Trammell Crow Company (TCC), a leading global developer and investor in commercial real estate, has begun work on its first European logistics site, a 19.4-acre scheme that will deliver three Grade A logistics buildings in Milton Keynes, UK. With construction now underway by principal contractor Glencar, a leading UK
More than 50% of units reserved before sales officially launched at West London site Developer confirms acquisition of second boutique London site in Mornington Crescent Salboy, the nationwide property development and funding company, has launched the official sales process for its flagship London scheme, One Cluny Mews, after receiving high
CPI holds a market leading position in the construction materials sector, and we recognise our responsibility to play a similar leading role on sustainability in construction materials. We believe we have an opportunity to make a positive contribution to redefining the norms of the sector and to be an advocate
Over 500 Spectus casement windows and 100 French doors were specified in a new £10m development of 75 new residential properties, providing a mix of one, two, and three-bedroom homes in Blackpool. Troutbeck Crescent on Mereside, sits in a prominent position which is visible from the main motorway connection when
Roma has extended the product ranges available on RomaFLOW and introduced electronic signatures to the process… Roma Finance has enhanced the RomaFLOW process following its unwavering success, resulting in a loan book that has doubled in size since the launch. The enhancements are being made with no increase to rates
One of the leading worldwide providers of portable accommodation and secure storage containers, Mobile Mini UK, has provided pupils at Monkwearmouth Academy in Sunderland with over £15,000 worth of computer equipment this month. The donation has been made as part of a company-wide commitment to supporting the next generation of
Property development is a lucrative field with huge potential profits, but that’s only true when you can manage each projectproperly. This is no easy task as it requires knowledge, understanding, experience, connections,and business acumen relevant and specific to the construction business. This post will help if you are looking to
Do you need to source materials for an urgent construction project? If so, you need to consider the following three things. 1. Can You Get Same Day Delivery? When working on an urgent construction project, you will need to ensure that you can source materials quickly. You may need
Trammell Crow Company (TCC), a leading global developer and investor in commercial real estate, has begun work on its first European logistics site, a 19.4-acre scheme that will deliver three Grade A logistics buildings in Milton Keynes, UK. With construction now underway by principal contractor Glencar, a leading UK construction company that was recently ranked amongst Europe’s fastest growing businesses, and completion due for spring 2023, TCC’s Milton Keynes site will comprise three speculative logistics buildings totaling approximately 340,000 sq ft at Merton Drive, with building clear heights from 39 ft to 49 ft. The buildings will provide increased load capacity on the roof to accommodate photovoltaic arrays and additional natural daylighting. They will also house transformers and primary electrical frameworks for increased electrical demand and reserves of power; have infrastructure suitable for electric vehicle charging; provide increased capacity of floor slabs for floor-standing mezzanines and pick-towers; and have the flexibility to accommodate various office configurations. CBRE acted as the planning consultant on the project and Chetwoods as the architects. Since launching in Europe in 2021, TCC has acquired three sites in strategically important logistics locations in the UK (in Milton Keynes, Sheffield and Heywood), two in Germany (both near Berlin), three in Spain (in Granollers near Barcelona, and Cabanillas and Alovera near Madrid), and one in the Czech Republic. In keeping with its global standards, TCC will target BREEAM Excellent certification across all its logistics projects. Graham Reece, Head of European Logistics Construction at Trammell Crow Company, said: “With construction having begun on our first European site, set to be closely followed by our Sheffield and Spanish sites, Trammell Crow Company has taken another step towards being one of Europe’s leading developers of prime industrial and logistics space. We’re building these assets with a sharp focus on quality, ensuring they have the flexibility, the energy supply and the ESG credentials to meet investors’ and occupiers’ needs now and the future, staying ahead of whatever demands regulations and technology introduce.” Pete Goodman, Managing Director Midlands and North at Glencar, said: “As Trammell Crow Company’s inaugural project since coming to Europe Glencar are extremely proud and honored to have been appointed to construct this fantastic new speculative logistics site and we look forward to delivering. It’s great to see the fantastic progress that has already been made with the site being levelled and ground being stabilized ahead of vertical construction later in the summer. “We have worked very closely with TCC and the planning and design teams to design a scheme that we will build to an extremely high specification and which is future proofed to meet investor and occupier requirements going forward together with being ahead of cutting edge ESG credentials and energy demands.”
More than 50% of units reserved before sales officially launched at West London site Developer confirms acquisition of second boutique London site in Mornington Crescent Salboy, the nationwide property development and funding company, has launched the official sales process for its flagship London scheme, One Cluny Mews, after receiving high demand from buyers for pre-sales reservations. With a £40 million GDV, One Cluny Mews is Salboy’s first residential development in London. It comprises 35 high quality 1, 2 & 3 bedroom apartments, including 8 duplex penthouses. The development is located in the popular and affluent area of Earl’s Court, a part of Kensington in west London that has experienced significant investment and regeneration in recent years, yet offers limited new build opportunities. Properties at One Cluny Mews are now available to purchase and will be marketed to individual homebuyers and investors throughout the UK as well as by Salboy’s overseas sales partners in the Middle East and Asia. 50% of the units under development have already been reserved by individual buyers, indicating the persistent high demand for high quality, prime residential property in central London. While One Cluny Mews marks Salboy’s entry into the London residential property market, it is the first of several London schemes in Salboy’s pipeline with a combined GDV of over £100 million. Salboy has also announced today the acquisition of its second London site in Mornington Crescent. The company has a pending planning application to build more than a dozen boutique residential properties on the brownfield site that is located close to Kings Cross and St Pancras in Zone One. Simon Ismail, Co-Founder & Managing Director of Salboy, comments: “London is a key part of our long-term growth strategy as a developer and funder of high quality housing across the UK. We’re delighted to have achieved such a high level of early buyer interest and commitment in our first development in the capital. We look forward to sharing with more homebuyers and investors what One Cluny Mews, our new site in Mornington Crescent and our other pipelined London schemes can offer them over the coming months.” Salboy’s dedicated construction partner, DOMIS Construction is active on site, with all construction on site expected to be completed Q2 2023. Designed in collaboration with architects, Studio Power, the thoughtful, sleek design of One Cluny Mews will make for spacious, bright living. Along with the latest security systems and concierge services, the site will be enclosed within private gates offering residents homes they can truly relax in. The private residents’ garden will enhance this sense of ease, providing a sanctuary from the hustle and bustle of the nearby city. A small number of home offices that open out onto the private courtyard are also available for residents to buy. This news comes after the recent announcement that Salboy has entered a joint venture agreement with Relentless, the property development company owned by Gary Neville, to deliver Manchester’s long-anticipated St Michael’s development, a scheme comprising a 5* hotel, homes and leisure spaces.
CPI holds a market leading position in the construction materials sector, and we recognise our responsibility to play a similar leading role on sustainability in construction materials. We believe we have an opportunity to make a positive contribution to redefining the norms of the sector and to be an advocate for a low-carbon sustainable future. The CPI sustainability strategy identifies commitments in four key focus areas: planet, customer and products, people and communities. Underpinning these four areas is our commitment to an ethical and responsible approach to how we conduct our business every day. Our strategy challenges us to address issues that are closest to our business, and which make the biggest contribution to the UN Global Sustainable Development Goals that we have identified as being most relevant to us. Protecting our planet for us means limiting our impact on natural resources, reducing our carbon footprint by managing our use of energy and minimising waste, and recycling wherever possible. Our commitment to these principles and protecting the environment is underpinned by our ISO 14001 Environmental Management accreditation. Recognising that our manufacturing process has a high energy demand we completed a switch to 100% renewable electricity procurement during 2021. We have also identified scope to achieve partial self-sufficiency for electricity, reducing our demand on what is a limited renewable energy capacity, by installing solar arrays at a number of our factories during 2022. Despite a programme of annual re-investment in our delivery vehicles, we operate a diesel fleet that generates high emissions. At present we have not identified a suitable, more sustainable alternatives to our current fleet but continue to explore new technology developments and are highly engaged with our vehicle manufacturers. In the absence of imminent changes to our distribution carbon emissions we have initiated a carbon capture forestry scheme in partnership with Potanow Forestry. The CPI 30-hectare forest of some 80,000 trees will ensure that all EuroMix deliveries in 2022, both by CPI vehicles and also those contracted by us, will be carbon neutral. Our ISO 9001 Quality Management System accreditation, the international standard for quality management, is at the heart of our ambitions to drive continuous improvement to meet our customer needs. This is a key principle of the customer and product focus element of our sustainability strategy. Our BES 6001 Responsible Sourcing accreditation gives our customers the confidence that the materials used in our products have been secured through a responsible and sustainable supply chain. As the pioneers of dry silo mortar in the UK, at CPI we have some of the best technical product knowledge in the industry. We are using this extensive product knowledge to collaborate with our supply chain partners to develop more sustainable product choices within the parameters of the British Standard specification for masonry mortars as well as the other products we produce. Additionally, CPI takes a sustainable approach to limiting its waste streams, and reducing its use of plastics, and is also in the early stages of developing a sustainability code with its raw materials suppliers. We value our people and strive to provide a fair, safe and inclusive workplace where every colleague feels welcome and empowered to achieve their full potential. We know our colleagues also care about the environment and through our sustainable living campaigns, we help and support them to live more sustainably by providing useful information and resources. Making a positive contribution in the communities in which we operate is important to us and we are engaging with our colleagues to identify local community projects to support and to nominate charity partners. We are continuing our work with schools and colleges to raise awareness in areas such as health and safety, and the environment. At CPI, we are continually looking for new opportunities to support greater sustainability in the industry and our communities. We are committed to creating a more sustainable future and making progress within the construction industry. To discover more about CPI Euromix’s sustainability initiatives, visit: https://www.cpieuromix.com/sustainability/
Over 500 Spectus casement windows and 100 French doors were specified in a new £10m development of 75 new residential properties, providing a mix of one, two, and three-bedroom homes in Blackpool. Troutbeck Crescent on Mereside, sits in a prominent position which is visible from the main motorway connection when entering Blackpool. Formerly the site of 81 run down flats built in the 1960’s, the demolished site was secured for the development of the new social housing properties. The development of: • 19 one-bedroom apartments• 18 three-bedroom houses• 27 two-bedroom houses• 2 three-bedroom accessible properties• 9 two-bedroom accessible properties Had required over 500 windows to complete. The contract for the work was awarded to Spectus Approved Window Contractor Jade Windows, thanks to their exceptional track record of working on several prestigious commercial projects. Spectus Windows and Doors Meet the Commercial Requirements Spectus casement windows and French doors were specified for the project. All products were manufactured in Spectus’ Elite 70 bevelled system. The Elite 70 bevelled system has all the technical credentials for high-quality commercial applications. It can achieve a Window Energy Rating of Band A++ and U values as low as 0.8W/(m2K). In this project, the windows and doors were manufactured in anthracite grey to the external face with white internally to create the modern appearance of an aluminium window but at a more sympathetic price point. All products were manufactured to PAS24:2016 standard. The high-quality development also included the installation of several externally glazed ceramic glass panels by Jade Windows to provide a point of interest at an attractive pricing point. With over 500 windows and 100 French doors needing to be installed on a busy construction site, effective project management was essential. Jade Windows liaised with the project contractors and all trades on site to ensure fabrication and installation ran smoothly and on schedule. Initial site clearance began in September 2019 in preparation of construction on the 2.3-hectare site. The installation by Jade Windows took a total of twelve months with exacting standards and precision project management evidence at every level. Now the project is complete, Blackpool has a new flagship development of 75 high-quality, affordable homes. Ryan Fozard, Sales Manager at Jade Windows commented: “The new site has been completely transformed. The modern houses and flats boasting gardens, balconies, and car ports now provide a high standard of accommodation for residents and sits within an attractive environment that integrates with the surrounding area. We are delighted to have worked on this project and once again, the quality and reliability of the Spectus product range has delivered at every level. This is a flagship development for Blackpool and we are proud of the finished results.”
Roma has extended the product ranges available on RomaFLOW and introduced electronic signatures to the process… Roma Finance has enhanced the RomaFLOW process following its unwavering success, resulting in a loan book that has doubled in size since the launch. The enhancements are being made with no increase to rates since the Bank of England base rate increase. Rates with Roma start at 0.59%. RomaFLOW, which already significantly speeds up the bridging and auction application to completion process, will now be available on light refurbishment products too. In addition, Roma is introducing electronic signatures to speed up the process even further. The streamlined processing channel has fewer stages, reduced documentation and enhanced technology to help move cases smoothly to offer and completion. RomaFLOW ensures 80% of bridging cases are completed in under 28 days. Roma requires just three things from brokers on submission and will use cutting edge technology to do the rest, while maintaining the expectations of a dedicated underwriter, case processor and that intelligent touch. On straightforward cases, solicitors will be instructed within 24 hours. Steve Smith, sales director at Roma, said: “ We announced that speed was back with RomaFLOW in September 2021. We’ve worked really hard to maintain this improved process for straightforward cases and continue to enhance it. We know that brokers love Roma for our lending less ordinary approach but speed continues to be a major factor in the bridging market. We love to lend and are delighted we can now offer an enhanced RomaFLOW and also on more products. “Brokers don’t need to do anything different. Just send in the case and, unless it’s particularly complex, we’ll put it into RomaFLOW and provide brokers and borrowers with much quicker turnaround times.”
One of the leading worldwide providers of portable accommodation and secure storage containers, Mobile Mini UK, has provided pupils at Monkwearmouth Academy in Sunderland with over £15,000 worth of computer equipment this month. The donation has been made as part of a company-wide commitment to supporting the next generation of talent in the region. All of the 75 Lenovo ThinkCentre PCs were purchased less than three years ago at £695 each. They have been collected from Mobile Mini sites across the UK over the past four months and each computer has been professionally wiped and prepped by the IT team. Every unit has now been delivered for use by the school students ahead of this summer. This initiative was born out of an internal move at Mobile Mini towards laptops and remote working flexibility during the coronavirus pandemic. The company previously invested over £220,000 in laptops and docking stations for staff across 16 strategically placed sites throughout England, Scotland and Wales. Rather than looking to recoup funds from existing computer towers within the business, Mobile Mini saw an opportunity to make a useful contribution to the benefit of the local community. Chris Fay, Commercial Director says, “Mobile Mini has a longstanding history of providing opportunities for young people. From charitable campaigns to apprenticeships and internships, we remain fully committed to supporting and encouraging the next generation. These computers were only purchased in 2019 and remain perfectly operational, so rather than being sold or recycled, we reached out to Monkwearmouth Academy, who are located close to our UK head offices. “We have seen first-hand what a difference having up-to-date technology can make to our employees and we wanted to take this opportunity to share those benefits with emerging talent in the region. Everyone at the school has been highly appreciative of our donation and we are thrilled to see the positive effect this will have in contributing to the learning of students.” Monkwearmouth Academy is a state secondary school in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, for pupils aged between 11 and 16. On the recent donation by Mobile Mini, Paul Moorhead, Facilities Manager said, “These computers will be used as part of our new library and learning resource centre. Here, students will have the opportunity to use the computers to help them improve their literacy levels through programmes such as Accelerated Reader and Lexia. Improving literacy levels helps to enrich all areas of our student’s lives.” Mobile Mini UK is headquartered in Stockton-on-Tees and has a fleet of over 40,000 portable units for a variety of storage solutions and strategically placed sites throughout the UK. Over 7% of employees at Mobile Mini are qualified Mental Health First Aiders and in recent times the business has invested in life-saving defibrillator equipment for all branches as well as installing new safety features on an upgraded fleet of crane-mounted trucks.
Property development is a lucrative field with huge potential profits, but that’s only true when you can manage each projectproperly. This is no easy task as it requires knowledge, understanding, experience, connections,and business acumen relevant and specific to the construction business. This post will help if you are looking to reduce unnecessary expenses. Read on to find out how. Hire Expensive Equipment To decide whether you are better off hiring or buying, go through the following steps: Estimate how often you are likely to need the equipment for future projects. Estimate how many days/hours the equipment will be needed throughout the project’s duration. Estimate how much it would cost you in total to hire the equipment for the estimated duration. Estimate how much it would cost you to buy said equipment. If the construction equipment is not something that you expect to use regularly in other projects, the total cost of rent only needs to be slightly lower than the cost of purchase for you to consider trailer hire or cherry picker hire as the best option. If the construction equipment can be considered instrumental tomost projects that the property developer usually undertakes, then the cost of rent must be significantly lower than the cost of purchase for the developer to prefer hiring over buying. Any expensive, construction equipment that qualifies in accordance with the aboveshould be hired. Although it can be tempting to buy items outright, it will land you in unnecessary debt. Given that most construction businesses are founded on giant loans to begin with, the additional repayment plus interest will continue to eat into your profits for a long time to come. Use Automated Inventory and Supply-Chain Management Software to Minimize Costs Imagine how much time and energy could be diverted towards other facets of the business if you, your business partner, or someone on your payroll did not have to spend so many hours on inventory and supply chain management every year. Also, software does have the advantage of negating human error, finishing calculations, and presenting estimations much, much faster than the smartest man. Work with Contractual Employees It is better to have a crew that you know and trust, rather than hiring one separately for each project. In addition, it is most certainly cheaper. Most contractors usually start out with a permanent skeleton crew and only hire additional employees on a strictly per project/per hour basis. It’s a good strategy to save money when you are still small. If you are only just starting out as a property developer, keep the number of permanent employees to a minimum. At the same time, do maintain business connections with skilled workers and business owners related to the construction business. For example, you can hire roofers externally for only as long as it takes for them to install the roof on that particular building. Nonetheless, you have now made a professional contact. If they were professional and good at their job, you can call them for future roofing contracts as well.
Do you need to source materials for an urgent construction project? If so, you need to consider the following three things. 1. Can You Get Same Day Delivery? When working on an urgent construction project, you will need to ensure that you can source materials quickly. You may need to be able to get same-day delivery. If the supplier cannot deliver on the same day, you could always use a courier to deliver the materials instead. For instance, if you are located in or near Las Vegas, you could use a courier service Las Vegas that provides easy scheduling and reliable same-day delivery. However, it is worth determining which materials you need ahead of time so that you do not have any last-minute rushes and stresses. The time it takes to get materials from suppliers can also depend on the specific materials you are purchasing for your construction project. For instance, if you are ordering fabricated materials or special materials sourced from certain geographic regions, it can potentially take weeks, or even months, for the supplier to receive them in the first place. With such materials, same-day delivery is not possible. So, seeing as your construction project is urgent, you will want to ensure you only use materials that you can get hold of quickly. You may need to sacrifice using one material for another. But if you have time to plan ahead, being prepared beforehand is the best way of ensuring you can get the materials you need when you need them. 2. Are the Materials Affordable? Preparing ahead of time can also enable you to get quality materials at a lower cost. If you leave material procurement until the last minute, you may end up paying over the odds for the materials you need. For instance, you may only be able to source them from one supplier, and therefore have to pay whatever the supplier charges, rather than being able to shop around and compare prices with different suppliers. Also, you not only need to bear the cost of the materials in mind. You also need to consider the expense for things like transportation and storage. You should find several reliable suppliers that have a wide variety of materials always available before you even plan to complete a construction project. You will then not be left with last-minute challenges and face potential high costs for your construction materials. 3. Are the Materials High Quality? When you understand the specifications of your construction project, you can better understand what quality of materials you need. While it is always best to go with high-quality materials, depending on the precise nature of your construction project, lower-quality materials could suffice in some cases. For instance, if the materials you are getting are to be used in visible places, you will want the materials’ aesthetic quality to be high. On the other hand, if you are purchasing wooden beams for interior instruction and the wood will not be visible in the finished project, the quality of the wood’s strength will matter, but the aesthetic quality will not. By knowing the qualities that you need out of your building materials, you can more quickly find the right materials you need and not waste time obtaining materials that are no good. So, even though your construction project is urgent, you should think ahead as much as possible with regard to delivery, price, and quality.
