Construction contract rewards remained stable in March following a quarter which had showed a significant increase since the beginning of the year. The value of new contracts was 3% down in February and 1% down on the previous year but remained significantly above the last quarter of 2023, according to
LEADING retrofit decarbonisation turnkey solutions provider Sustainable Building Services (UK) Ltd has revealed details on its record year for growth in the year 2023 to 2024, increasing turnover by more than 60% to almost £45 million. SBS’ turnover is now more than quadrupled what it reported only four years ago, with
FSi Promat will highlight the need to account for movement in buildings when specifying passive fire protection in a presentation at this year’s Fire Safety Event. Speaking at the ASFP stage at 12pm on Tuesday, April 30, Technical Manager at FSi Promat, Paul Nash, and the passive fire specialist’s National
TerraQuest, the operator of Planning Portal, is unveiling a new Building Control Portal, offering a raft of new features designed to benefit local authority building control teams (LABCs), planning agents, architects and developers, as well as householders. The move is a key step in streamlining and digitising the building control
Barratt Homes has donated £1,500 to Buckinghamshire’s homeless and foodbank charity, Jedidiah. The housebuilder, which is currently selling new homes at the nearby St Rumbold’s Fields development in Buckingham, has donated to the charity in support of their efforts providing food support to struggling families. With food prices on the
Construction contract rewards remained stable in March following a quarter which had showed a significant increase since the beginning of the year. The value of new contracts was 3% down in February and 1% down on the previous year but remained significantly above the last quarter of 2023, according to analysis from Barbour ABI. Notably, residential contracts were up 60% in February, returning to heights seen in January and were up 62% over the first quarter of the year. Meanwhile, infrastructure fell back to more normal levels following a stellar February but remained 38% up on the same month last year. A new student accommodation facility on Medlock Steet, Manchester will cost £200 million, whilst a new National Grid convertor station at Eastern Green will be built at a cost of £700 million. A new prison at HMP Gartree was also awarded at a cost of £300million. Wates will carry out the work which will commence July 2024. Barbour ABI head of business and client analytics, Ed Griffiths commented: “When looking across the first quarter of 2024 it has become clear that both the infrastructure and residential sectors have had strong starts to the year as businesses attempt to get projects off the ground, which is a positive signal the construction sector is attempting to emerge from the doldrums of last year. “Interestingly in March, we saw Residential and Infrastructure swapping positions in terms of leading overall contract awards value with £2.4bn and £2bn respectively. Together they are pushing the industry awards upwards.” Elsewhere Healthcare projects were subdued in March following two strong months and Economic conditions continue to stagnate the Hotel and Leisure Sector Applications continue to confound recovery. Planning applications have improved in February after a weak start to the year in January but activity levels in most sectors remain low, highlighting that nervousness remains in the sector to commit to future projects ahead of potential rates cuts and upcoming elections. Infrastructure has increased 33% since last month and remains strong against its long-term average. However, it has not returned to the highs of the end of last year. Residential applications fell once again from £3.1bn in January to £2.9bn in February. Griffithscontinued: “The enduring story of 2024 so far has been the contradiction between a rise in contracts awarded, sometimes even for projects which have not yet been fully approved, and the continued lack of confidence shown in both in new applications and approvals – which have been contracting since last November. The industry stands at a crossroads where financial and political decisions made at a national level could tip the balance in either direction.” Find out more at https://barbour-abi.com/ Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
LEADING retrofit decarbonisation turnkey solutions provider Sustainable Building Services (UK) Ltd has revealed details on its record year for growth in the year 2023 to 2024, increasing turnover by more than 60% to almost £45 million. SBS’ turnover is now more than quadrupled what it reported only four years ago, with similar levels of increased profitability, having experienced rapid growth and consecutive record-breaking years since then. 2024 is similarly set to continue this streak with already £70m of work secured in the pipeline. The northwest based business was also recognised through numerous awards during the past 12 months, being shortlisted for many industry and business awards, including the Construction News Awards, Investors in People Awards and securing The Retrofit Academy Awards’ Retrofit Contractor of the Year. SBS also became a founding member of the industry leading National Home Decarbonisation Group upon inception in May 2023, playing a key role in industry-wide collaboration on an unprecedented scale. Gary Lawson, managing director at Sustainable Building Services (UK) Ltd, said: “We’ve had a very successful few years. Especially during the difficult economic times we’ve all experienced, it’s a testament to the high standards and care the team has consistently put into their work – allowing us to maintain our efforts in helping people face the everyday pressures of life by ensuring their homes are safe, dry, warm, and energy-efficient. “We’re a purpose-led business and it’s a privilege to lead such a team, and to work with them towards achieving our ambitions of decarbonising the UK’s housing stock. What we do is of tremendous importance both on a national scale, but also, and more importantly, on an individual scale when we’re working in communities making real, tangible social difference, positively impacting communities across the UK.” As well as its fiscal success, SBS has also expanded its team in the past year. Now more than 90 strong, 12% of its workforce is made up of apprentices. Additionally, SBS has either promoted or enrolled more than 90% of its employees on vocational courses. Gary added: “As well as training the next generation through our apprenticeship schemes, we also invest in our current workforce at all stages of their career so that they can grow and fulfil their potential as well. This is one of the premier reasons I believe we have such a high staff retention rate.” Some of the SBS team have been with the company for more than 20 years and have even brought other members of their family into the fold as well. Derek Horrocks, owner of Sustainable Building Services (UK) Ltd, said: “In business, it’s important to have your eyes on the future – and our direction of travel is hugely exciting at SBS. For example, we’re investing heavily in FinTech and PropTech solutions, however, it’s important to also look back to see the progress we’ve made already, and this recent growth has increased my pride in the team even more. “Together we’re making a significant difference to people living in homes throughout the country, improving living conditions and helping to alleviate fuel poverty and the pressure of energy prices. Our work goes towards tackling the climate crisis too, and while there’s a long way to go on that front, I’m confident that collaboration across the housing decarbonisation sector will push us a long way in the right direction.” For more information on SBS, visit: www.sustainablebuildinguk.com Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
FSi Promat will highlight the need to account for movement in buildings when specifying passive fire protection in a presentation at this year’s Fire Safety Event. Speaking at the ASFP stage at 12pm on Tuesday, April 30, Technical Manager at FSi Promat, Paul Nash, and the passive fire specialist’s National Commercial and Marketing Manager, David Roulstone will take an in-depth look at the application of fire stopping and how movement can affect its performance. Appearing as part of the Association for Specialist Fire Protection (ASFP) passive fire protection seminar programme, FSi Promat will build on the work it has done to raise awareness of the potential issues that movement can cause to built-in fire protection, in the worst case causing it to become non-compliant. In addition, FSI Promat’s team will be on hand on stand 5/D115 throughout the three-day event, discussing the impact of movement on a practical level and how this can be accommodated with a third-party evaluated solution. David said: “With an increasing focus on robust building safety following the Hackitt Review, the Fire Safety Event is the ideal forum to explore the challenges – and solutions – in designing and installing passive fire protection to ensure it performs as expected in the event of a fire breaking out. “Ensuring that the correct passive fire protection is in place when specifying products at the design stage is essential – but it is important that this remains compliant throughout the life span of the building. Taking into consideration the part that movement plays in this is vital to prevent tears and cracks. “FSi Promat will demonstrate why movement should be considered, and what can be done to address this when specifying fire stopping, primarily by using our specialist Flexi Coat solution.” FSi Promat’s sister company Promat will also be represented alongside the team at the Fire Safety Event, which takes place from 30th April to 2nd May at the NEC in Birmingham. Both part of the Etex group, the brands offer complimentary passive fire solutions with Promat specialising in protective board solutions used to maintain compartmentation and provide structural integrity in the event of a fire, while FSi Promat is a leading manufacturer of fire stopping and cavity barriers. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
TerraQuest, the operator of Planning Portal, is unveiling a new Building Control Portal, offering a raft of new features designed to benefit local authority building control teams (LABCs), planning agents, architects and developers, as well as householders. The move is a key step in streamlining and digitising the building control application process for all users, creating a single portal that serves as the home of planning and building control. Built on TerraQuest’s proprietary KeyChain software platform, which is recognised by international experts for its quality, the new building control Portal expected in spring 2024 allows applicants to pull information through from existing or approved planning applications to pre-populate elements of building control applications. A single sign-on will give users direct access to all their planning and building control applications, while the platform brings with it a host of usability and interface enhancements that will save users time and money. Meanwhile, LABCs stand to benefit from a single portal for all development applications across planning and building control. The single portal means they will have the same high degree of integration with their back-office systems that they already enjoy from Planning Portal, bringing a streamlined approach that allows for a substantial reduction in manual data entry, processing and time. Geoff Keal, CEO at TerraQuest, said: “Having developed the new Planning Portal, we know the benefits that leading digital products and services bring to end users, whether they are applicants or on the local authority side. We wanted to extend these benefits to building control applicants and LABCs, which is why we have built our new integrated Building Control Portal on our proven KeyChain software platform.” Behind the scenes, LABCs will benefit from substantial efficiencies arising from the new service’s payment processing, providing a consolidated payment solution. “One of the main drivers of this software update is to enable greater agility in adapting to shifts in health and safety legislation, enabling applicants to make compliant submissions more easily. We have in-house policy experts who are constantly striving to ensure our platform is up to date and allows us to serve our overall goal to drive development more quickly,” added Geoff. TerraQuest has cautioned users that existing Planning Portal building control service accounts will not carry over to the new system, and that draft applications will not be transferred. Existing drafts will need to be submitted before the transition to the new system or inputted into the new system when it launches. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Barratt Homes has donated £1,500 to Buckinghamshire’s homeless and foodbank charity, Jedidiah. The housebuilder, which is currently selling new homes at the nearby St Rumbold’s Fields development in Buckingham, has donated to the charity in support of their efforts providing food support to struggling families. With food prices on the rise since 2021, thinktank Food Foundation has stated that food poverty amongst families is increasing, with almost 4 million UK children in food poverty in 2023, with one in five households to be skipping meals or not eating for a whole day1. Driven by a calling to feed those in need since 2020, Jedidiah has been on a mission to ensure no one should go hungry. With the pandemic and cost-of-living crisis further intensifying their calling, its team of volunteers now regularly support an increasing number of families each week across three branches, delivering thousands of meals, and hoping to ensure families do not feel alone2. Barratt North Thames’ donation will continue Jedidiah’s support to local families in Buckingham. Marc Woolfe, Director of Sales & Marketing at Barratt North Thames, comments: “Food insecurity is becoming an increasing concern for many, and for Buckingham to have a brilliant charity right at its doorstep is ever-so reassuring. We are so honoured to support Jedidiah, and hope that our donation will keep up their efforts in ensuring no one’s sleep hungry.” Cynthia Stroud MBE, Founder of Jedidiah adds: “We have seen a rise in demand for our services in the last few years and want to ensure we never let anyone feel alone. It is with the support from businesses like Barratt North Thames, who are a massive support in upholding our aims and ensuring the local community is always supported.” For further details about Barratt David Wilson North Thames or the new homes at St Rumbold’s Fields, visit https://www.barratthomes.co.uk/ / www.dwh.co.uk or call 0330 828 0133 / 0330 1627 757 Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
