Four businesses associated with heritage construction company William Anelay, which went under this month, have been bought by the Szerelmey Group. Source link
Kier Living, Cheyne Capital and the Housing Growth Partnership have set up a vehicle to help the public sector to build 10,000 new homes. The New Communities Partnership has £1bn of funding in place to provide local authorities and housing associations with a way to building new homes on their
©Bloomberg The F1 racetrack in New Delhi, built by Jaypee Group India’s Jaiprakash Associates has agreed to sell its cement plants to UltraTech Cement, part of the Aditya Birla group, for the equivalent of $2.4bn in the latest deal by an indebted corporation to cut its borrowings by offloading assets.
Big Sky Developments, a company owned by South Norfolk Council, has appointed Lovell to build a £7.9m development in the village of Long Stratton. Above: The Maple Park development Lovell has been contracted to deliver 50 new homes and an 800 m2 office block on land close to South Norfolk
HiB welcomes bathroom renovation popularity Published: 25 May, 2016 Bathroom brand HiB has welcomed new market research which reveals that the bathroom is the most popular room for home improvements. According to a new study by The Tile Depot, UK bathrooms are now the most popular choice of home improvement,
Date and location Tuesday 13 September 2016NEW VENUE: Garstang Country Hotel and Golf Club, off Preston Lancaster New Road, PR3 1YE Event overview Conference targeting Occupational Health Issues with the aim of reminding delegates not to lose sight of the basic fundamentals of Health & Safety Subjects covered will be
Homes in the vicinity of the top performing independent schools command a 25 per cent over the average for their region, while the clamour for homes close to the best non-selective state schools pushes their values up 20 per cent over the average for the regions they are in. New
Homes for Scotland has is an organisation that works in order to create around 95% of all of the new homes that are constructed in Scotland. Of this dramatic proportion of the hose building sector Homes for Scotland also makes sure that they construct a sizeable percentage of the affordable
A number of Building and construction companies in Britain are at risk of receiving hefty fines because of new Data Protection rules that are being put into place. The new wide ranging rules have been introduced that will change the way businesses are able to process personal information that they
Around 20 years ago the Centre for Window and Cladding Technology created a university course, the MSc in Façade Engineering has now been reformatted and will be offered as part of a partnership that has been formed with the University of the West of England. It is thought that over
Four businesses associated with heritage construction company William Anelay, which went under this month, have been bought by the Szerelmey Group. Source link
Kier Living, Cheyne Capital and the Housing Growth Partnership have set up a vehicle to help the public sector to build 10,000 new homes. The New Communities Partnership has £1bn of funding in place to provide local authorities and housing associations with a way to building new homes on their own land, giving them the option to choose between sale, rental or mixed developments. Traditional developments have delivered an average of 11% of affordable housing over the past three years. Kier claims that its partnership will have scope to offer up to 50% of each site for affordable housing. Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking will provide banking services and financing solutions to the partnership. The Housing Growth Partnership (HGP) was established in 2015 as a joint venture between Lloyds Bank and the government’s Homes & Communities Agency, who have each committed an initial £50m to the initiative. The aim is to invest equity in residential developments through partnering with housebuilders. Kier Living director John Anderson said: “We are excited by the establishment of this partnership which will focus £1bn of investment into the development of much-needed housing throughout the country. It will bring scale and momentum to Kier’s tried-and-tested mixed-tenure housing delivery model, for public sector clients across the UK who hold land but don’t have the capacity to develop new housing. “Through this unique public private sector partnership with experienced finance and development partners Kier, Cheyne and the Housing Growth Partnership, we are collectively offering an end-to-end solution to building much-needed new homes.” Shamez Alibhai, head of Cheyne’s Social Property Impact Fund, said: “We believe that bringing responsible private capital into the UK housing sector is necessary for tackling the increasing shortfall of genuinely affordable homes across the country. The long-term investment horizon of our socially-conscious institutional investors means that we are able to provide patient capital to work with Kier Living and the HGP in delivering a new socially-inclusive, multi-tenure building model that helps alleviate the current housing crisis.” Housing Growth Partnership chief executive Andy Hulme added: “The Housing Growth Partnership was formed to address the challenge of housing supply and affordability in Britain today. Working alongside Kier Living and Cheyne Capital through the ‘New Communities Partnership’ should stimulate further growth in residential development projects and enhance access to affordable housing. The alliance will also complement our core purpose to accelerate home building throughout the UK.” This article was published on 3 May 2016 (last updated on 3 May 2016). Source link
©Bloomberg The F1 racetrack in New Delhi, built by Jaypee Group India’s Jaiprakash Associates has agreed to sell its cement plants to UltraTech Cement, part of the Aditya Birla group, for the equivalent of $2.4bn in the latest deal by an indebted corporation to cut its borrowings by offloading assets. UltraTech, consolidating its position as India’s biggest cement maker, said on Sunday that it had signed a binding memorandum of understanding with Jaiprakash to buy plants with a capacity of 22.4m tonnes per year in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. More On this topic IN Industrial Goods The Rs165bn deal, which includes debt, would increase UltraTech’s total annual capacity by a third to 90.7m tonnes and give the company access to some new markets — in eastern Uttar Pradesh, for example — just as the government of prime minister Narendra Modi is poised to announce increased infrastructure spending in the national budget on Monday. The heavy and often unserviced debts of Indian infrastructure and industrial groups such as Jaiprakash have left the country’s banks with alarming levels of stressed assets, a problem that in turn has constrained new lending and crimped private investment. Public sector banks, which account for most of India’s lending, classified 14 per cent of their assets as “stressed” — bad and restructured loans — at the end of September, and the government is obliged to recapitalise them regularly. According to Credit Suisse, Jaiprakash has accumulated debts of Rs753bn ($10.9bn), had interest cover of zero in the latest quarter, and has failed for 11 consecutive quarters to earn enough to service its debts. Only Tata Steel and Vedanta Resources have bigger debt loads. Jaiprakash is the flagship company of patriarch Jaiprakash Gaur and his Jaypee Group, which built hydropower dams in north India and the Yamuna Expressway from New Delhi to Agra, as well as the little-used Formula One racing track and a vast suburb of residential apartment blocks in Noida outside the capital. Kumar Birla and his Aditya Birla group are among the few large conglomerates with a healthy appetite for new investments. Both the Reserve Bank of India and the finance ministry are struggling to find ways to relieve the commercial banks of their bad assets and so promote new lending and investment, without allowing wealthy tycoons to walk away from their debts. Metals, including steel, and infrastructure account for most of the stressed assets. Arvind Subramanian, the government’s chief economic adviser, said on Friday that India’s previous two-pronged problem of its budget and current account deficits had now been replaced by a “twin balance sheet challenge” affecting banks and the large corporations that have borrowed from them. “Corporate profits are low while debts are rising, forcing firms to cut investment to preserve cash flow,” reported India’s latest annual economic survey. “This situation is not sustainable.” 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
Big Sky Developments, a company owned by South Norfolk Council, has appointed Lovell to build a £7.9m development in the village of Long Stratton. Above: The Maple Park development Lovell has been contracted to deliver 50 new homes and an 800 m2 office block on land close to South Norfolk Council’s offices in Swan Lane. The Maple Park development will be built using a steel frame construction method for reduced construction times. Completion is scheduled for autumn 2017. Lovell regional director Simon Medler said: “Imaginative developments of this kind ensure that flourishing communities such as Long Stratton continue to thrive and grow. Our team has a strong record of delivering high-quality affordable and open market homes, as well as smart, modern business accommodation. We’re delighted to be working with Big Sky Developments on this important community scheme, using our expertise in constructing residential and commercial premises built and finished to the highest standards.” This article was published on 8 Jun 2016 (last updated on 8 Jun 2016). Source link
HiB welcomes bathroom renovation popularity Published: 25 May, 2016 Bathroom brand HiB has welcomed new market research which reveals that the bathroom is the most popular room for home improvements. According to a new study by The Tile Depot, UK bathrooms are now the most popular choice of home improvement, with nearly half (44%) of people choosing to renovate their bathroom. In comparison, the kitchen comes a close second with 42%, followed by the garden with 17%. Notably, the study showed the bathroom to be a more affordable renovation option – equating to an average spend of £4,900, compared to £9,600 on kitchens and £19,750 on extensions. Steve Kaye, marketing director at HiB, commented: “From what we’ve seen as a business specialising in the KBB sector for a quarter of a century, it’s no surprise that the bathroom is taking centre stage when it comes to home improvements. In addition to being one of the most important rooms in the home, offering a personal retreat from the hustle and bustle of everyday life, the bathroom is one of easiest ways to add value when selling your home. “For those who aren’t able to afford a new bathroom suite, however, it’s important to remember than smaller adjustments can still make a big impact. A well-placed mirror or cabinet, new lighting and some new accessories, for example, can instantly inject a new lease of life into a tired bathroom setting.” Source link
Date and location Tuesday 13 September 2016NEW VENUE: Garstang Country Hotel and Golf Club, off Preston Lancaster New Road, PR3 1YE Event overview Conference targeting Occupational Health Issues with the aim of reminding delegates not to lose sight of the basic fundamentals of Health & Safety Subjects covered will be Accident Investigation, Competency & Training, Stress, Slips, Trips & Falls, Work Equipment, Risk Assessments, Electrical Testing, Face Fit Testing of RPE and Security A mini exhibition will be run in conjunction with the Conference attended by leading suppliers to the industry. Who should attend? Anyone involved in Occupational Health and Safety that is keen to learn/be reminded about the basics and for small companies to learn about the essentials of good practice Further information and booking Full programme and booking details and are available to download on the NWRA website or by email to Cathy Nixon or tel: 0161 485 8102. Source link
Homes in the vicinity of the top performing independent schools command a 25 per cent over the average for their region, while the clamour for homes close to the best non-selective state schools pushes their values up 20 per cent over the average for the regions they are in. New analysis of GCSE results by real estate adviser, Savills, puts the average value of a home close to one of the country’s top 10 per cent of state schools, where points per pupil average over 450 according to the Department of Education, at £348,000. This equates to a 12 per cent premium above the average for their regions. Unsurprisingly perhaps, this rises to £414,000 in the postcode sector of the top independent schools, an average premium of £83,000. Non selective state schools, which usually offer places on the basis of proximity to the gate, push house prices up to an average of around £400,000, a punchy £66,000 (20%) above their regional average. By contrast, homes close to high performing selective state schools which are dominated by grammar schools, offer much better value at an average of just under £290,000, a marginal 2 per cent premium above their regional average. Homes close to the worst performing schools (under 300 points per pupil) cost only £220,000 on average, a discount of 19 per cent. Graph showing relationship with house prices London and the South East have the highest concentration of top performing schools, with over a quarter of all pupils attending such a school, whether state or independent, and in both outer London and the South East almost one in six (17%) pupils are in schools achieving over 450 points per pupil. By contrast, across the Midlands and the North that figure is between 6 and 7 per cent. The regional pattern of house price premiums reflect this. The average cost of a home close to a high performing state school is £1million in inner London, £500,000 in outer London and £400,000 in the South East. In the South East, it costs on average £80,000 more to live close to a top non selective state school, where the catchment area is critical, than a selective state school. In the West Midlands, where just 7 per cent of schools are in this bracket, parents should expect to pay a 49 per cent premium over the regional average, or £97,000 more for their home. This is followed by Yorkshire and the Humber and the North East, at 44 and 38 per cent respectively. Table showing regional variations for top performing schools At a local level, West Dorset tops the list in terms of choice of high performing schools, with 79 per cent of pupils in top state and independent schools. It also offers relative value, with the weighted average house price around such schools at just £290,795, well below second and third ranked Tunbridge Wells and Epson and Ewell, at £403,592 and £464,748 respectively. Other locations with over half of all GCSE students in top performing schools include Cambridge, Hertsmere and Richmond, all with average prices over £500,000, rising to over £1.1 million in Hammersmith & Fulham. Lucian Cook, head of Savills UK residential research comments: “This analysis tells us that many families will compromise on most things, but will do everything in their power to ensure best education for their children, including paying top dollar for their homes. While it is perhaps no surprise that some of the most expensive homes are in the proximity of top independent schools, parents opting for the private school route face the double whammy of high house prices and school fees.” Source link
Homes for Scotland has is an organisation that works in order to create around 95% of all of the new homes that are constructed in Scotland. Of this dramatic proportion of the hose building sector Homes for Scotland also makes sure that they construct a sizeable percentage of the affordable housing that is created in the country too. At the moment Homes for Scotland has said that a boost in the number of housebuilding projects being carried out could improve the gap that has been created by infrastructure schemes that are nearing completion. Construction projects such as the Queensferry Crossing are soon to be completed and when this happens there will be an gap created in the economy as companies won’t be spending money on building it. The EY Scottish ITEM Club Summer Update has recently been published and shows that the growth of the Scottish economy over the course of 2017 is predicted to be approximately half that of the UK. In order to boost growth in areas such as the construction industry, Homes for Scotland are advocating more housing development projects. Because of the Summer Update is has been seen as important that both businesses and the government work together in order to see the best growth possible achieved for the country. It is thought Scotland has a housing demand in the tens of thousands, however the figures show at the moment that the country is still in a decline in terms of the number of houses that are being built. It is thought that by creating more house building opportunities this housing demand can be reduced and met in time. The increased opportunities could also see better health figures as well as education and social improvements. Currently it is seen as incredibly difficult to open new sites that would allow more houses to be created, although the figures suggest that if the country go back to building houses at the same level they were before the recession, the Scottish Parliament would be able to generate £1.9 billion in economic output as well as generating somewhere in the region of 38,000 new jobs.
A number of Building and construction companies in Britain are at risk of receiving hefty fines because of new Data Protection rules that are being put into place. The new wide ranging rules have been introduced that will change the way businesses are able to process personal information that they have access to. The government’s GDPR will replace the data protection laws that are already in place. The new rules are set to come into action in less than a year and the consequences of breaking the new rules are harsher than previously. According to a survey that has been carried out by YouGov, only 30% of the 190 different construction firms that were asked knew that there were new rules coming into force. This is event more concerning when the results of the study showed that the maximum fine for breaching the new data protection rules would make 25% of the construction businesses go out of business. The new General Data Protection Regulations will come into force on the 25th of May 2018 and it has been stated that the maximum fine for specific data breaches that occur in the UK will increase from £500,000 to €20 million or 4% of the company’s global turnover, depending on which figure is larger. From the results of the YouGov survey, 77% of the construction companies that were asked said that they were unaware of the new fines that are going to be implemented next year. It is thought that by the regulations some data breaches that would have an impact on privacy must see the Regulator notified within 72 hours. Although, further research that has been carried out by Irwin Mitchell has discovered that only18% of construction companies could be certain that they have the ability to detect a data breach in their organisation. 27% of companies have expressed confidence being able to inform the relevant stakeholders inside the required three day time period.
Around 20 years ago the Centre for Window and Cladding Technology created a university course, the MSc in Façade Engineering has now been reformatted and will be offered as part of a partnership that has been formed with the University of the West of England. It is thought that over the course of the last ten years there has been significant change in the Façade sector and it has made the professional role of façade engineer more and more important as a part of the construction industry. Now the development of a professional qualification will be on offer and is only available as an MSc at the University of the West of England. As buildings designs get more complex, as they get larger and as they push the design standards while requiring more in terms of being sustainable it is becoming more vital that people who have trained in order to understand, design and advise of the best structure façades throughout the construction process. The façade is seen as the first modifier in terms of environmental impact and while more countries are starting to set tighter restrictions on carbon emissions in the construction industry, being able to utilise this aspect of the project in order to be more sustainable will be vital when it comes to meeting targets later on. With the Paris Agreement being a key feature in the news to emphasise this issue, and the expansion of cities meaning architects ahre getting more taller and more adventurous in terms of design the development of more façade training could support the construction industry in the future. The façade of a building has a great deal of investment put into it as it is the space to make a statement for the architect or the client as well as an aspect of the building that it is vitally important to have delivered on time and on budget in order to not take away from the rest of the development.