Letter written by Nick Cowley, managing director at Euramax, in response to the Prime Minister’s announcement of £350 million to cut carbon emissions in industry, construction, and transport sectors as part of a green recovery. As industry emerges from lockdown, and the closure of infrastructure and construction projects, we are
A PROGRAMME of works for health facilities, owned by NHS Property Services, throughout the Midlands valued at around £5m has been awarded to leading independent property, construction and infrastructure consultancy Pick Everard. NHS Property Services’ portfolio is one of the largest in the UK, comprising more than 3,000 properties with
London Square says its customers will benefit from streamlined processes and greater transparency thanks to a new partnership with software platform Yourkeys. Yourkeys has fully digitised the sales progression process, from reservation through to exchange and completion. Customers can make a reservation through the platform, submit ID verification and track
By Mark Davis, co-founder and creative director, property branding agency me&dave As the property industry’s mini bounce-back begins to fade, we need to rethink our approach and make sure we’re ready for whatever the future holds. The weeks since the government eased restrictions on viewings have been good. Developers, investors
Resonance, a data communications consultancy, has released the results of its research on 19 million Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) showing the extent to which the energy-saving home improvements are required. Chancellor Rishi Sunak set out a £2 billion grant scheme in England for home improvement projects such as wall insulation,
Letter written by Nick Cowley, managing director at Euramax, in response to the Prime Minister’s announcement of £350 million to cut carbon emissions in industry, construction, and transport sectors as part of a green recovery. As industry emerges from lockdown, and the closure of infrastructure and construction projects, we are in a good position to revaluate our environmental approach. The building and construction sector accounts for around 39 per cent of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, with construction operations making up 11 per cent of that. The government has pledged £26 million to support advanced new building techniques in order to reduce build costs and cut carbon emissions in the construction industry. To aid a successful green recovery, we must invest in modern, sustainable building techniques. Our future homes won’t be built, they’ll be manufactured using modular methods. Modular construction involves building parts of the building offsite in a manufacturing facility, then joining them together onsite. Modular construction requires less machinery and can halve building time, therefore using up to 67 per cent less energy. Modular construction also produces less waste and can be constructed using recycled materials. The modularity of the buildings means they can easily be deconstructed and moved without demolition, which further cuts down their environmental impact. Despite their quick construction, making some sceptics dubious about their quality, the controlled built environment can make modular builds as energy efficient as traditional builds — helping us indeed ‘build back better’.
A PROGRAMME of works for health facilities, owned by NHS Property Services, throughout the Midlands valued at around £5m has been awarded to leading independent property, construction and infrastructure consultancy Pick Everard. NHS Property Services’ portfolio is one of the largest in the UK, comprising more than 3,000 properties with 7,000 tenants across England. At a total value of more than £3bn, this represents about 10% of the total NHS estate. The work will cover the delivery of backlog maintenance projects for 38 health centres to implement remedial works to the site infrastructure, internal and external building fabric, and mechanical and electrical systems, with work commencing this month. Pick Everard’s team will be providing programme management, project management, quantity surveying and principal designer services (health and safety). The works will overhaul building systems, ensuring they meet current building guidance. The team will work in collaboration with the external consultants undertaking architectural and services design to deliver the projects. David Harris, partner at Pick Everard said: “We’re really pleased to have been awarded this commission, allowing us to continue and expand the extensive services we have been providing in support of the NHS and its services across the UK for many years. It’s of course a point in time when providing the NHS with as much support as possible has never been so important, so it’s great to be progressing these projects, allowing us to help support our health service in the Midlands with critical work. “The government has promised a number of programmes and funding packages for the health service throughout this year, including 40 new hospitals announced as part of ‘Project Speed’ at the end of June. However, it’s of clear importance that we must look after and improve the existing health service infrastructure, ensuring it continues to be fit for purpose, in order for healthcare professionals to provide the best possible care to patients in the region.” Paul Jones, principal construction manager at NHS Property Services, said: “We’re pleased to have skilled and experienced partners on board to support the programme of works across the Midlands. The clear objective in sight is to deliver better patient care and these works are central to that.” Imran Ishaq, associate director for building surveying at Pick Everard, who is leading on this project, said: “There is no doubt that Covid-19 will impact how we deliver this work and it is imperative safety guidance is followed by observing social distancing and health and safety protocols. We will be working within live, occupied environments, so will be using phased construction strategies to keep disruption at an absolute minimum and allow tenant businesses to continue with their services as work is in progress. “A big focus for all we do at Pick Everard is delivering works that make a real social and economic difference to the community. For this programme of works we will be deploying local labour and working closely with SMEs across the region on the provision of these improved community care facilities.” The work is being delivered under the NHS Shared Business Services framework, a vehicle that provides business support services to the NHS and public sector. Pick Everard employs more than 550 staff across its 13 UK offices, providing a range of project, cost and design consultancy services. For more information, please visit www.pickeverard.co.uk.
London Square says its customers will benefit from streamlined processes and greater transparency thanks to a new partnership with software platform Yourkeys. Yourkeys has fully digitised the sales progression process, from reservation through to exchange and completion. Customers can make a reservation through the platform, submit ID verification and track the progress of their mortgage, surveys and legal documents in real time. London Square was among the first to sign up to Yourkeys, which launched at the end of 2019, and took part in trials to develop system upgrades and new features. Dario Scimeca, Project Sales Manager for London Square, said: “We now have three developments live with Yourkeys, at Tadworth Gardens, Bermondsey and Staines. The intention is that all our future developments will go live with the platform when they launch. “We expect Yourkeys to free up between 15 per cent and 25 per cent of our sales advisers’ time. This is time they can spend with their customers, rather than focusing on administrative tasks. “The online ID check means we no longer do this internally, so the customer doesn’t need to make an appointment or post documents to us. Once we confirm the reservation and input the sale information, the purchaser can upload their ID documents which are automatically transferred to the solicitor. “Over the past two weeks we’ve taken our first reservations using Yourkeys and the feedback has been very positive all round. Our staff have said it’s super-easy to use, as it’s very intuitive to figure out all the different functionality. Best of all, they have a great customer success team who are on hand at every step of the way. The ability for our customers to see everything in one place now provides greater transparency, which instils enormous confidence.” Yourkeys CEO Riccardo Iannucci-Dawson created the platform to deal with the frustrations of customers, homebuilders and estate agents. He said: “The feedback we have received from London Square and other clients indicates that Yourkeys has achieved its aim of simplifying the process of buying and selling homes. This will ensure that more sales do complete while raising levels of customer satisfaction. “We are working closely with our clients to integrate pre-and post-sales software, such as CRM systems, to ensure they receive the maximum benefit from Yourkeys. The next step is to continue to refine the software and introduce more new features.” London Square had been searching for a suitable reservation platform and found Yourkeys’ user-friendly interface and capacity to integrate with existing software made it the obvious solution. Dario explained: “It’s exciting that we can now integrate our CRM system, ContactBuilder, so sales leads will be carried through to Yourkeys when the reservation is confirmed. “On completion, the sale details will automatically move into Clixifix, our customer care system, so we will no longer have to manually input data there. All platforms speak to each other. “The biggest USPs are how Yourkeys interacts with other software and keeps the customer engaged through its stylish interface.” For more information or to book a free demonstration go to Yourkeys.com.
By Mark Davis, co-founder and creative director, property branding agency me&dave As the property industry’s mini bounce-back begins to fade, we need to rethink our approach and make sure we’re ready for whatever the future holds. The weeks since the government eased restrictions on viewings have been good. Developers, investors and agents experienced none of the predicted nervousness about venturing back into the property market, whether private sale or rental. In fact, Zoopla reported an 88% spike in interest following a significant lockdown slump. The pandemic and lockdown have seen many people rethink their priorities. After being stuck indoors, negative feelings about homes and neighbourhoods could have intensified. Some people may have decided to cut the commute and try city-centre living. For others, months of remote working could well have opened up new horizons (‘Maybe it’s time to swap Slough for St Ives’). But whatever the reasons behind the initial reprieve, analysts are now predicting that it will soon run out of steam as we move out of lockdown and confront the recession. (Unemployment is on the up, unsurprisingly – the Office for National Statistics calculated a rise of 856,000 to 2.1 million in April, the biggest monthly upswing since modern records began in 1971.) As uncertainty replaces this initial burst of enthusiasm, we need to think about the impact that the pandemic has had on our industry, and reconsider the way we engage with consumers to keep things on track. Picking up where you left off just isn’t an option. How should the property sector respond and introduce a level of agility and flexibility that can cope with whatever the coming weeks and months throw at us? Digital direction As a sector, we need to regroup, strip things back, look afresh at what we’re offering – and how to communicate that effectively to consumers. Those who put the time into strategically working out how they are going to survive and thrive in an altered landscape will be the new winners. Those who were number one going into lockdown won’t necessarily be number one coming out. In other words, there’s an opportunity here. There’s also scope to try something new when it comes to marketing and branding strategies. To give the ideas that were floated but deemed too risky a go. Now’s the time to push a few boundaries and take a new direction. After all, consumers and stakeholders have come to expect the unexpected in recent weeks. Excelling remotely is so important, and many are exploiting virtual channels to great effect. From guided tours of properties to light-hearted brand-engagement strategies like the #ZooplaFortChallenge. We’re seeing the more savvy property developers and investors out there really work social media, summing up their brand ethos in just a few seconds. U+I’s Regeneration Rethought Insta feed tells you more about the developer’s approach to redevelopment than pages and pages of corporate prose ever could. Short. Honest. To the point. If you want to cut through in the digital space it pays to remember that you’re not just competing with other property sector companies. Everyone uses these channels. Even more reason to get to the point as fast as possible. It’s worth noting that the average person will spend 100 minutes a day watching online video by 2021, according to Zenith Media, so connecting with people via this platform is increasingly important. We should be building these assets quickly. Look at how to make virtual tools work harder for you. A multichannel approach also means that if there’s another Covid-19 spike, you’ll be ready when restrictions are reinstated. But, equally, if constraints are further relaxed, you can come out of the traps ready to act. Now’s not the time to rely on old-school methods. Yes, glossy brochures and marketing suites have their place, but we need to think outside the box, too. Get the message right It’s OK to sell stuff, you just need to get your language and tone of voice right. People have been through all kinds of challenges; their lives have been stripped back to their barest essentials. Being given the hard sell is the last thing anyone wants coming out of hibernation. Yet so much property branding and marketing is overblown, trite and hackneyed. Cut the hype. Simplicity, authenticity and a degree of empathy are what’s needed right now. Connecting in an emotionally transparent and empathetic way is more likely to resonate in times like these. There’s a chance here to create unity between business and customer. When companies show a level of emotional intelligence towards their consumers in difficult circumstances, those customers become more loyal. So talk to them as human beings. Imagine you’re explaining it all to your eight-year-old niece or nephew – their attention will wain quickly at even the slightest whiff of cliché. People’s responses become more frank and honest in trying times; it’s time your brand adopted these same qualities.
Resonance, a data communications consultancy, has released the results of its research on 19 million Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) showing the extent to which the energy-saving home improvements are required. Chancellor Rishi Sunak set out a £2 billion grant scheme in England for home improvement projects such as wall insulation, double glazing and loft insulation. Resonance analysed the EPC data to find out where the projects are likely to have the most impact and the types of property likely to benefit. Percentage of homes that could benefit the most: Proportion of homes reporting “Very Poor” energy categories in one or more of the categories – 45% Very poor wall insulation – 26% Very poor loft insulation – 18% Very poor lighting efficiency – 17% Very poor window glazing – 7% Contrary to some reports and commentary, the research found that owner occupied housing is the worst performing of all the home occupancy types: Average Rating Type 59.2 Owner occupied 61.4 Rental (private) 68.2 Rental (social) 81.4 New dwelling The grant scheme has only been announced for England, but the research has found that the least efficient regions of the UK are Scotland and Wales. Within England, the regions set to benefit the most are the North West and the East Midlands: Average Rating Region 56.6 Scotland 60.3 Wales 62.0 North West 62.2 East Midlands 62.3 West Midlands 62.3 South West 62.6 East England 63.0 North East 63.3 East of England 63.8 South East 64.9 Greater London Tom Fry, head of data at Resonance, said: “The UK housing stock is still very much lacking when it comes to energy efficiency. 35 per cent of UK homes have very poor insulation which means they have little or no loft or wall insulation, or they still have single glazed windows.” “While this scheme will help benefit houses in England enormously, the research highlights that housing in Scotland and Wales is most in need of this type of grant, and the government now needs look at how it can help improve energy efficiency in these areas too.”
