Leeds and Birmingham have been announced by consulting engineers practice Brentwood, as part of its progressing national growth plans. This follows on from the delivery of new office bases in Manchester last year, and supports the company’s UK growth strategy. “We are delighted to announce our
A £2 million cash investment has boosted work on new designs for a transformation project at Harrow’s historic Elliot Hall. The project will involve redeveloping the run-down buildings surrounding Elliot Hall, which will add extra space for classrooms, affordable studios and an improved outdoor area. The new investment in the
The development of the multi-million Chester Northgate regeneration scheme has reached a significant milestone with the appointment of architect AHR, selected to progress the scheme to detailed design. Specialist advisors from Cheshire West and Chester Council have also been appointment. Together, they will bring forward the £60 million initial phase
Employee-owned packaging supplier, Kite Packaging, has taken its environmental waste management a step further thanks to the business’s new waste compacters. Kite’s new additions allow businesses to effectively sort waste at its source, bundling and downsizing waste levels in-house which has a knock on effect for UK waste management as
When the Cheltenham Festival begins each year, hundreds of thousands of people flock to the town of Cheltenham and, in particular, the racecourse, to catch a glimpse of what could be the next big name in horse racing. Each year jockeys and trainers battle to become the best in the
It is not very often that we hear the terms “construction” and “online business development” used in the same sentence. The main reason for this perhaps involves the fact that the construction and design industries are considered to represent hands-on ventures. Indeed, the average labourer or foreman is not likely
BDC 319 : Aug 2024
Two new offices in Leeds and Birmingham have been announced by consulting engineers practice Brentwood, as part of its progressing national growth plans. This follows on from the delivery of new office bases in Manchester last year, and supports the company’s UK growth strategy. “We are delighted to announce our expansion into Leeds and Birmingham. With a presence now in the three core business cities outside of London we can provide more physical connectivity with our local markets and indeed nationally. With this physical growth we are also expanding our team and capabilities having recently announced new principal specialists in lighting and building physics,” said Mark Johnson, Director at Brentwood. An ambitious three-year strategy has been set out by Brentwood, who aims to achieve 50% annual growth in both team members and turnover. It is currently on target to achieve an 80% increase in just one year as it works towards year end in March 2019. “Mechanical, electrical and public health design services are at the heart of buildings, providing sustainable, controllable and appropriate environments. As a single disciplinary consulting practice, we are gearing the business to be better placed for market growth and our longer-term business plan is to increase our UK and international presence,” added Mark Johnson. The new offices will be located in the Grade I-listed Leeming Building in Leeds city centre and the Historic Alpha Building in Birmingham City Centre. Brentwood provide Mechanical, Electrical & Public Health (MEP) design services, including low and zero carbon solutions. Working across all sectors of the construction industry, the company provides leading expertise at all stages of the project, from inception through to commissioning and post occupancy. All projects are undertaken in accordance with the company’s mandatory QA procedures which are certified to ISO 9001:2008.
A £2 million cash investment has boosted work on new designs for a transformation project at Harrow’s historic Elliot Hall. The project will involve redeveloping the run-down buildings surrounding Elliot Hall, which will add extra space for classrooms, affordable studios and an improved outdoor area. The new investment in the project has been awarded by Harrow Council and the Mayor of London under the Good Growth Fund. “It wasn’t long ago that the Arts Centre faced an uncertain future – but we take great pride in saying those days are long behind us. 230,000 people visited the site last year. We want 300,000 people and more visiting the HAC in future – and this project, will make that possible,” said Cllr Keith Ferry, portfolio holder for Business, Planning and Regeneration. “But this investment doesn’t just mean fun. It means jobs and places for our small cultural industries to grow and thrive, helping them all on their journey to success – this is what the council does best. Economic development and cultural wealth go hand-in-hand at the HAC, and that’s something we can all believe in,” Cllr Ferry continued. The first new learning space will be available on site from Autumn this year, with new artist studios following in 2020. “This is a great example of a project which aims to give Londoners of all backgrounds the opportunity to be actively involved in shaping how their city develops. The Mayor and I are committed to supporting ‘good growth’ by building a city where all Londoners have access to the same opportunities and I look forward to seeing the positive impact this project has in the future,” concluded Deputy Mayor for Planning, Regeneration and Skills, Jules Pipe.
The development of the multi-million Chester Northgate regeneration scheme has reached a significant milestone with the appointment of architect AHR, selected to progress the scheme to detailed design. Specialist advisors from Cheshire West and Chester Council have also been appointment. Together, they will bring forward the £60 million initial phase of the project, which includes a new relocated dynamic and modern market, six-screen cinema, restaurants, public square and car parking. “The Chester Northgate scheme is set to deliver a fantastic boost to the city and we’re tremendously pleased to have been appointed to the project. The development will reinforce the leisure and culture offering at the heart of the transformation of the city delivering a new relocated dynamic and modern market, six-screen cinema, host of new restaurants and public square,” said Dominic Manfredi, director at AHR and a local resident of the borough. “The project will also provide vital new car parking. This will increase capacity and ensure visitors can enjoy the development and the wider city centre with ease, benefitting local businesses across the city. We’re confident that this ambitious project will help further strengthen Chester’s reputation as one of the North West’s premier destinations,” Dominic added. The Council’s preferred contractor is Vinci Construction UK, who will be formally appointed to a pre-construction agreement in autumn 2019. Meanwhile, building work for the initial phase of Chester Northgate is set to start early 2020.
Employee-owned packaging supplier, Kite Packaging, has taken its environmental waste management a step further thanks to the business’s new waste compacters. Kite’s new additions allow businesses to effectively sort waste at its source, bundling and downsizing waste levels in-house which has a knock on effect for UK waste management as it reduces the environmental impact from businesses through minimising the waste sent to landfill. These innovative systems are the ideal economical solutions to save time, money and space for industries across the board. With four compact balers to choose from, organisations can find the machine that’s most suited to their operational requirements. The versatile range of waste balers offers efficient compaction for different volume day to day operation and thanks to their innovative features such as an integrated kicker, that extracts the bale out once it is formed, companies can reduce costs and increase profits whilst allocating less time for the job. Workforces can eradicate manually flattening and cramming waste into bins, as these balers compact the waste in one swift movement, therefore removing time-consuming inconsistencies that manual, disjointed waste management brings. They can effectively compact cardboard, plastic, paper, textile and even food waste, all into one small, compact bale which can be disposed of efficiently and in the right way, therefore also encouraging recycling in the workplace. These new waste compactors give a substantial return of investment as they can bring significant cash savings on landfill taxes and waste collection as well as reducing the manual labour costs. If you would like any more information about Kite’s new compact balers or its other products and service, visit www.kitepackaging.co.uk.
When the Cheltenham Festival begins each year, hundreds of thousands of people flock to the town of Cheltenham and, in particular, the racecourse, to catch a glimpse of what could be the next big name in horse racing. Each year jockeys and trainers battle to become the best in the business and lift the Gold Cup, seen by many as the grand prize of the festival. As the number of visitors to the festival increased year on year, the outdated facilities and layout were struggling to cope with the sheer number of people coming through the gates. With this in mind, the decision was taken to redevelop the racecourse and from 2013-2015 Kier developers were contracted to modernise the course so that it could handle the influx of people. The construction involved building a new grandstand on request of the Jockey Club, who were financing the ambitious redevelopment. The new grandstand was to replace the current “A&R” block, which was over 90 years old at the time the project was commissioned. The project comprised of 14 sectional completions and 18 separate projects, all the while ensuring that events such as the Cheltenham Festival were unaffected during the construction. It took 19 months to construct the five-and-a-half storey grandstand and it was unveiled in November 2015 by Her Royal Highness Princess Anne. The capacity of the new grandstand was increased on the previous one to 6,500 and a royal box and new hospitality boxes were included in the build. On the top floor there is a premium superclub. The redevelopment of the racecourse was not limited to the building of the grandstand as in the plans there was also a new crescent walkway which was designed to help spectators’ movement while also allowing for the spectators to have a good view of the parade ring. The total cost of the redevelopment was £45 million, £25 million of which was raised by the Jockey Club. They achieved this total through the Jockey Club Racecourse Bond, which made history by becoming the first retail bond in British sport. The remaining £20 million to fund the project came from multiple sources including HSBC, AIB and RBS as well as a Horserace Betting Levy Board capital fund loan. The Jockey Club’s cash flow and commercial deals made up the rest of the funding. People who attend the Cheltenham Festival 2019 will have the opportunity to view the grandstand as well as appreciate the facilities that were built alongside it. The Jockey Club will hope that this latest redevelopment of the facilities at Cheltenham will last for many decades to come as they have already invested £80 million in the facilities at the racecourse. As one of the most popular events in the racing calendar, the Cheltenham Festival is well worth the upgrade and with improved bar and toilet facilities as well as more public viewing areas, Cheltenham will appeal to more people and in turn, the racecourse will be able to handle further increases in spectators to one of the biggest festivals of the year.
It is not very often that we hear the terms “construction” and “online business development” used in the same sentence. The main reason for this perhaps involves the fact that the construction and design industries are considered to represent hands-on ventures. Indeed, the average labourer or foreman is not likely to have a great deal of experience within the online e-commerce sector. Things are about to change. A growing number of construction firms are choosing to market their products and services with the help of an online platform. While word of mouth is still important, these businesses appreciate that they will be able to reach a much larger audience if they are able to embrace the concept of digital marketing. This is why it is a good idea to take a look at the notion of a virtual point of sale as well as why choosing a reliable e-commerce platform is a critical component of your success. POS Systems: Providing: Streamlining the Sales and Invoicing Processes Logistics can often be complicated; particularly when you are dealing with numerous ongoing projects. It is critical that you track their progress as well as other issues such as VAT rates, outstanding payments and which orders need to be fulfilled first. Modern POS systems will provide you with thorough and unfettered access to these variables through a centralised platform. Any relevant stakeholders can likewise be included; enabling you to address any pertinent issues as soon as they become present. Flexibility is another important benefit of modern POS platforms. You will be able to access all relevant details while out and about; even when on the physical job site. In the same respect, you can accept multiple forms of payment; offering the customer a greater sense of flexibility when compared to traditional invoicing methods. If you have experienced payment-related issues in the past, it could be a good time to upgrade to a more streamlined software package. Working with the Best in the Business Most construction professionals do not possess the time to wade through inordinate amounts of coding and they are hardly likely to become involved with a complicated website design project. The good news is that modern cloud-based POS systems such as those offered by Shopify have taken the guesswork out of the equation. They can be easily implemented into your existing website and they can be customised to suit the unique needs of your firm. There are even possibilities to add bespoke branding to the payment gateway in question. This is a great way to provide a more seamless experience to the customer and to build confidence with new clients. Whether your construction firm serves the needs of a local community or you are instead focusing upon regional operations, possessing a robust POS system is essential if you hope to enjoy success during the coming year. This is why considering an upgrade is an excellent idea now as opposed to later.
