In a world where convenience is king and time is increasingly of the essence, we are seeing the beginning of an evolution in property development. With an ageing population and growing economy on one hand and a need to limit urban sprawl whilst maximising sustainability on the other, the age old story of demand versus supply imbalance continues across the market despite a healthy appetite from developers, occupiers and funders alike. The story continues with brownfield land, in many areas remaining undeveloped due to upfront remediation costs and extended timescales weighing on fragile cashflows regardless of sites being cheap across Scotland comparative to other UK regional counterparts.  The support offered through government initiatives such as the City Deal, Enterprise Areas and Business Improvement Districts most certainly aides in regeneration, particularly upfront expenditure and infrastructure costs, the speed of which the capital is deployed is behind the pace of our impatient market.             Technology and innovation are driving demand in a particular direction, toward urbanisation and more specifically mixed use development. Occupiers demand an increasingly level of convenience whilst planning policy requires improved infrastructure and greening of streetscapes bringing masterplanning, placemaking and the need for mixed use communities to the forefront of the development industry.   This need however for mixed use development is not simply occupier driven. The presence of uncertainty, particularly in Scotland and impatience of equity providers who require shorter term returns on capital is causing a development funding gap. This gap is exaggerated in single use schemes, where developers are battling to find the balance between suitable scale to create development viability without diluting the micro market with an over-supply of a single product.  The creation of mixed use 24 hour live-work environments, not only answers the demands of modern living but reduces risk and eases cash flows through diversification and in turn increases funding opportunities. A joined up and longer term approach is require to make a success of prime, large scale development opportunities and encourage inward investment into the regional market. Whilst the next generation of mixed use development is in its infancy across Scotland in many respects, we are witnessing a handful of mixed use schemes leading the way.  The Mill Quarter, a landmark £30m project in Perth will establish a mix of restaurants and bars, speciality shops, a cinema, gym, housing, and a multi storey car park. It forms a cornerstone of the City’s wider plans to establish a new cultural quarter in the city centre. The project led by property developers Expresso, is an excellent example of the public and private sectors working together to maximise community benefit. The project was secured by Perth and Kinross Council and helped by collaborative marketing undertaken by the Scottish Cities Alliance, a partnership between Scotland’s seven cities and the Scottish Government.   Savills act as Strategic Development advisors to Expresso.  The University of Glasgow have recently submitted Planning Permission in Principle for the redevelopment of the 14 acre former Western Infirmary Site. Plans include roughly 800,000sq/ft of academic accommodation including new learning and teaching spaces, research hub and buildings for the arts, social science, the institute of wellbeing as well as science and the institute of infectious diseases. The Masterplan includes supporting commercial uses, strengthening the link between Byers Road with Dumbarton Road opening up the whole area and creating a new central square to encourage both the community and university to move through the campus. Savills mixed use development team specialise in the delivery of regenerative and infrastructure led schemes across the UK working with the education, public and private sectors. Will specialists in acquisition, planning, funding, development, agency and disposal across both the residential and commercial sectors, Savills are the only international business based in Scotland able to offer a full spectrum of expert advise under one roof Source link

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Construction activity showed signs of recovery in August, with the industry reporting its slowest pace of decline since June’s EU referendum. Source link

Yorkshire Water has been fined £350,000 for illegally discharging sewage that polluted a Harrogate watercourse. The company was sentenced at Bradford Crown Court on Wednesday (17 August) after previously pleading guilty to an environmental permitting offence relating to a pollution incident from a sewer overflow near Sherwood Drive, Harrogate in April 2013. At the time, the company had reported a blockage in the sewer that had caused untreated and unscreened sewage to flow into Rud Beck at Sherwood Drive. Inspections by the Environment Agency found that the pollution had a significant impact on Rud Beck and the River Crimple, into which the beck runs. Prosecuting for the Environment Agency, Richard Bradley told the court that toilet rolls and rags could be seen, and the water downstream was a cloudy, yellow-grey colour and smelt strongly of sewage. Samples showed high levels of ammonia and low levels of dissolved oxygen. Yorkshire Water had notified the Environment Agency about the blockage on 15 April 2013 but further investigations revealed that sewage had been discharging from the overflow since 12 April. The company had not responded sooner because its telemetry alarm system, which is used to alert the company to discharges, had been malfunctioning since 15 March and the alarm had not been reset following a previous alarm on 16 March which was triggered by a permitted discharge during high flows. The company had also failed to detect an increase in the telemetry levels on 12 April. A spokesperson for the Environment Agency said: “Sewage overflows of this type can be used for discharging effluent into a watercourse, but only in storm situations when water flows are too high for the sewerage system to cope with the increased volume of water. Storm conditions were not present at the time of this incident and untreated sewage entered the beck for 87 hours causing significant pollution affecting over five kilometres of Rud Beck and the Crimple. “It is not uncommon for foreign objects to enter a sewer and cause blockages and this is why telemetry is so important. The impact of this discharge would have been significantly less if the telemetry had been working properly or if Yorkshire Water had detected the increase in the telemetry levels and responded sooner.” In mitigation, the court heard that Yorkshire Water had not sought to evade its responsibility for the incident. It had self-reported the incident and pleaded guilty at the first opportunity. It had also cooperated with the Environment Agency’s investigation and had organised and paid for the clean-up. The court also heard that a planned telemetry upgrade had gone ahead in May 2013 and the company said that, since the incident, it has introduced a clear escalation procedure for responding to apparent contradictions in its telemetry system. In addition to the fine, Yorkshire Water was ordered to pay £30,000 costs to the Environment Agency. This article first appeared on wwtonline Source link

Plumbing and heating business named in ‘Small Biz 100’ for 2016 Published:  19 August, 2016 A Barnet-based plumbing and heating business, whose services include boiler replacement and repair, central heating installations and other plumbing work, is among 100 small businesses to be celebrated by the Small Business Saturday campaign. This campaign culminates in the UK’s dedicated day for small businesses on 3 December. Marvel Property Solutions, which has grown from being one man with a van to a team of eight vans on the road and four full-time office staff in just four years, will now be among the select number of businesses to be featured by the Small Business Saturday campaign – one per day for the 100 days leading up to Small Business Saturday itself. Marvel Property Solutions is also about to write and deliver part of the gas course for Southgate and Barnet College, working at grass roots level to influence the training of tomorrow’s gas engineers. “We work with five different groups of small businesses in the local area once a week,” said director Lisa Catto. “We try to proactively find work for one another by word of mouth marketing, educating each other on how we do business, why we do business, the different services we offer, what sets us apart and who our ideal customers are.” Running for four years, the Small Business Saturday campaign last year saw £623 million spent with small businesses across the UK, an increase of £119 million or 24% on the previous year. The campaign trended at number one in the UK on Twitter on the day with more than 100,000 campaign-related tweets being sent. Over 75% of local councils supported the campaign, giving considerable national reach into local communities. The campaign is a nationwide promotional and marketing tool for small businesses. It is totally free to participate and any small businesses can get involved – from one-man-bands, through to a high-growth office, and from tradesmen to social media gurus. The campaign also delivers help and advice alongside opportunities to connect with, support, inspire and promote small businesses. “The British public has a great affection for small businesses and we continue to see that grow year on year. Small Business Saturday is an exceptional example of collaboration and co-operation with small businesses teaming up in communities around the UK,” said campaign director Michelle Ovens. Source link

Construction News understands the engineering giant is in final discussions with the LFM joint venture to lead its design team for civils and enabling works packages. WSP Parsons Brinckerhoff was previously in contention to win the 10-year £300m contract to become HS2’s engineering partner for phase one of the route. However, its bid alongside Ramboll was unsuccessful, with a CH2M / Atkins / Sener joint venture clinching the contract. It is understood the LFM consortium had been in discussions with both Atkins and WSP Parsons Brinckerhoff ahead of HS2’s engineering partner announcement last week. According to a source, an agreement had been struck that would see the unsuccessful bidder for the engineering partner position assume the role as LFM’s design partner. LFM was this week shortlisted for three of the seven main civils packages for phase one of the £50bn high-speed line. The packages included £1.5bn Wood Green tunnel to Delta Junction and the £1.3bn Chiltern tunnels to Colne Valley viaduct section of the route. Other shortlisted consortia included Carillion / Kier / Eiffage, Bouygues / Volker / Sir Robert McAlpine, Dragados / Hochtief / Galliford Try and Costain / Skanska / Strabag. Ferrovial / Bam Nuttall / Morgan Sindall, Acciona / Sisk / Lagan Construction Group and a sole bid from Bechtel complete the shortlist for the packages worth a total of £11.8bn. Last month Construction News revealed the design partners for six of the seven teams bidding for the £900m enabling works. The list included other design heavyweights such as Aecom, Arup and Mott MacDonald, as well as European outfits Ineco and Ingérop. All parties declined to comment.   Source link

©Bloomberg It is not a risk that portfolio managers typically cite as their biggest concern, but the rapid rebound in oil has suddenly raised the question: are higher crude prices a danger? The sharp rise in the price of oil has buoyed the shares and debt of US energy groups since mid-February and coaxed investors to open their wallets and lend to oil and gas drillers. More On this topic IN Commodities Now some investors are warning that the dazzling rally may have pulled the market ahead of fundamentals — given that the current supply glut may not ease until 2017 — and indeed, on Tuesday, this week’s retreat in crude gathered pace. Further weakness in the price of oil is seen prompting higher volatility in the sector that spills across bond and equity markets. Sentiment remains fragile as the existing risks associated with prices re-rated at low levels persist. Defaults have been steadily climbing this year, reaching 10 per cent in March, up from 8 per cent in February. A year ago the trailing default rate stood at 0.9 per cent, according to data from Fitch Ratings. Analysts at the rating agency expect defaults will swell even further, approaching 20 per cent by the end of 2016. Already, defaults have surpassed $14.1bn this year, near to the $17.5bn seen for all of 2015. “With crude still trading in the $30-$40 range, this still implies a lot of operators will struggle and likely go bankrupt,” says Jeff Sitzmann, who co-manages the Buffalo High Yield Fund, which is still broadly steering clear of the energy sector. Jack Flaherty, investment director at GAM, says one of his biggest concerns was that the slight rise in crude prices could lure lower-cost swing producers back to market, exacerbating the oversupply that has plagued energy companies. It is a warning that has also been heard from Goldman Sachs, which last week told clients that an oil price near $40 a barrel could prove “self-defeating”, encouraging US producers to turn back on the pumps. “I’m concerned that American producers will potentially be [tempted] to produce again, which will prolong the oversupply dynamic, and this little rally will just come crashing down,” says Leslie Biddle, a partner at Serengeti Asset Management. Such concerns radiate across the market. “The fundamentals in the oil market have not changed,” says Sabur Moini, a high yield portfolio manager with Payden & Rygel. “There is still too much supply, too much inventory. There’s potential for more inventory to come on line from Iran. Opec is not cutting production.” Renewed focus on the fundamentals underpinning the oil market will probably challenge the recent recovery seen in bond and equity markets for energy companies. The premium investors now demand to hold the debt of the riskiest American energy companies over US Treasury yields, known as the risk-free rate, has narrowed by about a third in just a month after reaching a record high on February 11, according to data from BofA Merrill Lynch. Many energy stocks have raced higher from their lows of the year. The S&P 500 exploration and production sector, which had declined 21.8 per cent for the year on January 20, has subsequently climbed 24.9 per cent. The broader S&P 500 has only risen 8.5 per cent over the same period. The rebound in oil prices from February’s lows made energy companies, especially those with weaker balance sheets that had been shunned earlier in 2016, look more appealing. The rally then accelerated as investors jumped into the market hoping not to miss a bottom and others were forced to cover short positions. “Everyone wants to say that they picked the bottom,” says Ms Biddle. Shares of Chesapeake Energy rallied 84 per cent over the course of three days this March, while bonds issued by the highly indebted group that mature in 2022 have nearly tripled from a February low. Investors holding debt sold by Whiting Petroleum, Denbury Resources, Oasis Petroleum and Continental Resources have rebounded, with Continental bonds due in 2022 completely reversing losses recorded in December and January. On Monday, Anadarko Petroleum secured $3bn to refinance some of its debt maturing in 2016 and 2017. The sale followed multibillion-dollar bond deals from ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips, as the market reopens to higher rated investment grade energy companies. Whether investors have any appetite for helping junk-rated companies refinance their debt is very much open to question as the supply-demand imbalance hangs over the market. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2016. You may share using our article tools. Please don’t cut articles from FT.com and redistribute by email or post to the web. Source link

Eight building services firms receive awards during Gala event in South Wales Source link

New research has revealed that only eight per cent of energy retailers have a customer data analytics strategy that is fit-for-purpose. Of the retailers surveyed across Europe 75 per cent said that customer data analytics was a key priority in their business.  The research from Delta-ee also found that acquisition and retention, customer engagement and business decision making were the most common benefits that energy retailers were using customer data analytics for.  Delta-ee director Jon Slowe said: “European energy companies are realising that to succeed in the new energy world embracing data analytics is critical. It is a vital ingredient to help them grow revenues and profits. “There are no shortage of trials of analytics in the industry, For example, half of our participants have experimented with analysing smart meter or consumption data – but in our view many energy retailers are only at the start of their data analytics journey”. Smart meters will provide energy suppliers with more data including on customer’s consumption. The full rollout was due to begin last month but has been delayed awaiting the Data and Communications Company (DCC) to go live. Source link