Social media has transformed the ways in which businesses of all types and sizes network with their customers and clients. Although we might not typically think of interacting with construction companies in the same place we post cute pictures of our dogs or share statuses about a fabulous weekend at
16 September 2016 | Jamie Harris NIC Services Group has been awarded a £50 million contract with retailer Morrisons. Under the terms of the deal, which marks the first time Morrisons has outsourced its services, NIC will be responsible for cleaning services across 500 stores in the UK. NIC was
Higher land sales and increased property development activity more than compensated for a dip in construction at contractor/developer Henry Boot in the first half of 2016. Above: Chairman Jamie Boot Henry Boot has reported interim revenue for the six-months to 30th June 2016 up 35% to £107.3m (2015 H1: £79.2m).
Morgan Sindall has started work on a £13.7m leisure extension to White Rose Shopping Centre in Leeds. Above: The extension will house a Cineworld Imax cinema The contractor will build a 6,000 m2 (65,000 sq ft) extension for an 11-screen, Cineworld Imax cinema complex and six chain restaurants. Completion is
Date: Wednesday, July 27, 2016 – 2:29 pm 1 September marks the deadline by which theatre owners should have had their suspended plaster ceilings inspected by a specialist to ensure that they are safe. New guidance about this which was co-written with HSE following the collapse of the Apollo Theatre
Insulation specialist Actis has promoted East Midlands area sales manager Jemma Harris to northern regional sales director. Above: Jemma Harris The former Royal Navy weapons technician is now in charge of sales for Actis across the north of England, Scotland, North Wales and the East Midlands. Mark Cooper continues to
17 June 2016 | Martin Read Arthur McKay is to provide National Records of Scotland (NRS) with facilities management services including mechanical and electrical maintenance, building fabric, cleaning, cleaning supplies, waste management and grounds maintenance. NRS is a non-ministerial department of the Scottish Government that performs many functions including registration,
9 April 2016 – by Louise Clarence-Smith Ask Real Estate has secured its first new project since being backed by construction giant Carillion. The developer, in which Carillion acquired a majority stake in January, has bought a 1.7-acre site for a £300m, 750,000 sq ft scheme next to the Manchester
Raising a glass of codswallop to glass. In the USA, September is Glass Recycling Month. Jane Embury, marketing director at advanced glazing system supplier Wrightstyle, takes a look at the wonders of glass – and suggests that we should also have a glass recycling month. As a building material, glass
NEWRY FIRM BUILDS ON SUCCESS WITH GROWTH LOAN FUND SUPPORT – Newry-based Healthy Buildings (Ireland) trading as HBE has secured a £500,000 loan from the Growth Loan Fund. The funds will be used to create 10 new jobs and support the group’s BlueZone Technologies subsidiary, to further develop and market
Social media has transformed the ways in which businesses of all types and sizes network with their customers and clients. Although we might not typically think of interacting with construction companies in the same place we post cute pictures of our dogs or share statuses about a fabulous weekend at the beach, Facebook is a valuable marketing tool even for the construction industry. In order for commercial construction companies to take full advantage of the growing importance social media plays in our society, they need to understand how to use it to promote their business. Facebook in particular is an ideal social network for construction companies to jump on given its versatility for content publication, the large number of users, and the connections it offers to other businesses. 5 Steps to Marketing your Business on Facebook Create a Company Page First things first, establish a branded presence on Facebook. If your construction company does not already have its own company page, you can easily create one by clicking on the “Create Page” button here. Start by choosing which category your business falls into and work from there. As a company in the construction industry, your business is likely to be categorized as either a “Local Business” or as a “Company.” Quick Tip: If you choose the “Company, Organization, or Institution” option, you’ll find the category appropriate for your business by scrolling down the alphabetical list to “Engineering/Construction.” Build a Following Once you’ve set up your company page with an eye-catching cover photo and a profile picture that reflects your company (your logo is usually a solid choice), you’re ready for step 2: establishing an audience base. In order to build your following, start by inviting your current customers to like your page. You could send them an email with a link to your page or even connect with them directly through Facebook by: clicking on the “Invite friends to like this Page” button in the left panel of your company page. clicking on the ellipsis (…) button near the top right of the page in the cover photo area. Choose to “Invite Friends” or “Share” the page. You can share the page on your own Timeline or on a friend’s Timeline. Additionally, encourage your employees to share the company page through their personal Facebook account to gain more new likes. Consider following and liking other businesses in your industry on Facebook as well to get a feel for your competition and see what sort of content they post and share. As a commercial construction company, following other businesses on Facebook that may need your services one day could be useful as well. If you reach out to them, they may reach out to you whether they’re in need of a remodeling job or an expansion of their current business. Quick Tip: Don’t spend too much time worrying about the number of likes your page is receiving. Focus your energy on connecting with key customers and supporters of your business to help grow it in a genuine way. Create and Share Stimulating Content While your expertise may lie in creating quality buildings, creating valuable and quality content for your Facebook account is a very important step in the promotion process. But don’t let this intimidate you! You’re already doing great things as a business that people are interested in; you just need to capture those things in shareable ways and post! Content Examples for Construction Companies to Post on Facebook Share photos of your projects as they transform (before and after project pics). Post pictures of satisfied customers in their newly constructed environment. Post visuals exemplifying the services you offer. Upload videos of a finished project showcasing your skills as a construction firm. Link to press releases or project updates on your website or company blog. Feature a construction worker of the week to add a personal touch to your business. Countdown to the grand opening of a client’s business. Pose questions to encourage potential customers to learn more about your company. Advertise on Facebook In addition to beefing up your company page with visually engaging content, consider setting a Facebook advertising budget for your company that would allow you to: boost your posts to a larger audience, or create and share ads with target audience members to gain likes. Advertising on Facebook is a fairly easy process. You choose a budget for however much you want to spend on the ad and set how long you want the ad to run. Your ad will stop running after the entire budget has been used or at the end of the campaign date, whichever comes first. If you notice your advertisement is doing well, you can increase the budget and extend the campaign period. If you see that it’s not doing so well, you can change the budget and stop the ad from running at any time. Although Facebook only requires you to spend a minimum of $1 per day on Facebook advertising, bidding this low will make it hard to attain visibility for your campaign since you’ll use up your budget while only reaching a handful of people. Facebook advertising agencies can help you do this. Facebook wants their users to have an enjoyable experience while on the site, so they limit how many ads people are exposed to. Because of this, you must go through a bidding process for your ad. This process is either done by cost per click (CPC) or cost per 1,000 ad views (CPM). According to an article on FitSmallBusiness.com, “the average click costs advertisers $0.24 and the average CPM cost $0.66.” In other words, spending $24 dollars would get you 100 clicks on the advertisement or get the advertisement shown 36,364 times. Keep in mind that these costs can change drastically depending on: they type of business you have (industry). the size of your business (small local business vs. national corporation). https://youtu.be/8HZSlaU6Zz4 Side Note: While targeting your audience on Facebook as a small local
16 September 2016 | Jamie Harris NIC Services Group has been awarded a £50 million contract with retailer Morrisons. Under the terms of the deal, which marks the first time Morrisons has outsourced its services, NIC will be responsible for cleaning services across 500 stores in the UK. NIC was awarded the deal after a successful pilot scheme, where it said it showcased its knowledge of the retail sector. The contractor has also worked with Tesco for more than 30 years. John Spencer, group chairman at NIC, said: “This award is particularly significant, given that Morrisons have never outsourced their services before. I am sure our extensive experience in this sector will ensure the highest standards of service delivery for Morrisons and their customers and colleagues.” Source link
Higher land sales and increased property development activity more than compensated for a dip in construction at contractor/developer Henry Boot in the first half of 2016. Above: Chairman Jamie Boot Henry Boot has reported interim revenue for the six-months to 30th June 2016 up 35% to £107.3m (2015 H1: £79.2m). Profit before tax was up 49% to £20.8m (2015 H1: £14.0m). Most of the increase was due to the sale of land at Marston Moretaine near Bedford. “Whilst construction turnover has been slower than anticipated in the first half of the year we expect this to be recovered through the second half,” said chairman Jamie Boot. However, the construction order book has grown and Henry Boot has secured its budgeted turnover for 2016 and 50% of 2017’s budgeted turnover – “which, at this time of the year, is slightly ahead of our expectations,” said the chairman. “We recently completed the £34m Fox Valley retail development for the Stocksbridge Regeneration Company Ltd, which opened in June 2016. We also secured the first phase of the £35m Better Barnsley Town Centre Redevelopment for Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council, and have commenced the pre-construction works. We are also delivering the Snowhill Retail Park, Wakefield, for Kier. “Looking to the future, we secured a place on the new YORbuild2 framework. We previously delivered a good number of schemes under the existing YORbuild framework, including two schemes in progress for Leeds City Council; structural repairs to a number of tower blocks and the £7.7m, 45 unit extra care housing development in Yeadon. “The higher education sector continues to provide good opportunities and we are currently delivering schemes for the University of Sheffield, University of Derby, University of Huddersfield and University of Lancaster. Furthermore, work on the new spa facility at the prestigious Rudding Park Hotel in Harrogate is progressing well.” He added that “Banner Plant continued to trade well through the first half of the year with turnover and profit slightly ahead of 2015”. Temporary site accommodation and access equipment were strong performers and the new Ossett Power Tool unit that opened a year ago and is already delivering results in line with established tool hire units. So far, Jamie Boot said, there had been no Brexit fall-out. “Two months after the EU referendum, it is probably a little early to judge how the UK property market will react over the longer term,” he said. “However, our experience is that the trading activity and any deals we had in progress are proceeding as envisaged and the future pipeline is coming to fruition as we would have expected.” This article was published on 25 Aug 2016 (last updated on 25 Aug 2016). Source link
Morgan Sindall has started work on a £13.7m leisure extension to White Rose Shopping Centre in Leeds. Above: The extension will house a Cineworld Imax cinema The contractor will build a 6,000 m2 (65,000 sq ft) extension for an 11-screen, Cineworld Imax cinema complex and six chain restaurants. Completion is expected in summer 2017. The contract also provides for a 15-month maintenance period. Shopping centre owner is Land Securities, whose portfolio director Rob Jewell said: “The decision to appoint Morgan Sindall to deliver this latest improvement to White Rose Centre was an obvious one given its exemplary previous work on the project.” Morgan Sindall refurbished the shopping centre’s food and beverage court in 2014. This article was published on 15 Jul 2016 (last updated on 15 Jul 2016). Source link
Date: Wednesday, July 27, 2016 – 2:29 pm 1 September marks the deadline by which theatre owners should have had their suspended plaster ceilings inspected by a specialist to ensure that they are safe. New guidance about this which was co-written with HSE following the collapse of the Apollo Theatre ceiling in 2013, can be found on the ABTT website at http://www.abtt.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/ABTT-Guidance-Note-20-19May2015.pdf If you have not managed to get your ceiling inspected within this period you are advised to contact your licensing authority (normally the appropriate Local Authority) to discuss how you can demonstrate that the ceiling is safe for an audience to sit beneath. The hazards from suspended plaster ceilings are not limited to theatres or places of entertainment but will be present in any building with this type of construction. Those responsible for premises with suspended plaster ceilings are strongly advised to read the ABTT guidance referred to above. Category: Construction, Construction bulletin, Entertainment and leisure bulletin, Film, theatre and broadcasting, Local Authorities, Local authorities bulletin Source link
Insulation specialist Actis has promoted East Midlands area sales manager Jemma Harris to northern regional sales director. Above: Jemma Harris The former Royal Navy weapons technician is now in charge of sales for Actis across the north of England, Scotland, North Wales and the East Midlands. Mark Cooper continues to cover the southern region. Actis reports an upturn in sales for its Hybrid range of insulation and insulating membranes, attributing it to a 60% increase in the timber frame market and the imminent arrival of new EN markings governing the thermal efficiency of off-site constructed buildings. This article was published on 13 Apr 2016 (last updated on 13 Apr 2016). Source link
17 June 2016 | Martin Read Arthur McKay is to provide National Records of Scotland (NRS) with facilities management services including mechanical and electrical maintenance, building fabric, cleaning, cleaning supplies, waste management and grounds maintenance. NRS is a non-ministerial department of the Scottish Government that performs many functions including registration, statistical and archival services. The contract, won through a competitive tender, covers six buildings and will run for four years, with an option to extend for a period of up to two further years. Arthur McKay has provided FM services to NRS for the past six years, but the new deal extends the range of services provided. Last month, the service provider landed a contract with the London Borough of Croydon, where it is to provide hard FM services over five years. Source link
9 April 2016 – by Louise Clarence-Smith Ask Real Estate has secured its first new project since being backed by construction giant Carillion. The developer, in which Carillion acquired a majority stake in January, has bought a 1.7-acre site for a £300m, 750,000 sq ft scheme next to the Manchester Hilton in Deansgate, where residential values are consistently the highest in the city. The company is led by managing director John Hughes after the departure of Ken Knott in 2013. The project marks the start of a dramatic turnaround for a company which struggled with its debt during the downturn. It is now debt free and reported a pretax profit of £1.1m in the 12 months to March 2015. The site was bought from the family owners of the former Bauer Millett luxury car dealership in Albion Street, which sold Ferraris, Rolls-Royces and Maseratis to Manchester’s rich and famous. Ask now plans to develop a £300m scheme on the site, with early plans including 350,000 sq ft of offices, 400 prime flats, a 150-bedroom four-star hotel and around 30,000 sq ft of leisure space adjacent to the Deansgate-Castlefield metrolink station, with a new passenger connection to Great Bridgewater Street. All the content from this weekís magazine, including this article, is available in the new app. Talks have already begun with global hotel companies for the project, but no occupiers have yet been secured. Local food and beverage operators are in talks over pop-up opportunities in the former car showroom space. Hughes said Ask’s new relationship with Carillion had given it the “platform to move quickly” to acquire the site. The development will be delivered in a partnership between Ask, Manchester City Council, Transport for Greater Manchester and Manchester Central, the conference and events venue adjacent to the site. Ask is considering a number of funding options, which could include forward-selling, bringing in an equity partner, or taking it forward itself using debt. SimpsonHaugh & Partners will design the scheme and a planning application is expected to be submitted in October. Ask hopes to start building in October 2017 with a target completion date of December 2019. Source link
Raising a glass of codswallop to glass. In the USA, September is Glass Recycling Month. Jane Embury, marketing director at advanced glazing system supplier Wrightstyle, takes a look at the wonders of glass – and suggests that we should also have a glass recycling month. As a building material, glass is both ubiquitous and timeless. It’s been with us, in the form of obsidian from volcanoes, since the Stone Age. In the form we know it now, glass has been around since at least 3,000BC when the Egyptians, Syrians and Mesopotamians mastered how to make it. Since then, the history of glass has been largely about its functional and decorative development – from the beauty of the Portland Vase to the rose windows of Notre Dame cathedral. But the history of glass is much more than that and has, in a very real sense, helped shape the modern world in which we live. So for a moment, let’s forget about glass as a material for life’s fripperies, like windows or wine glasses. Let’s not forget about the 13th century invention of the spectacles, which added years to the useful lives of scientists. In the 17th century, the Dutch philosopher Baruch Spinoza also made his living as a lens-grinder. The humble mirror also has its part to play, used by the 14th century Italian architect and engineer Filippo Brunelleschi to establish the laws of perspective, which had a huge impact on Renaissance painting – let alone the design of buildings ever since. It was glass beakers that helped to create modern science, creating knowledge and cures for diseases, and the microscope and telescope, invented in the 16th century, advanced our understanding both of our world and the cosmos beyond. Let’s also celebrate the humble window, and not just for keeping the elements out. Glass windows, which became more widespread from the 17th century, made homes lighter and brighter – and, partly as a result, plague was eradicated from most of Europe by the early 18th century. In the mid-19th century, glass containers allowed the French chemist Louis Pasteur to disprove the theory that germs spontaneously sprouted from rotting matter – obvious now, but a huge stride forward in our understanding of disease. And then, of course, came the light bulb, changing our world completely. (By the way, recycling one glass bottle saves enough energy to power a 100 watt light bulb for nearly an hour). As a supplier of advanced glazing systems, Wrightstyle is also playing our small part in the history of glass – helping, for example, to develop safer systems to withstand fire or the detonation of a terrorist bomb. But we’re also aware of our environmental responsibility and do what we can to ensure that, whenever possible, all waste materials from our facilities are recycled. Indeed, the UK now recycles well over 1,500,000 tonnes of glass bottles every year – an annual reduction of some 385,000 tonnes of CO2 emission, equivalent to taking more than 120,000 cars off the road. Data published in 2015 by the European Container Glass Federation (FEVE) found that the EU28 average recycling rate for glass packaging hit the 73% mark for the first time. The UK rate was 68%. So, although the UK lags behind some European countries, the good news is that waste glass, or cullet, is 100% recyclable, and can used again and again for a whole variety of glass products. But we can and should be doing more – and that means all of us involved in the building or demolition industries. Which is why I’m going to raise a glass of codswallop to our see-though friend, glass, and suggest to the powers-that-be that the UK should also have a glass recycling month – to help raise awareness of the wonders of glass, and encourage greater responsibility for its disposal by both companies and individuals. Why codswallop? Well, that’s all down to the Victorian engineer Hiram Codd who, in 1872, patented a glass bottle which could be filled under pressure and then stoppered with a marble. It was a hugely-popular invention and used mainly for fizzy soft drinks. In the 19th century, cheap beer was called “wallop” – and, so the story goes, beer drinkers dismissively called the contents of the new-fangled bottles as a “load of codd’s wallop.” It may not be true, and it’s completely irrelevant for glass recycling month. But it’s a lovely useless glass fact. For once, let’s copy the Americans! Does anybody out there agree?
NEWRY FIRM BUILDS ON SUCCESS WITH GROWTH LOAN FUND SUPPORT – Newry-based Healthy Buildings (Ireland) trading as HBE has secured a £500,000 loan from the Growth Loan Fund. The funds will be used to create 10 new jobs and support the group’s BlueZone Technologies subsidiary, to further develop and market its innovative ‘manager’ software platform. Finance for the £50m Growth Loan Fund – which provides loans to established Northern Ireland SMEs seeking to access growth finance – has been provided by Invest Northern Ireland and private investors, Northern Ireland Local Government Officers’ Superannuation Committee (NILGOSC). BlueZone Technologies is a specialist software solutions company that develops products for the management of Supply Chain, Health & Safety, Inductions and Compliance eLearning within the built environment. Adrian Byrne, CEO, commented: “BlueZone Technologies has been developing our manager product for the past 18 months and launched it into the market in March. Research has shown that many customers want less software in their organisations. With each department having their own software packages to undertake one or two specific compliance tasks, this has led to data variations between systems, which makes decision-making and planning difficult. There is a clear demand for an all-in-one solution to optimise business operations. ‘manager’ is a unique system that can control, monitor, report and manage all aspects of health and safety within the built environment. BlueZone Technologies will help eliminate paper records and allow companies to access critical data about their estate, anytime and from anywhere. The program also includes a number of eLearning courses and an induction module for staff and supplier development. Customer response to date has been excellent. We’ve started rolling manager out to a number of existing clients within our sister company, HBE, and we’ve recently secured contracts with two major brands, one in Northern Ireland and one in Scotland.” Looking ahead Mr Byrne added: “The support from the Growth Loan Fund will enable BlueZone Technologies to continue with the software development and will support our marketing initiatives. We’re currently developing mobile apps and will add further eLearning modules to meet the needs of different sectors. Over the next two years we will build new relationships in Great Britain and Ireland and plan to break into mainland Europe. With busy times ahead, we expect to take on an additional ten staff this year, with four of these positions already filled.” Jenna Mairs, Investment Manager at WhiteRock Capital Partners, commented: “With more businesses shifting to digital data management, Adrian and his team have created an innovative product that will be used by some of the world’s largest brands. “The IT sector is one of the fastest growing sectors of the Northern Ireland economy and it continues to go from strength to strength. The company has ambitious targets for growth over the next two years and we look forward to supporting the firm’s future successes.” Brian Murphy, Partner at BDO Northern Ireland, commented: “As advisers to the Group we are delighted that BlueZone Technologies has secured such a positive outcome to this funding round. “The investment by WhiteRock not only underpins the financial foundations of the business; it also enables the management team to establish the necessary structures for the successful launch and growth of the manager product throughout Great Britain. It represents an excellent opportunity for BlueZone Technologies to grow to the next level with a dynamic new partner and we wish the business and the team every success as they do so.” WhiteRock Capital Partners LLP, which is authorised and regulated by the FCA, was established in 2012 to manage the Fund and is owned by a consortium of three partners – WhiteRock Finance Limited, NEL Fund Managers and Clarendon Fund Managers. Companies seeking funding from the Growth Loan Fund must be based in Northern Ireland, demonstrating growth and generally be in the manufacturing, engineering or tradable services sectors. Loans will be typically unsecured and personal guarantees will not be sought. The loans provided are expected to be complementary to existing sources of finance, including banks, trade finance sources and equity investors. Loans are provided on a fully commercial basis, with monthly loan repayments required over typically a five-year term. For more information about the Growth Loan Fund’s criteria please contact info@whiterockcp.co.uk or go to www.growthloanfund.com. Follow BlueZone Technologies on Twitter @BluezoneTech1 or LinkedIn.