©Getty Weak commodity prices weighed heavily on Vedanta Resources as it cut its dividend by more than half and wrote down the value of its oil and gas operations and other assets by $5bn. Lower prices for Vedanta’s products, ranging from zinc and copper to oil and gas, prompted the company to report pre-tax impairments of $5.2bn for the year. The bulk of this figure, $4.9bn, came from a writedown of its oil and gas operations with iron ore and copper assets contributing the rest. More On this topic IN Mining Operating profit at the London-listed Indian resources group was halved to $881m for the financial year to the end of March on the back of a 17 per cent fall in revenue from $12.9bn to $10.7bn. 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

Flats are becoming less popular in England and Wales with the latest data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) showing new build detached homes outselling apartments. Detached properties were the most commonly sold type of newly built home in the 12 months to September 2015 representing 32% of all new property sales, the first time flats have sold less in a decade. In the 12 months ending December 1995 sales of detached housing dominated the new build market with 44% of all sales for new properties. By 2000, the share of sales for new detached housing peaked at 52% but declined until 2008. Since then the share of sales for new detached property has been increasing steadily. The share of sales for new semi-detached properties has also been rising since 2008, albeit at a slower rate than the share of new detached properties. The percentage of new terraced housing exceeded that of semi-detached in 2001 and remained higher until 2014. For newly built flats, the share rose rapidly between 2000 and 2008, during which time many urban areas were regenerated. Since then the share of newly built flats has fallen steadily. The latest ONS data release also shows that the difference in median price between the most and least expensive parts of England and Wales was nearly £3.2 million in the year ending September 2015, down from a peak of £3.5 million in year ending December 2014. For all types of property, the median price paid ranged from £38,750 in one part of Pendle, Lancashire to £3,212,500 in one area of Westminster. The most expensive area outside of London was in Elmbridge, Surrey where the median price paid for all properties was £997,475 and house price growth has diverged for the most expensive and least expensive areas since the recession. Part of the difference in price paid between the least and the most expensive areas is caused by different types of dwelling being sold in those areas. For example, detached properties in England and Wales sold for 61% more than semi-detached properties on average in the year ending September 2015. Therefore, an area with a higher proportion of detached property sales is likely to have a higher median price overall than an area which had a higher proportion of semi-detached property sales. In the year ending September 2015 there were 581 middle layer super output areas (MSOAs) in which the median house price was in the lowest 10% of property prices in England and Wales overall. Generally, towns and cities in the north of England, the Midlands and also in south Wales contained most of these 581 MSOAs. There were 27 MSOAs in which the median price paid for all properties was more than £1 million in year ending September 2015. All these areas are in London and are predominantly in the central and western boroughs. The most expensive area outside of London was in Elmbridge, Surrey where the median price paid for all properties was £997,475.   BOOKMARK THIS PAGE (What is this?)      Source link

New data has found that the first quarter of 2016 has seen a surge in investors acquiring student property, to beat the new stamp duty legislation, which comes into force in April 2016. Research, conducted by The Mistoria Group – student property investment specialists, reveals investors have been flocking to complete their student property purchase by the end of this month, to avoid the 3% stamp duty surcharge coming in for second homes. The research shows that sales of student property in the North West have leapt by over 30% between January-March 2016, compared with the first quarter of 2015.  More than 50% of student property investors are from the South, while a third are overseas investors.  The remaining 20% of investors are from the Midlands and the North. Over the last few years, student housing has undergone a significant amount of change, with rising rents and a higher level of expectation from the occupying students, many of whom are looking for high-spec accommodation with luxuries like plasma TVs, Wi-Fi and built-in white goods.  The removal of the cap on student numbers have also triggered many universities to anticipate an increase in enrolment over the coming years, which is driving demand for more high quality, affordable student accommodation. Mish Liyanage, Managing Director of The Mistoria Group comments: “We have seen a rush of investors wanting to purchase student property over the last quarter and we anticipate that demand for student property will continue to grow significantly in 2016 and beyond. Since the birth of the buy-to-let mortgage 18 years ago, student accommodation has outperformed all other traditional property assets and has been the strongest growing investment property market in the UK. Over the last 5 years, student properties in the North West have generated yields in excess of 13% and geared yield in excess of 35% in Salford and Liverpool.  Our research shows that the North West provides greater returns than any other city in the UK. This is fuelled by the massive regeneration taking place in Manchester, with the proposed High Speed 2 (HS2) high-speed railway between London Euston and the North West to be completed in the next 15-20 years. A HMO (House in Multiple Occupation) property can provide an 8% minimum cash rental yield and a typical 13% total cash yield, including 5% capital appreciation.  The average gross cash rental yields for the student property sector in the North West of England were 8.1% for the 2015.” Source link

Category: Construction Industry Today | Subscribe to Construction Industry Today Feed Published Mon, Sep 12th 2016 Vinyl Belgium, an independent non-profit association promoting the use of PVC, has appointed Benoît Leclère as Executive Director. He is currently responsible for the development of Recovinyl in Belgium, France and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and will perform both these roles concurrently. Posted via Industry Today. Follow us on Twitter @IndustryToday Vinyl Belgium, an independent non-profit association promoting the use of PVC, has appointed Benoît Leclère as Executive Director. He is currently responsible for the development of Recovinyl in Belgium, France and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and will perform both these roles concurrently. Benoît, who has a wealth of experience in the advertising, communications and waste management industries, joined Recovinyl in 2005. Recovinyl is an operational arm of VinylPlus, the European PVC industry sustainable development programme, which is tackling the sustainability challenges for PVC and delivery of current recycling targets to 2020. More recently, he worked at van Gansewinkel, a waste management company, as a marketing manager and subsequently held various positions in public relations, marketing and communication within Watco (now Suez Environment). Previous roles include a product manager at IMS (Informations Médicales & Statistiques), a director at the Mediplus advertising agency and at the Office of the Minister of Environment Guy Lutgen where he was in charge of Sustainable Development Plan and Waste Assessment in Wallonia. Commenting on his appointment, Benoît said: “As a long-life, sustainable and versatile material, PVC is ideal for so many diverse applications. Through the development of a successful European-wide recycling infrastructure, it can be reused many times in new products. “Working within the VinylPlus framework, my mission is to promote the innovative and unique achievements of PVC, and crucially, how it can play a key role as a sustainable material in our future Circular Economy.”  Contact information Philippe GabrielsVinyl BelgiumAvenue E Van Nieuwenhuyse 4Box 4BrusselsB-1160+32 (0) 2 676 7445www.vinylbelgium.be Vinyl Belgium promotes the use of PVC products as well as the image of PVC and closely monitors all information about PVC and its applications throughout its lifecycle.Vinyl Belgium also acts as an information provider to the authorities, consumers, industry, media, education and interest groups on PVC issues. Source link

The Solar Trade Association has urged government to “move quickly” and “unlock the game-changer potential” of energy storage. The association says that the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) must prioritise the resolution of regulatory, economic and market barriers which prevent “fair treatment for storage within the power system”. There is currently no legal definition of storage in the UK or the EU, which the Solar Trade Association (STA) said leads to double charging – where storage is charged for both importing and exporting power despite the benefits it offers. The STA’s comments come after a year of analysis by the association and the publication of its paper on the interaction between solar and energy storage. STA chief executive Paul Barwell said: “Storage is a game-changer for power systems and consumers around the world. Other countries are providing stimulus to their storage industries but we believe the priority in the UK is to move quickly to lay the foundations for the development of a strong, safe and sustainable energy storage industry, at all scales. “The costs of storage are moving rapidly downwards, and the economics could be compelling by the time fundamental regulatory & market barriers are resolved.” The paper was published ahead of the government call for evidence on the role of storage within smart power. The Solar Trade Association, Renewable UK and the Electricity Storage Network are bringing together experts from their respective industries to share knowledge on the practicalities and opportunities of building renewable-linked storage projects. Source link

Savills, on behalf of a private client, has brought to the market Church Farm in Wirral, Merseyside. The property is being sold as a going concern from a guide price of £2.25 million. Set in approximately 60 acres (24 hectares) of land and owned by the vendor for over 24 years, Church Farm is a well-established visitor attraction converted from a former working farm. The property is located in the village of Thurstaston on the Wirral peninsular, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty with west facing views stretching across the Dee Estuary to North Wales. Facilities include a farm shop,  outdoor attractions with animal enclosures, adventure playground, pedal go-cart area, mini-golf, picnic area, lavender maze, tractor rides, and glass house providing indoor beach and picnic area. Furthermore there is a café, office, equestrian facilities, Christmas tree plantation, caravan site and five bedroom owner’s house. Richard Prestwich, associate director of leisure and trading at Savills, comments: “This is a fantastic opportunity to acquire a well-established business that is generating income from multiple sources. The picturesque location of this substantial property, with it’s excellent views over the Dee Estuary, further adds to the attraction of this asset and we are expecting the sale to generate a high amount of interest.” Source link

14 April 2016 | Jamie Harris CBRE has secured an extension and expansion of its facilities management contract with Shell. Under the terms of the renewed deal, CBRE will be responsible for FM services, including essential maintenance, at 7,000 fuel stations across 22 countries in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. CBRE also provides real estate management and lease administration services to Shell in a separate contract. Earlier this week, the FM provider announced a contract win with energy company Vestas to provide global integrated FM services for sites in 17 countries. CBRE has reported that it has seen an increase in the number of companies sending in requests for proposals (RFPs) for real estate and facilities management requirements across the EMEA region in 2015. Source link

©Getty The financial uncertainty triggered by the UK’s vote to leave the EU has sent shudders through virtually every industry, but Europe’s renewable energy sector faces even greater insecurity. The successful Leave campaign was led by several political figures opposed to tackling climate change by replacing fossil fuel power stations with wind farms and other sources of renewable energy. More On this topic IN Energy The campaign’s strategy committee included Lord [Nigel] Lawson, founder of the Global Warming Policy Foundation think-tank which says the science of climate change is “not yet settled”. Brexit figurehead Boris Johnson, the former mayor of London, once questioned global warming during a snowy winter and likened wind farms to a “hideous Venusian invasion” that is “crucifying our landscape”. None of the contenders to replace David Cameron as prime minister are vigorous renewable energy advocates and one, Michael Gove, was once accused of trying to downgrade climate change in the national schools curriculum. With the UK political landscape in a historic state of disarray, it is unclear how the future government will behave. But the Leave victory raises questions about whether years of cross-party consensus on the need to combat global warming may fray. The EU’s largest green energy companies have so far been careful to downplay concerns about the sector in the UK, which last year had a market value of £16bn and employed close to 117,000 people, according to the Renewable Energy Association. Denmark’s Dong Energy, which is building some of the UK’s largest offshore wind farms, says the UK’s energy policy is fundamentally driven by the need to replace worn-out old power stations. Marianne Wiinholt, chief financial officer, says the subsidies Dong receives for its UK offshore projects are based on fixed private law contracts between the company and the government, “and will thus not be affected by the outcome of the EU vote”. As for the tumbling pound, Ms Wiinholt says the company has already hedged most of its cash flow for 2016 and 2017 as part of its ordinary currency hedging. Germany’s Siemens, one of the world’s largest wind turbine makers, says the general uncertainty triggered by the Brexit result may stall long-term plans to eventually export turbine blades from its new £160m factory in the Yorkshire city of Hull. But the Hull investment itself is secure. Drax, owner of one of the world’s largest renewable power plants, says it also has long-term hedging in place for its huge North Yorkshire coal and biomass electricity station, for which it imports large quantities of wood pellets from the US. But Drax, like many other EU renewable generators, has shaped its business strategy around a series of existing UK government climate commitments, including biomass subsidies and phasing out coal power stations by 2025. The energy secretary, Amber Rudd, a prominent Remain campaigner, told a climate change conference last week that the existing government was still committed to all such policies, even if the Brexit vote made it “harder” for the UK to tackle global warming. She pointed to the cross-party consensus vote in favour of the UK’s 2008 Climate Change Act, which commits the UK to an 80 per cent cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, adding that “leading Leave campaigners have made it clear they remain committed to it”. The act’s goals are more far-reaching than some EU targets, a point Dong has highlighted. However, the existence of this homegrown law has not stopped renewable energy opponents from trying to water down support for green energy subsidies in the past. To ward them off, some ministers have argued the UK is legally bound to help meet EU-wide climate and energy targets requiring 20 per cent of the bloc’s energy to come from renewables by 2020. But once the UK leaves the EU, it may no longer be constrained by such goals, let alone newer 2030 targets that underpin the bloc’s commitments to the Paris climate accord agreed in December. The UK could follow the path of Norway, which is not an EU member but has agreed to be bound by the bloc’s climate targets. But no one can be certain. Still, legal experts say there could be some benefit for the industry from a Brexit, if it waters down costly EU rules protecting birds and other wildlife. Plans for some of the UK’s biggest wind farms have been scaled back or ditched after companies hit hurdles stemming from the EU’s birds and habitats directives. Such cases underline the “over-regulation” of the wind farm industry as a result of EU rules, says Jennifer Ballantyne, a planning specialist at the Pinsent Masons law firm. But the fate of these rules, like all others based on EU policies, is now very far from clear. 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