Klevio, the makers of Klevio One, a smart intercom which allows you to open doors from anywhere using your phone, has announced a partnership with leading managed home rental service provider, Hostmaker. Hosts will be offered an exclusive rate to install Klevio, so future guests can gain access to the property via an app on their phone.  The Klevio team, based in London, is pioneering innovation in an action we all take for granted: opening doors. Physical keys have been around for thousands of years and Klevio’s team – with several startups under their belts – are leading the charge in bringing access into the digital age. Rather than replacing your lock and keys, Klevio One connects to an existing intercom system inside a home and is operated via an iOS or Android app. Klevio can be fitted in any home with no need to change existing locks. It works with multiple doors and there’s no need to modify the communal area of apartment buildings when installing it, since the device is located within the flat. The app connects to the device, allowing users to open their private and communal doors from anywhere with a swipe and press of a button.  For guests heading to a Hostmaker home where Klevio is installed they will be able to accept a digital key which can be restricted by time and location – to access the property on arrival and throughout their stay. This is a big benefit for guests and hosts in the situation where travel disruption can mess with plans for key handovers. For short-let agents you can open doors remotely for late guests, and remove the need for a lock box to store the physical key. Smart access gives hosts added security and makes it easier to monitor entry, providing a log of who entered the property and when.  Aleš Špetič, Co-Founder and CEO at Klevio, added: “For companies like Hostmaker, Klevio offers a fantastic solution to two common problems – greeting visitors and key management. A lot of time and money goes into having a person available at the property to meet guests and handover keys, and into getting keys to anyone who may service the space, like a cleaner. Klevio removes the hassle and provides the company with a log showing when people have accessed the property, and keys can be revoked at any time. So when delays happen or plans change, there’s a new option to ensure guests gain access easily, without the use of a lock box. We’re delighted to be partnering with an industry leader like Hostmaker, and excited to see Klevio One installed in many of their host properties.” Špetič continued: “Technology is changing our habits in many ways: from how we relate to one another to how we live our daily lives. Even the money we use is electronic, so why aren’t keys the same?”  Veronica Rivas the Head of Guest Services of Hostmaker, added: “Klevio was a no brainer for us. We’ve been eager to work with the team and make the technology available to our hosts for a long time. Having Klevio installed as standard for all our future host properties will make a marked difference to us as a company and to our guests. We were one of the first to spot the opportunity to make home sharing hassle free for Hosts and Guests and believe we’re doing so again when it comes to improving our services. We want to provide added reliability to our guests. Sometimes travel disruption can cause problems outside of everyone’s control, and we want to be able to give access to our guests remotely, as well as in person, to ensure a great quality of service, security benefits and easy of control and tracking for our overseas property owners.”  Hostmaker works with over 2000 host properties across London, Cannes, Paris, Barcelona, Madrid, Florence, Rome, Lisbon and Bangkok.

The first hydroponic living wall is set to be installed in the UK, improving air quality on a Southampton highway. National contractor Balfour Beatty Living Places and green infrastructure experts, Biotecture, are working on the project. Hydroponic living walls are sustainable, vertical installations containing living plants and foliage which grow without the need for soil. Offering many benefits to the public and the environment, these green and living structures help to remove air pollutants through the absorption of gases such as Carbon Dioxide, Sulphur Dioxide and Nitrogen Dioxide, as well as hazardous particulate matter. This landmark project forms part of the newly reconstructed Millbrook Roundabout which was completed ahead of schedule earlier this year.  Balfour Beatty Living Places will now install the foundations and six-metre-high steel frame, while Biotecture will design and position the hydroponic living wall. Balfour Beatty Living Places Managing Director, Steve Helliwell, said: “We are incredibly proud to be working with Southampton City Council and Biotecture on this flagship project – a first in the UK. This is a project which has the potential to transform the way we sustainably deliver highways schemes across the industry. “Sustainability is at the heart of what we do and in the solutions we provide to our customers. Through this project, we will not only improve air quality for local residents but improve the aesthetic of the roundabout for the travelling public and the wider community in Southampton.” Richard Sabin, Managing Director of Biotecture, added: “Yet to be seen on the UK road network, the Millbrook green columns are evocative of the Via Verde highway pillars in Mexico City, and they’ll help with air pollution reduction. We are very excited to be working on this flagship scheme in Southampton.” The hydroponic living wall is scheduled for completion in autumn 2019.

Broadening our international portfolio yet again, Crowd has recently launched a new website for the Indonesian based Tanoto Foundation. Established by Sukanto Tanoto and Tinah Bingei as a philanthropic organisation in 1981, its aim is to help children achieve their potential and improve lives through quality education. With pre-existing branding in place, our task was to deliver a website which not only highlighted the previous successes of this long established organisation, but also its current and future plans. Regular content updates are essential to creating an online destination that visitors will want to return to, so Crowd delivered a WordPress solution that provides flexibility in page layouts combined with ease of editing: perfect for keeping SEO on track and social feeds updated. Naturally with such a globally diverse portfolio, Crowd has worked with numerous languages requiring special attention to font choice, page layouts and providing a seamless experience for users. We can now add Indonesian to that ever-growing list. On another successful launch, Crowd’s CEO Jamie Sergeant said: “The team have delivered a site which forms a key part of Tanoto Foundation’s marketing messaging and outlines the valuable work being carried out in South East Asia. We love working with clients who try to make the world a better place.” Crowd has a strong portfolio within the global education sector having also recently delivered a project for the Australian Government. Crowd is an independent global creative agency born in 2012, which has built up a reputation for helping brands grow their audiences, sales and brand awareness. The company offers its clients the complete package: from SEO and PPC, to branding, web build and advertising. The scope and diversity of its work allows the company to provide its clients with local knowledge and global reach.

An office building in Exeter City Centre, which had as tenants Foot Anstey and wealth management firm Prydis, has been sold for £9.36 million. The 33,362 sq ft Senate Court office building has been sold by Prydis returning £2 million to investors in the process. “Exeter is a fast-growing city with a strong university, which continues to attract more and more new residents and businesses to the area. This transaction is brilliant news for our investors and for the local economy, delivering a win-win deal for all parties,” said Joe Priday, managing director at Prydis. Advising on the sale was commercial property agent, Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH). Prydis originally bought the building in April 2017 as an investment for members of its Precedence Club with planning permission secured to add an additional floor and, with advice from LSH, asset managed the leasehold interests to increase the capital value. “This asset is now in a fantastic position for the new owner and presents a strong and reliable income generator for them,” added James Priday, managing director at Prydis Wealth. “We congratulate them on what is a wonderful portfolio purchase. For us, this simply presented the best time to exit, as we had always envisaged this as a three-year project. We are now in the fortunate position of having achieved a 26 per cent return on our Precedence Club investors’ original investment in just 26 months; exactly what we’d forecast, but 10 months earlier than planned, so a great result all round.” Hollie Ruddle, associate director at LSH, said: “Despite continued uncertainty in the property market, we were approached by the purchaser prior to launching the investment in the open market. “This is testament to both the strength of the Exeter office market and the quality of the investment Prydis has managed during its ownership. “Prydis’ in-house approach to property enabled a smooth and timely transaction for its investors.”

The final phase of the £400 million regeneration scheme in Cardiff is set move forward after a number of contracts were exchanged. Cardiff Central Square will include a new Bus Station; 318 Build to Rent (BTR) apartments; and 100,000 sq ft of Grade A office space as part of its final major element.  Legal & General is leading the scheme, including this final phase, which will be the largest privately funded development in Wales when complete.  “Legal & General’s activity across the South West and Wales demonstrates how our varied capital streams can be put to work to create real high quality assets which have a significant long term socio-economic impact in the region. Cardiff Central Square is a prime example of how we are creating assets for Legal & General Retirement to back pension risk transfer deals and that can form part of LGIM-managed funds, while delivering jobs, housing, infrastructure and exponential economic growth. This is inclusive capitalism at its best,” said Kerrigan Procter, CEO of Legal & General Capital. “With Cardiff’s population expected to grow significantly over the next 20 years, increasing pressure is being put on its housing provision and infrastructure. We are delighted today to announce Wales’ largest Build to Rent scheme, which will help to address the growing challenges, offering high quality, affordable homes on long term fleule leases for elective renters. The delivery of high quality developments with vibrant communities is becoming more and more important. This latest project is the perfect example and will have a positive long term impact for Cardiff and the South West more widely, maximising our existing infrastructure and supporting economic growth and job creation,” Dan Batterton, Head of Build to Rent at LGIM Real Assets commented. Paul McCarthy, Rightacres Chief Executive, added: “Cardiff Central is the key gateway to Wales and as more businesses and people move into Cardiff city centre, the development and transport hub will provide ever increasing economic, environment and social value.”