On Monday 24th July, figures were released showing that the most active sector of the mortgage market for June was the remortgaging sector. According to research that was carried out by Connells Survey & Valuation around a third of the property valuations that were carried out throughout the month of
Streetspace, a leading manufacturing company dealing in canopies and street furniture have announced that they will be moving to Lympne Industrial Park in Hythe. The business announced that they had outgrown their location in Wootton which is near Dover and have decided to move to larger accommodation to allow their
Eshton has released a proposal that would add 600,000 sq. ft. on to the construction scheme that is taking place at Burnley Bridge. The commercial property developer and investor has released news of the extension to the current 80 acre scheme that includes Burnley Bridge and Titanium Park. The scheme
24onoff, a tech startup based in London, has launched its new web and smartphone app for the construction market, following successful trials with over 50 small builders, plumbers, electricians and property maintenance companies around the UK. According to the consulting firm McKinsey, the construction industry is the least digitised industry
30 August 2016 | Herpreet Kaur Grewal Infrastructure group Balfour Beatty has announced the combination of its engineering services and engineering construction businesses to create Balfour Beatty Kilpatrick. Balfour Beatty Kilpatrick, a circa £300 million revenue business, will be “at the forefront of the industry and will better serve
Ofgem has laid out in detail the competitive selection process it plans to introduce to the ownership of onshore transmission assets. The regulator will use the late competitively appointed transmission owners (CATO) model, comprising of three evaluated tender stages to assess a bidder’s suitability, experience and expertise
Some 1.6 million UK home owners have bought home insurance from their lender and many mistakenly believe they cannot switch for a better deal, according to a new survey. Some 30% or 466,200 households believe their home has to be insured with their mortgage lender as a condition of the
Aviva Investors, represented by international real estate advisor Savills, has sold a retail warehouse let to The Range in Truro to Ridge Hill Investments Ltd for £7.25 million, reflecting a net initial yield of 6.22%. The home, leisure and garden retailer occupies the unit, which compries 37,152 sq ft (3,451
A large majority of tradespeople are not getting the most out of their websites, and could be missing out on possible new business opportunities, according to a new study. IronmongeryDirect, the UK’s largest online and mail order supplier of ironmongery products to the trade, analysed the websites of 240 trade
A rogue builder who tricked homeowners out of hundreds of thousands of pounds has today (20th July) been jailed for fraud. Dennis Pickerden, 46, ran a number of building companies in north-east Lincolnshire. He developed a sophisticated scam to convince his victims to part with over a quarter of a
On Monday 24th July, figures were released showing that the most active sector of the mortgage market for June was the remortgaging sector. According to research that was carried out by Connells Survey & Valuation around a third of the property valuations that were carried out throughout the month of June were from owner occupiers or landlords who were carrying out remortgaging. From the research that has been carried out by Connells, this rate of remortgaging valuations has increased, and is 7% above the five year average for June. As a breakdown of these figures, standard remortgaging valuations cover 23% of the market activity, and 10% is covered by buy-to-let remortgaging loans. Combines, these categories represent more of the market than the first-time buyers, buy to let or standard moving house mortgages. This increase is thought to have been caused by the low interest rates that are on offer at the moment. With predictions that the Bank of England will be increasing the interest rates in August, it appears that people have been making the most of the base rate which has been at almost zero since the crash in 2009. Another reason that remortgaging levels could be high is the lack of choice on the housing market at the minute and the increase of housing prices. These two factors combined mean that homeowners are looking to remortgage and make repayments cheaper, while staying put for longer as well as freeing up funds that could ease financial situations or allow for home improvements so that moving is not necessary. For the buy-to-let market, there ha been a reduction in the level of tax relief that is received by landlords, meaning that they have had their profits cut. For landlords, remortgaging allows them to pay less over a longer period of time in order to free up funds and replace the ones that they have lost through the tax regulation changes. With the tax changes and the looming increase of base rate and interest rates, acting sooner rather than later with remortgaging is wise, and means that there has been a surge in the success of this area of the industry.
Streetspace, a leading manufacturing company dealing in canopies and street furniture have announced that they will be moving to Lympne Industrial Park in Hythe. The business announced that they had outgrown their location in Wootton which is near Dover and have decided to move to larger accommodation to allow their company the opportunity to continue to grow. The move to Lympne Industrial park in Hythe will offer the canopy and street furniture manufacturer double the quality of the factory dspace that is currently available to them in Wootton.The move will also allow the company four times as much office and amenity space. This larger space will allow Streetspace the room to expand and to continue to grow. This move, however productive, is only temporary. Streetspace is relocating to Hyth for the interim while their new facility which is being constructed at Honeywood Parkway in Whitfield continues through the planning, design and construction stages of works. The Honeywood site that is being built for the business measures 25,000 sq.ft. Streetspace have been operating out of their Wooton location for the past 20 years and with the business growing as successfully as it is, more space is required to flourish going forward. The company felt that it was time to move on and into a larger space that will allow the company to cope better with their increased number of orders while still being able to deliver the expected high standard of customer service. The larger space will also allow Streetspace the opportunity to carry out further product development to ensure that they are offering the the best products to their end users possible. The new site will offer more space for the company’s expanding team which will make the facility a more comfortable place to work as well as increasing the available space and providing room for more staff members if needed going forward.
Eshton has released a proposal that would add 600,000 sq. ft. on to the construction scheme that is taking place at Burnley Bridge. The commercial property developer and investor has released news of the extension to the current 80 acre scheme that includes Burnley Bridge and Titanium Park. The scheme at the moment is located at Junction 9 of the M65 and will offer more opportunities for businesses to gain their own tailor made accommodation, similar to the scheme that is currently under construction. The investor and property developing company has said that the newly proposed site will be constructed on a 32 acre site on the south side of the M65 carriageway, adjacent to the A679 Accrington Road, will be called Burnley Bridge South. It is thought that the construction project will offer the same level and variety of warehousing and industrial accommodation on the business park. The units will be tailored to meet the requirements of the tenants. The plans for the new construction work is for six different units that will total 600,000 sq.ft. and the possibility of a bespoke building footprint that measures over 500,000 sq. ft. that could be accommodated on the site. This development is proving to be really successful for Eshton and an additional site valued at £45 million is a further commitment from the company to investment in industry growth. Eshton has showcased their intention to invest in to Burnley throughout the construction work on Burnley Bridge and Titanium Park. The newly announced development could bring as many as 1,300 new jobs to the area. Burnley Bridge is an industrial site which is ideally located, with good access to the national road network. The Burnley Bridge Business Park is considered to be the largest industrial park development to be carried out on the M65 corridor for more than 10 years.
24onoff, a tech startup based in London, has launched its new web and smartphone app for the construction market, following successful trials with over 50 small builders, plumbers, electricians and property maintenance companies around the UK. According to the consulting firm McKinsey, the construction industry is the least digitised industry in Europe. One of the largest reasons for the industry’s lack of digitalisation is that it still relies mainly on paper to plan and manage its projects. That´s the problem 24onoff aims to solve: the use of paper makes it difficult to plan and capture the situation in a busy workday. Everyday billable hours gets lost in small paper-based construction companies. Incorrect invoices are sent making the business lose money while also creating disputes between clients and contractors. – “24onoff removes the paper trail with a easy-to-use, “field friendly” web and smartphone app for construction workers of all ages”, says Sondre Blaasmo, CEO of the growing start-up. The software enables workers in the field to track man-hours, share progress on projects, upload blueprints and record deviations. While people in the office get an easy overview, helping with both invoicing, project management and quality & safety. Cut the administration time in half The software is now used daily by over 5000 construction workers in Northern Europe, mainly in Norway, Sweden and Denmark. – “We realised we needed to make a unique and customised software for all the small builders in the UK. We’ve now created a product that have helped companies reduce the time spent on paperwork and administration by an average of 50 %”, says Ole Jørgen Næss, Head of Product Development. Sondre and Ole explain that the majority of the companies involved in the testing phase have now purchased the software. – “Our employees have been very good at using the app on their phones, so I get a clear picture of their hours during the week. Having this better overview, means I can get invoices out quicker”, says John Mayo, director of Mayo Electrical and one of 24onoff´s customers. Free for small teams To kick-off the launch of the new app, the company now offer to allow teams up to 3 employees use the software totally for free forever. With no hidden fees. – “We offer free use of the entire software to small companies because we believe it’s important to help craftsmanship around the UK. The construction industry is such an embedded part of society. If the builders are doing well, it makes business sense for us to do this, as we grow together”, says Sondre. 24onoff is a software company offering time-tracking, project management and quality & safety. You can find out more about 24onoff and sign up for your free trial here.
30 August 2016 | Herpreet Kaur Grewal Infrastructure group Balfour Beatty has announced the combination of its engineering services and engineering construction businesses to create Balfour Beatty Kilpatrick. Balfour Beatty Kilpatrick, a circa £300 million revenue business, will be “at the forefront of the industry and will better serve its customers through drawing on the strength of expertise that already exists within the two businesses”, according to the organisation. In a statement the company said the move would help it to “be in a strong position to leverage economies of scale in local markets and provide added value for its customers around cost, quality and efficient delivery”. Balfour Beatty Kilpatrick will be led by managing director Simon Lafferty, who has more than 30 years’ experience in the mechanical and electrical sectors. He will continue to report to Dean Banks, managing director of Balfour Beatty’s UK Construction Services. Banks said: “The mechanical and electrical engineering sector is dynamic and requires breadth and depth of expertise, quality of delivery and significant capability. This move ensures we can fully leverage the huge experience and unrivalled scale we have within Balfour Beatty.” Lafferty added: “Balfour Beatty Kilpatrick will be one of the largest organisations of its type in the UK, offering a range of services and capabilities unique in the mechanical and electrical market.” Balfour Beatty Kilpatrick’s capabilities will span the nuclear, power, infrastructure, process and defence, transport, healthcare, education, residential and commercial sectors. It will offer additional capabilities through its in-house modular manufacturing facility, Modular Systems +, which delivers “innovative and value engineered solutions, and its industrial mechanical pipe fabrication facility, which manufactures and installs large, complex, low and high-pressure fabricated piping systems”. The company’s current contract portfolio includes works on the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers project, Urenco’s Tails Management Facility project, Crossrail’s Woolwich and Whitechapel stations, the Gatwick Airport Framework and three major projects within the Nuclear Decommissioning Agency’s Sellafield site. The company also has preferred bidder status for the Hinkley Point C Nuclear power station main electrical package. Balfour Beatty Kilpatrick employs a direct workforce of 2,200 across the UK. Source link
Ofgem has laid out in detail the competitive selection process it plans to introduce to the ownership of onshore transmission assets. The regulator will use the late competitively appointed transmission owners (CATO) model, comprising of three evaluated tender stages to assess a bidder’s suitability, experience and expertise alongside their proposals for the project. Ofgem will consult with industry on its proposals for the tendering of CATOs, as well as how their revenue will be structured, risk allocation, and obligations and incentives, with a view to being ready to run competitive tenders from mid-to-late 2017. Ofgem decided through the integrated transmission planning and regulation project which reviewed the arrangements for planning and delivering the onshore, offshore and cross-border electricity transmission networks in Great Britain to introduce competition to onshore assets. It is also currently reviewing responses to an earlier consultation on the identification process for where a competitive tender can be run and proposals for conflict mitigation measures. Ofgem said it will set out its decisions based on the consultations at the end of 2016 or early 2017. It will also publish outline draft tender documents, with a view to developing a draft CATO licence by Spring 2017. It is also simultaneously progressing assessments of specific projects to establish how to apply the generic regime to specific cases. Ofgem will outline its initial view by the end of the year on whether to tender the North West coast connections project. The consultation closes on September 29. Source link
Some 1.6 million UK home owners have bought home insurance from their lender and many mistakenly believe they cannot switch for a better deal, according to a new survey. Some 30% or 466,200 households believe their home has to be insured with their mortgage lender as a condition of the loan and 6% were told by their lender that it was a mandatory purchase. On top of this 24% think switching away from their lender’s insurance will invalidate their mortgage, according to the survey from Gocompare Home Insurance. Overall it found that 14% of home owners arranged their home insurance through their mortgage lender and 30%, almost half a million home owners, believed that they had to arrange their home insurance through their mortgage lender as a condition of their mortgage deal. And 24% of borrowers who arranged their insurance with their lender think that switching their insurance to another provider will invalidate their mortgage while 12% say they felt under pressure to buy their lender’s home insurance and 6% said they were told by their mortgage provider that they had to. Protecting a property with adequate buildings insurance, typically against fire, flooding, subsidence and storm damage, is as a requirement made by all mortgage lenders. Buildings insurance provides financial protection for the borrower, and ultimately the lender, from damage to the main structure of the home. While most lenders offer home insurance, borrowers are not obliged to buy it for them. However, the practice of compulsory home insurance tied-in mortgage deals was never formally outlawed despite promises to do so in the late 1990s. When questioned why they had opted to buy their lender’s home insurance, the survey revealed a mixture of misunderstanding, misplaced trust in their mortgage lender and consumer apathy. For example, 14% thought buying their lender’s home insurance might help with their mortgage application, 9% said they didn’t realise they could buy cover elsewhere, 22% said that their lender gave reassurances that the product was good value, 50% think that their mortgage lender provides the best value cover for their home insurance and 49% had opted to do so out of convenience. The survey also found that 72% hadn’t compared products and prices offered by other providers and 34% of home owners who arranged cover through their lender didn’t check cover levels and excesses to make sure they were buying the right policy. According to statistics published earlier this year by the Association of British Insurers, the main reasons for household insurance claims being rejected included the claim value being below the policy excess and the incident not being adequately covered by the policy. ‘We were shocked to find that so many people still think that their mortgage offer is conditional on buying their lender’s home insurance, and that a significant minority are essentially in a mortgage linked insurance trap, believing that switching away from their lender’s insurance will invalidate their mortgage,’ said Ben Wilson from Gocompare Home Insurance. ‘We were also concerned that a handful of lenders could be exploiting their relationship with their customers by pushing them to buy their insurance cover. If you have a mortgage on your home, then your lender will require you to protect your property with buildings insurance but it’s up to you where you buy that cover from,’ he explained. ‘While buying cover offered by your lender alongside your mortgage may seem an easy option, you might find you’re paying well over the odds. And over the lifetime of a mortgage, failing to regularly shop around for a good deal on home insurance could cost £1,000s in lost savings,’ he pointed out. ‘As well as finding a good value policy, you also need to make sure it covers all the things that are important to you, plus any minimum cover levels your lender may require, and comes with excesses that you can afford,’ he added. BOOKMARK THIS PAGE (What is this?) Source link
Aviva Investors, represented by international real estate advisor Savills, has sold a retail warehouse let to The Range in Truro to Ridge Hill Investments Ltd for £7.25 million, reflecting a net initial yield of 6.22%. The home, leisure and garden retailer occupies the unit, which compries 37,152 sq ft (3,451 sq m) of ground floor space and a 15,000 sq ft (1,393 sq m) mezzanine, for a rent of £481,227 per annum on a lease with 15 years unexpired. The property is situated within the main retail warehousing hub of the Cornish city of Truro, between Threemilestone Retail Park and Treliske Retail Park. Andrew Coles, asset manager at Aviva Investors, comments: “This sale is in line with our investment strategy and demonstrates the continued ‘post-Brexit’ appetite in the market for long term, secure income.” Ridge Hill Investments Ltd was represented by Strutt & Parker. Source link
A large majority of tradespeople are not getting the most out of their websites, and could be missing out on possible new business opportunities, according to a new study. IronmongeryDirect, the UK’s largest online and mail order supplier of ironmongery products to the trade, analysed the websites of 240 trade companies from across the UK, including those of builders, joiners, shop fitters and construction firms. The research found that 56% of the websites analysed contained content that had been duplicated across the site or had appeared elsewhere on the internet, therefore reducing the website’s search visibility. On average, construction firms were most likely to be making this mistake with 62% of this sector including copied content on their websites. The study also revealed that 33% of the websites investigated failed to include a call-to-action, which means they are reducing the opportunities for potential customers to contact them or make an enquiry. Of all the websites analysed, those in the carpentry sector (80%) were most likely to include a contact form or enquiry box, whereas construction firm websites were least likely to have one (42%). Using a quality content management system (CMS) to power a website helps businesses to manage a website and its content easily, as well as improve site maintenance. But only 45.5% of trade companies have a CMS system in place. And only 10% of the websites contained blog posts, which are useful for displaying business news and examples of their great work to customers. Wayne Lysaght-Mason, managing director at IronmongeryDirect, said: “When it comes to promoting a business and bringing in new customers, having a well designed and easy-to-use website can really help to boost visibility. “However our research reveals that the majority of tradespeople are still not investing in a quality website to help attract new or existing customers, with many not even having a call to action or using duplicated content. “Duplicated content on a website reduces its search engine visibility because the search engine does not know which version of the content is more valuable. As a result, the website will be pushed further down the search rankings, reducing the chances of customers finding the company. And if people can’t find them or can’t contact them, they are likely to take their custom elsewhere. “Websites are a valuable tool for businesses to shout about the great work they are doing so tradespeople should be reviewing their website’s content regularly, and utilising blogs and case study sections to showcase their work to potential customers. Those that invest in creating a good website or begin to do so will have a greater advantage when it comes to gaining more custom and increasing brand awareness.” To help tradespeople wanting to learn how digital marketing can grow their business, IronmongeryDirect has created a downloadable guide with some basic tips to support both novices and those already investing in promoting their business online. The guide offers advice on how to build a high quality website and making the site more search engine friendly, as well as the importance of including calls-to-action so customers can get in touch easily. It also includes information on how business owners can save hundreds of pounds on marketing activities. For more information and to access the digital marketing guides, visit http://www.IronmongeryDirect.com/toolbox
A rogue builder who tricked homeowners out of hundreds of thousands of pounds has today (20th July) been jailed for fraud. Dennis Pickerden, 46, ran a number of building companies in north-east Lincolnshire. He developed a sophisticated scam to convince his victims to part with over a quarter of a million pounds in total. Pickerden approached potential customers by cold-calling or visiting their homes. Homeowners were provided with references, portfolios of work and even DVDs to convince them he was reliable and trustworthy. Then extremely low quotes were given so they entered into a contract. Pickerden undertook a variety of projects including extensions, loft conversions and paving driveways. Work would get underway, but before long problems would arise, progress would slow, and clients would be asked to make further payments. Eventually he would ensure that there was a major disagreement and walk off the job leaving work unfinished and often in a dangerous state. Many victims lost their life savings and their homes. Several were so distressed by their experiences they have been left with long-term health issues including depression and stress. Pickerden pleaded guilty to fraudulent trading at an earlier hearing, and was today sentenced to six years and nine months in prison at Sheffield Crown Court. Arslan Khan of the CPS said: “Dennis Pickerden started building projects with no intention of ever finishing them. The work his companies undertook was shoddy and often dangerous. He repeated the same fraud over and over again, deliberately abusing homeowners’ trust. “His victims were left out of pocket. Some have lost their homes and others have serious health conditions that will need long-term treatment. “Pickerden’s offending was carefully planned and so extensive that prosecutors were able to show that it amounted to serious fraud. I hope today’s sentence will provide some sense of justice to those whose lives he affected.”