Prologis UK, a leading owner, developer and investor of logistics property, is expanding its development in Croydon, South London. Working with leading main contractor, Winvic Construction, groundworks have been completed on four new market-leading units at Prologis Park Beddington. Ranging from 15,000 to 46,000 sq. ft., the latest expansion phase
Leading North West property services company, The Momentum Group, has announced the publication of its first Annual Report for Momentum Contribute and its second Annual Health, Safety and Wellbeing Report. Momentum Contribute underpins The Momentum Group’s business activities, encapsulating the company’s commitment to people, places, the planet, and professionalism. Its
Winvic Construction Ltd is again leading the industry with another UK first; the main contractor that specialises in the design and delivery of private and public sector construction and civil engineering projects is the first to use Skyline Cockpit – a pioneering technology that operates tower cranes from a ground
London Museum (formerly known as Museum of London) has today announced a new pledge of £50 million from its principal funders the City of London Corporation and the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan. The contribution of £25 million each will go towards the creation of its new home – a
Yesterday’s publication of the final report of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry is a long-awaited milestone in the response to the tragic loss of 72 lives in June 2017. It is another difficult and traumatic moment for the bereaved, the survivors and relatives of the Grenfell Tower victims and the Construction
Housing providers and local authorities across the UK are set to benefit from a new procurement framework specialising in decarbonisation retrofit works. The framework, launched by specialist procurement consultancy Prosper, is expected to generate up to £1 billion of construction opportunities. It provides an all-encompassing procurement solution for landlords, covering
Logicor announces the appointment of two new hires to its UK Asset Management team. The appointments mark Logicor’s strong commitment to accelerate its development pipeline across the UK, with continued growth anticipated for the year ahead. Michaela Chidgey will join as Project Manager, where she will be supporting the delivery
Maidstone-based housing association Golding Homes has successfully renegotiated changes to agreements with its funders and investors to increase investment into existing homes. This enables the delivery of the Board-approved asset management strategy to spend £60m over the next three years to invest in improving its existing homes and help deliver
Civils & Lintels, part of the Huws Gray group of companies, has secured a ‘preferred supplier’ contract with Gleeson Homes, the high-quality affordable housebuilder, to supply either IG or Catnic Lintels to its new home developments across the Midlands and North of England. The deal is part of Gleeson’s efforts
Russ Beresford joins leading retirement BTR operator to help drive aggressive expansion Birchgrove, the UK’s leading provider of rented retirement homes, has appointed a new Development Director to help fuel the company’s growth as it gears up to meet the anticipated surge in demand for rental homes suitable for older people
BDC 319 : Aug 2024
Prologis UK, a leading owner, developer and investor of logistics property, is expanding its development in Croydon, South London. Working with leading main contractor, Winvic Construction, groundworks have been completed on four new market-leading units at Prologis Park Beddington. Ranging from 15,000 to 46,000 sq. ft., the latest expansion phase demonstrates design excellence, flexibility and sustainability. Environmentally-conscious design is at the heart of the new units and integrated into their defining features. This includes the installation of air source heat pumps, rooftop solar PV and 15% rooflights, along with rainwater harvesting. All of these features will support Prologis UK customers with their sustainability targets and reduce long-term energy costs, with the solar PV alone expected to generate £12,000 of savings per annum on the smallest building, to £33,000 on the largest. Each of the units will be all electric with net-zero regulated energy use in line with an EPC A+ rating. Embodied carbon will be measured, reduced and mitigated in line with the UKGBC net zero carbon framework and the units are well on track to being awarded BREEAM ‘Excellent’. Maximising flexibility has been a key design consideration at Prologis Park Beddington, demonstrated in the innovative approach to mezzanines. Available at two of the units, the additional space will allow for office areas to be expanded or configured to provide extra storage space, benchwork, assembly or racking across the lifespan of the unit. Richard Plant, Chair at Develop Croydon and Partner at Stiles Harold Williams, said: “Set to drive essential growth for Croydon’s local economy, Prologis UK’s expansion on Beddington Lane will create significant opportunities in the South London job market. We’re looking forward to seeing this next phase develop, building on Prologis’ current property footprint in the local area.” Simon Perks, Director in the Capital Deployment and Leasing team at Prologis UK, said: “The expansion at Prologis Park Beddington sets a new standard for design and flexibility of logistics space in Croydon. With four differing sized units, the park’s location is ideal for last mile logistics operators serving the capital, with ready access to the local job market in South London. “We’ve ensured that sustainability has been a major consideration throughout the design and construction of this development and have been encouraged by the positive reception from customers enquiring about the scheme.” The expansion at Prologis Park Beddington is already taking shape, with steels currently being erected and the scheme due to be complete in Q1 2025. Danny Nelson, Managing Director – Industrial at Winvic Construction Ltd, said: “As a trusted Prologis construction partner for over 20 years, Winvic has successfully delivered numerous industrial facilities that meet their sustainable design and construction standards. We’re thrilled to be working on the four units at Prologis Park Beddington, which are unique due to the innovative design approach for the mezzanines. With the groundworks now complete, we look forward to delivering these market-leading logistics facilities for Prologis, while setting a new standard for design and flexibility.” With nearby access to the A23, A205 and M25, Prologis Park Beddington provides excellent transport links to London and the South East. The expansion builds on the existing 220,000 sq. ft. of warehouse and office space, made up of six BREEAM ‘Excellent’-rated units. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Leading North West property services company, The Momentum Group, has announced the publication of its first Annual Report for Momentum Contribute and its second Annual Health, Safety and Wellbeing Report. Momentum Contribute underpins The Momentum Group’s business activities, encapsulating the company’s commitment to people, places, the planet, and professionalism. Its maiden annual report provides an assessment of the company’s progress since launching the responsible business strand 12 months ago. Highlights include: Establishing processes to capture The Momentum Group’s baseline emissions leading to the first carbon footprint calculation for the whole business; Achieving ISO 14001 and 45001 standards to prove the Group’s successful environmental and health and safety management systems; Taking a leading role in the Liverpool City Region to open the debate around how the property sector can become more sustainable, most notably delivering Liverpool’s first Sustainable Property Conference in support of the UN’s Global Sustainable Development Goals Week. The conference brought together over 80 attendees and speakers from across the property sector; And establishing the Momentum Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the group, as a force for good in the Liverpool City Region by holding its first open grants panel, providing funding to five local charities. Chris Bliss, Co-founder and Director of The Momentum Group, commented: “The Momentum Group is committed to maximising our positive contribution and minimising our negative impact. The creation of Momentum Contribute was a key step in achieving this, but the publication of our first annual report assessing its activities takes us even further on our journey to be a responsible, sustainable business. We recognise we have more to do and are committed to fulfilling our objectives in the years ahead, whilst encouraging other businesses to behave in a more socially and environmentally responsible way.” Marking The Momentum Group’s ongoing commitment to the highest standards of health, safety and wellbeing, the company’s second Annual Health, Safety and Wellbeing Report offers a transparent look into Momentum’s practices for clients, supply chain partners, and its own team. Sitting at the core of the business, ‘Safe First’ underpins everything that Momentum does. The report reveals: In over 195,000 hours of activity, the team had only one significant reportable incident, and zero dangerous occurrences, with The Momentum Group continuing to set very high standards and ensuring its team and supply chain partners adhere to processes and procedures; Momentum facilitates several regular meetings across the business to keep an open line of conversation to discuss health and safety issues and concerns. These include the Steering Group, chaired by the company’s external safety advisors alongside the Co-Founder Directors and each of the division heads. The Co-Founder Directors also undertake Monthly Safety Tours on various sites across the business; Mental wellbeing is another key aspect of Momentum’s health, safety and wellbeing considerations, with the management team implementing a range of initiatives to aid the mental health of the team, including all line managers being trained as Mental Health First Aiders; During the 12-month period, The Momentum Group employees took part in over 8,600 hours of training, including courses on Fire Safety, First Aid, and various construction related courses. Chris Renshaw, Co-founder and Director of The Momentum Group, added: “Our health and safety performance continues to be strong, and we will ensure we maintain our high standards, reviewing, adapting, and challenging ourselves to be even better in the year ahead. “More broadly, both reports are a testament to the commitment, hard work and support from our team, clients and partners, and extend our gratitude to them all for the key roles they have played in all that we have achieved so far.” Read the full Annual Report for Momentum Contribute here and the Annual Health, Safety and Wellbeing Report here. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Winvic Construction Ltd is again leading the industry with another UK first; the main contractor that specialises in the design and delivery of private and public sector construction and civil engineering projects is the first to use Skyline Cockpit – a pioneering technology that operates tower cranes from a ground control system. Winvic’s commitment to health, safety and wellbeing were the drivers for the selection of the new technology, but daily and weekly analytics reports available through the Skyline Cockpit cloud portal also allow for efficiencies to be analysed. A 12-week trial period of Skyline Cockpit has concluded at Crown Place Birmingham, a city centre a Purpose Build Student Accommodation (PBSA) scheme; it’s resounding success now means Winvic will continue to use the remote operation technology for the remainder of the project. Handover of the scheme to client Crown Student Living is scheduled for December 2025. Crown Place Birmingham, containing 814 student beds, is Winvic’s tallest project to date and will tower to nine, 12 and 33 storeys when complete. A 14-tonne capacity Potain MR225 crane is being utilised to facilitate several works packages; constructing the hybrid precast and insitu concrete frame, facilitating the installation of the unitised curtain walled façade, and vertically distributing internal fit out materials, such as prefabricated bathroom pods. Currently the crane reaches to 77 metres, but it will be climbed throughout construction to a maximum height of 102 metres. Progress of the project can be viewed on Winvic Live. Skyline Cockpit negates the need for a crane operator to climb up and down the mast section, to the tower crane cab and instead they control the crane from a specialist ground command centre located in a cabin on a lower floor or ground level. The cabin contains a large panoramic screen measuring 2.1 by 1.2 metres, which shows simultaneous views from the seven cameras placed on the crane. The Skyline Cockpit algorithms combine the output from the cameras to create a panoramic view of the site. They also use augmented reality (AR) to display the load line, expected landing spot, as well as real-time indicators including wind speed, slew, lifting, hoist, jib, and radius data. The benefit of the technology on compact, high-rise projects like Crown Place Birmingham is improved all round visibility; the cameras eliminate blind spots and restricted views created by the building and the close proximity of the lifts to the crane’s mast. They also provide up to 40% zoom resolution, allowing the crane operator to see areas that would typically be out of their line of sight. While safety and efficiency are the most obvious benefits, the physical working conditions for the crane operator are much improved; the cabin comprises kitchenette and welfare facilities. It is predicted that such digital machinery will inspire the next generation to consider tower crane operation as a cutting edge, technological profession. Mark Jones, Winvic’s Managing Director of Multi-room, said: “Winvic is known for embracing innovative technologies, materials and methods of construction and we’re pleased to be the first contractor in the UK to utilise ground control tower crane technology. It is transformational for the safety and wellbeing of crane operators and an important step for the industry. “During our 12-week trial period, in collaboration with Skyline Cockpit and Radius Group, we analysed the data and assessed the benefits and we’re delighted to announce that we will continue to use this game-changing technology at the 33-storey Crown Place Birmingham for the remainder of the project’s construction.” Alan Pulver of Crown Student Living said: “Winvic are doing an amazing job for us at our latest PBSA to be known as Crown Place, Birmingham. Winvic are forward thinking, and it is no surprise that they are using Skyline Cockpit which certainly sounds like a winner. The ground control system for operating tower cranes will be a great advance to the construction industry, and we are proud to be associated both with Winvic and Skyline Cockpit in this groundbreaking venture.” For more information on Winvic, the company’s latest project news and job vacancies please visit www.winvic.co.uk. Join Winvic on social media – visit X (formerly Twitter) @WinvicLtd – and LinkedIn. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
London Museum (formerly known as Museum of London) has today announced a new pledge of £50 million from its principal funders the City of London Corporation and the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan. The contribution of £25 million each will go towards the creation of its new home – a sustainable and world class development in the historic Smithfield markets. It will be supported by an additional £30 million in fundraising by the museum. The funding will help realise the overall budget of £437 million for the new museum. Designed by Stanton Williams and Asif Khan, working with conservation architects Julian Harrap, the new London Museum is one of Europe’s largest cultural infrastructure projects and will preserve the historic Smithfield Market buildings for generations to come. The formerly derelict Victorian General Market, home to the museum’s permanent galleries, will open in 2026 showcasing more of its internationally important collection than ever before. The Poultry Market, set to house the museum’s world-class learning centre, temporary exhibition spaces and collection stores, will open in 2028. The new pledge will help the museum realise its full vision for the site, bringing the Mayor’s overall contribution to £95 million and the City of London Corporation’s funding to £222 million. The museum’s new fundraising commitment raises its overall target to £100 million, with almost half of that (£45 million) having already been secured through private donations, sponsors, and philanthropy. The museum will explore green loan opportunities to achieve the remaining £20 million towards its £437 million target. Substantial restoration efforts and early works in the General Market are already complete and work is underway to frame the internal spaces that will house the museum’s permanent galleries. In 2023, a three-metre-wide glass oculus was craned in to become the centrepiece of the General Market’s dome roof, and the four-year-long restoration of the Poultry Market’s copper roof was successfully completed by hand by coppersmith Chris Johnson (83yrs), an apprentice on the original 1960s build. Having gained vacant possession of the Poultry Market in September 2023, interior restorations are now underway, including work to connect the ground floor and basement levels. The ground floor will house two state-of-the-art temporary exhibition spaces, alongside a new learning centre. At basement level, former cold stores will be transformed into a working collections store. A publicly accessible store and display space will offer visitors a unique opportunity to glimpse behind the scenes into the museum’s vast collection. Director of London Museum, Sharon Ament said: “Thousands of Londoners are helping to shape this fantastic new museum which will not only explore our city’s rich history but the people and places that make it such a vibrant place to be. With the generous support of the GLA and the City of London Corporation, alongside our other funders and supporters, we are steaming ahead to deliver a transformative, world-leading museum that will be worthy of this great global capital.” Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan said: “Culture is the DNA of our city, and I am proud that we’re such an integral part of the creation of the new London Museum at Smithfield. It is one of the biggest cultural projects in Europe and will be a brilliant addition to London’s world-leading cultural sector. It will attract Londoners and tourists from around the world, generate new jobs and reinforce our position as a global creative capital, as we continue to build a better and fairer London for everyone.” Policy Chairman of the City of London Corporation, Christopher Hayward said: “This additional funding marks a positive milestone for the new London Museum. I have always said we are committed to working with London Museum to explore other funding opportunities, so I am very pleased we are able to confirm this new tranche of funding. The new London Museum is a cultural and economic cornerstone of ‘Destination City’. This infusion of funding reaffirms our commitment to the transformation of the historic market buildings that make up the site and showcases the City Corporation’s commitment to bringing to life a community-led space for Londoners and international visitors to tell and share their stories.” The news follows a visit earlier this week by London Museum’s new Patron HRH The Duke of Gloucester. Formerly a practising architect, The Duke was given a tour of the Smithfield site by Director of New Museum Project and Estate, Alec Shaw and Principal Director at Stanton Williams, architect Paul Williams. London Museum will play a key role in the transformation of Smithfield, opening early and closing late to reflect London’s 24-hour character. The landmark site will become one of the city’s top visitor attractions at the heart of a dynamic new cultural quarter. Housed within historic market buildings, London Museum will welcome over 2 million people each year, of which half will be tourists. It will support economic growth, local businesses, and employment, contributing an estimated £565m in GVA (Gross Value Added) within 10 years of opening. Through its learning centre, it will seek to engage every London schoolchild. Increased gallery space will enable visitors to enjoy more of its 7 million strong collection than ever before. Sustainability is at the heart of the new museum, with both the construction and the continued operation of the building designed to be as environmentally friendly as possible. 70% of the site’s existing fabric will be preserved and recycled whilst operational carbon will be reduced through the use of smart technologies that lower energy requirements and monitor and improve performance over time. An attenuation tank lying three meters beneath the basement floor will also store surface and rainwater to guard against flood risk and be re-used for non-potable purposes such as flushing toilets. Already more than 70,000 Londoners have been involved in the shaping and creation of the new museum – from the design of inclusive and welcoming public spaces, to collecting objects, and working with the museum team to create future displays. This number is set to rise to 100,000 by completion. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The
Yesterday’s publication of the final report of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry is a long-awaited milestone in the response to the tragic loss of 72 lives in June 2017. It is another difficult and traumatic moment for the bereaved, the survivors and relatives of the Grenfell Tower victims and the Construction Industry Council (CIC) recognises once again all that they have suffered and we extend our sympathy once more to all the victims. Sir Martin Moore Bick has made many recommendations for further action in the report, based on a careful analysis of the evidence presented to the Inquiry by hundreds of witnesses and in hundreds of thousands of documents. CIC and its member organisations are now reviewing the full report and its recommendations and carefully considering the further actions that we will need to take. Whilst much work has already been done through the independent review of building regulations and fire safety undertaken by Dame Judith Hackitt and the consequent programme of regulatory reform that has been introduced and which the industry is working hard to implement, Sir Martin has clearly identified several further matters that require attention and CIC will be working with its members, the wider industry and government to develop appropriate responses to those matters, ensuring that they are given the critical and expedient attention that they demand. It will take time to give the thought and consideration that the report requires and for the action that is needed to address the various recommendations Sir Martin has brought forward. It is essential that government and the construction sector recognise the findings he has reported and that we learn the lessons and continue to respond to create an industry and a culture where safety, competence and compliance with the law is an absolute priority. Only then will public trust in the sector be restored. CIC believes that every construction professional should fully familiarise themselves with the report and its recommendations, and we will work closely with our members to facilitate this process as we develop an appropriate detailed response to the report. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Housing providers and local authorities across the UK are set to benefit from a new procurement framework specialising in decarbonisation retrofit works. The framework, launched by specialist procurement consultancy Prosper, is expected to generate up to £1 billion of construction opportunities. It provides an all-encompassing procurement solution for landlords, covering a range of Energy Efficient Retrofit works in accordance with PAS 2035 and traditional investment installation works. The Decarbonisation and Investment Installation Works framework will further strengthen Prosper’s position in the market after successfully launching the first-to-market decarbonisation retrofit and investment work framework in August 2022, which has already unlocked more than £200 million worth of construction opportunities. The new framework will provide landlords with an innovative and compliant ‘one-stop-shop’ solution route to delivery through appointed principal contractors. The solution will complement the works supported through the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) and ECO4 works, meaning contractors have to be compliant with PAS 2035 installer accreditation requirements and hold Trustmark certification. The new framework coincides with SHDF Wave 3 applications and offers traditional investment works to deliver component schemes or whole house approaches to include typical cyclical investment works. Typical works covered under the framework will include internal and external wall insulation, ground source and air source heat pumps, electric heating solutions, PV systems, ventilation systems, roofing works as well as traditional works such as the installation of new kitchens and bathrooms, replacement of windows and doors and solutions to tackle damp and mould. The initial decarbonisation retrofit framework will run concurrently with the new framework and landlords will be able to utilise either framework. Contractors on the existing framework will be able to apply to join the new framework, but only the top 8 in each Lot will be awarded a place. Rod Brasington, CEO of Prosper, said: “With the forthcoming rollout of the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund wave three and landlords’ commitment to achieve Net Zero, this new framework will provide even greater funding and procurement opportunities for landlords and contractors across the UK. “Following the successful implementation and delivery of our first decarbonisation retrofit framework and consultation with existing clients, this new major framework will not only create greater value by combining decarbonisation works together with cyclical investment works, it also provides efficiency in the delivery of programmes and minimises disruption for residents whilst major works are being undertaken within their homes. “This framework is one that all contractors who deliver investment and/or renewable works should be keen to win a place on, and we anticipate there will be significant work placed through it.” Rebecca Griggs, Head of Procurement at Prosper, said: “The Framework call-off will be either by further competition or by direct award, the scale of the framework means that the pricing exercise to complete as part of the tendering process is extensive, however, this should enable wider and more regular use of the direct award option. We are really excited about how this new framework is going to positively contribute towards the drive for decarbonisation of our homes across the country.” The Decarbonisation and Investment Installation Works framework is now live. Tender return is 10:00 Friday 11 October 2024 and can be viewed via the tender advert on ProContract at – https://procontract.due-north.com/Advert?advertId=1eedd272-6064-ef11-812e-005056b64545 For more information about the new framework or any of our other solutions, please email Prosper at info@prosper.uk.com or call on 0191 280 5665. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Logicor announces the appointment of two new hires to its UK Asset Management team. The appointments mark Logicor’s strong commitment to accelerate its development pipeline across the UK, with continued growth anticipated for the year ahead. Michaela Chidgey will join as Project Manager, where she will be supporting the delivery of Logicor’s development pipeline in the UK, streamlining the business’ collaboration between technical and asset management teams to drive consistency of service delivery and quality across Logicor’s UK portfolio. Logicor currently owns and manages over 32 million sq ft across 176 high-quality distribution locations. Latest developments underway in the UK include Logicor Park Daventry, Derby 507, Bolton 330 and Logicor Park Dartford, delivering over 1.7m sq ft of premium warehouse and logistics space over the next 12 months. Michaela joins from Savills where she was an Associate Director in the Building and Project Consultancy team. Michaela will work with Matthew Storr, Director of Project Management and Sam Towers, Technical Director of Logicor. Michaela previously joined Savills in 2015 and has specialized in project management for both new-build developments and refurbishments, where her primary focus lied within the industrial and logistics sector. She has extensive experience of managing projects throughout the development cycle, from feasibility study and technical due diligence for acquisition, through to managing the design, planning and construction phases. Logicor also recently recruited Rachel Boorer to join its UK Asset Management Team as an Analyst. Rachel previously worked at CBRE as a Surveyor. Like Michaela, Rachel will be based in Logicor’s London HQ, and will work with the whole UK Asset Management team, reporting into Associate, Liam Lewis. Charlie Howard, Logicor’s Managing Director, UK, says: “We are absolutely delighted to welcome Michaela and Rachel to our UK Asset Management Team. Michaela has great experience and a fabulous reputation in the delivery of industrial and logistics buildings having worked in the successful Project Management team at Savills for many years. She joins at a very exciting time at Logicor as we continue to grow our development activities in the UK. “Rachel has benefitted from experience in both the Valuation and Industrial and Logistics teams at CBRE and is another brilliant addition to the UK team. I am thrilled to welcome both to the Logicor UK team.” Simon Collett, Executive Director and Head of Professional Services at Savills, comments: “Michaela has been an integral member of our London development project management team and although we are sad to see her go, this move is a natural progression and we wish her every success in her new role. We very much look forward to working with her closely in the future and extending our relationship with Logicor, who remain one of the divisions key clients.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Maidstone-based housing association Golding Homes has successfully renegotiated changes to agreements with its funders and investors to increase investment into existing homes. This enables the delivery of the Board-approved asset management strategy to spend £60m over the next three years to invest in improving its existing homes and help deliver significant benefits to its customers. Finance Director David Hart said: “Getting these deals over the line is a fantastic achievement which will deliver our robust asset management strategy so that we can make a real and lasting difference to our customers. “Some of this work is already underway; homes are getting new roofs, kitchens, bathrooms, and replacement doors and windows. These improvements will transform the environmental performance of these homes and help reduce energy use and costs for customers. “Successfully securing these revised agreements with Barclays, Lloyds Bank, NatWest, and Santander UK is a wonderful achievement and we’re thrilled. It’s a testament to the strong, positive partnerships we have with our funders, and I’d like to thank everyone who’s worked so hard for many months to make it happen, including our solicitors Anthony Collins and my inhouse team.” Kathrin Nash, Relationship Director, Barclays, said: “As always, it has been an absolute pleasure to work with the Finance team at Golding Homes on this strategic covenant relaxation to enable the association to undertake its important asset management strategy over the next few years. Barclays enjoys a strong relationship with Golding Homes and is proud to be a strategic partner of the association. This is another example of our renewed focus on supporting and lending to more businesses across the UK.” Chris Yau, Relationship Director Lloyds Bank, said: “Everyone deserves access to a safe, energy efficient and lasting home and so we are proud to support Golding Homes – as one of the largest landlords in Kent – in its efforts to provide good quality social housing to the local community.” Dean Holleyman, Director of Housing Finance, Commercial and Institutional, at NatWest said: “We’re pleased to offer Golding Homes a structure that allows for greater investment in its properties. We’re committed to supporting the creation of more affordable homes while ensuring that existing houses become more sustainable. It’s great news that Golding will deliver new homes, while people currently living in their properties will be able to enjoy more environmentally friendly homes.” Aradhna Lawson, Senior Relationship Director at Santander UK, said: “We are delighted to have been able to support Golding Homes through this process which will unlock additional capacity to invest in their homes for residents. We look forward to continuing to work together in the future.” Golding customer Steve said this about his new roof: “I moved in six months ago and am really happy here. I’m really pleased that the roof’s being done. They always let me know what’s going on and I hope it’ll make the house warmer come winter.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Civils & Lintels, part of the Huws Gray group of companies, has secured a ‘preferred supplier’ contract with Gleeson Homes, the high-quality affordable housebuilder, to supply either IG or Catnic Lintels to its new home developments across the Midlands and North of England. The deal is part of Gleeson’s efforts to streamline its roster of preferred lintel suppliers from seven merchants to two as it seeks to consolidate its supply chain to drive greater efficiencies. Jon Walker, group procurement director at Gleeson Homes, commented: “When deciding to consolidate our lintels supply chain, it was imperative that we were assured of access to the products we need, when we need them, and in the right locations. “Civils & Lintels, with its strategically placed nationwide locations, proved to be an ideal preferred supplier in this respect and when coupled with our experience of working with their knowledgeable team, I’m delighted to have reached this agreement with them. “We see appointing Civils & Lintels to our supply chain as the start of a long and mutually beneficial partnership.” With a vision to deliver high-quality, affordable new homes in the areas where they are needed most, Gleeson has set an objective of delivering 3,000 new homes per annum in the medium-term. Commenting on this latest win with a major housebuilder, Tim Slesser, national lintels director at Civils & Lintels, said: “As the number one distributor of lintels in the UK, it is fitting that we’ve been named as a preferred supplier to Gleeson Homes – a highly respected UK housebuilder with whom we’ve built a strong working relationship over several years. “Our £5m investment last year into our four strategically located lintels hubs was driven by the vision to further enhance our service offering to the UK’s housebuilding sector, and this latest win, vindicates that investment.” This announcement comes shortly after Civils & Lintels announced a preferred supplier agreement focused on hard landscaping products for another leading housebuilder, Vistry Group. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Russ Beresford joins leading retirement BTR operator to help drive aggressive expansion Birchgrove, the UK’s leading provider of rented retirement homes, has appointed a new Development Director to help fuel the company’s growth as it gears up to meet the anticipated surge in demand for rental homes suitable for older people over the next 10 years. Russ Beresford comes to the firm with more than 20 years of experience in the property development industry. Prior to joining Birchgrove, he was Head of Development at co-living provider The Collective and has also held roles at Landsec, Blackstone Property Management, Hammerson and Lend Lease. In addition to co-living, his previous roles span a number of other sub-sectors of the property world, including Central London office development, out-of-town retail and city centre mixed use developments. The appointment of Beresford follows two other appointments from outside the later living sector late last year, with Marcus Hodges joining as Chief Operating Officer and Raphaël Koifman taking up the post of Chief Financial Officer. According to Birchgrove’s CEO, Honor Barratt, all three appointments were strategic moves to bring fresh thinking into the business. “At Birchgrove we’ve always been experts on senior living. However, we recognised that there was a wealth of knowledge we could bring in from outside our particular area that could help us grow the business at the scale needed to meet the huge demographic shifts taking place in our society. “According to CBRE research, the UK already has a 614,000 shortfall in senior living units and that number is only going to get larger if estimates on the number of people renting in retirement are to be believed – a Pensions Policy Institute report published last year predicted that by 2041, 17% of pensioners will be renting privately. “We’re delighted to have secured someone with Russ’s background, who has expertise in many areas that I don’t. We believe he can help us expand at scale, as well as making sure we’re planning our developments so we’re running buildings efficiently for the long term, maximising sellable area and constructing buildings with flexibility as our customers change in the future.” Russ Beresford added: “This post is a development professional’s dream – a well-backed company with huge expansion plans and an emphasis on innovation. I’m looking forward to playing a role in the company’s growth.” Founded in 2017, Birchgrove operates four retirement communities across the South-East, with two of these now at full capacity and operating waiting lists. It has a fifth development set to open before the end of this year, with four additional communities under construction. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
