Land Registry has released its latest house price index and revealed that during February, the average price of a home in England and Wales remained steady, dipping slightly by 0.2%. Annual growth hit 6.1%. A month on month comparison shows that January saw an annual price increase of 7.1% and a monthly rise of 2.5%. The February data for London shows a monthly increase of 0.6%. At 13.5%, the annual change for London remains “considerably higher” than most other regions, according to the Index. The average price of property in the capital is now £530,368 in comparison with the average for England and Wales of £190,275. The North East saw the only annual price fall with a movement of -3.2%, and also the most significant monthly price decrease with a fall of 1.2%. The North West experienced the greatest monthly price rise with a movement of 1.8%. The total number of property transactions has decreased over the last year. From September 2014 to December 2014 there was an average of 79,237 sales per month, compared to 78,778 in the same months a year later. Andrew Bridges, managing director of Stirling Ackroyd, comments: “House prices across the country have paused for breath – but London is still dancing to its own tune. In the capital, a steady beat of demand shows no signs of stopping.   Higher prices aren’t stifling any interest from those living in the capital, even if the mixture of movements is shifting. Not all of London is seeing property prices surges, with the more traditional top of the prime London market much quieter. But this is more than made up for by new, emerging suburbs and the surprisingly affordable parts of central London which still persist.   As the capital’s population keeps on growing, the London housing market is getting ever warmer and more crowded. This is underpinning solid house price growth for sellers. But for buyers and renters it makes entry to the housing ladder ever more difficult. Hundreds of thousands of new homes are the only real answer. Mayoral candidates are still reluctant to take on such a massive challenge – but if they want to gain entrance to City Hall on election night, they might have to do more to help Londoners enjoy the success of the house price party.” Mark Posniak, Managing Director at Dragonfly Property Finance, had this to say: “With its double-digit price growth over the past year, the unique property microclimate of London and the South East is once again in evidence. With the exception of the East of England, the difference between the South East corner of England and all the other regions is as pronounced as ever.   With the London market where it is, the South East is well positioned for further outperformance in the short to medium term as buyers shift their focus beyond the capital. Property investors, both overseas and domestic, are increasingly looking for capital growth and yield potential outside London.   There will naturally be a degree of uncertainty around Brexit but the sense we are getting is that, however things turn out, it won’t be a Black Swan for the UK’s property market. With demand still strong and supply as weak as it is, the overall trajectory of the market is likely to be up.” Jeremy Leaf, former RICS chairman and north London estate agent, said: “The decline in number of property transactions continues to be a worry, with a 6 per cent fall in completions in December compared with the previous year. If people aren’t able to move in and out of the market when they want to, there will be an inevitable knock-on effect for the rest of the economy. On the ground we want to see more balance between supply and demand, and while we expect completions to rise in January and February as landlords attempt to beat the stamp duty hike from April, there remains a woeful lack of supply, which will push prices higher. House prices rose again in the year to March but perhaps not by as much as we expected. This suggests that they could go higher still in the next few months as that extra flurry of transactions filters through into the Land Registry’s historic data, before they start to soften.” David Brown, CEO of Marsh & Parsons, comments: “An overall monthly dip in property prices in February disguises the fact that the majority of regions are experiencing striking growth. In the capital, annual growth has climbed to comfortably double the wider England and Wales average. There have been a lot of stimulants spurring on the housing market this spring – and there’s no denying there’s been a palpable buzz in the air. To beat the April 1st implementation of additional stamp duty, second-home buyers and buy-to-let investors have been frantically pushing through purchase completions as quickly as possible. We’ve had documents collected and delivered by hand across London to solicitors to avoid postal delays, and our teams have been in at the crack of dawn to make sure all parties involved in the transaction are meeting their deadlines. This short-term whirlwind should go some way to balance out the slower sales activity seen at the end of last year, but only time will tell how buy-to-let demand tapers off as we enter into new territory. As buy-to-let investors face yet another blow from the banks, the incredibly strong buyer demand we’re seeing will take the reins, and keep the market on a stable course.”      Richard Sexton, director of chartered surveyor e.surv comments: “A lack of supply from sellers is restricting the property market – seen through a slowdown in sales figures from last year. Those moving are facing fewer options, encouraging many to stay put and therefore reducing choice for all in the market. And first-timers are feeling the effect. It’s not just a lack of choice – but a lack of funds is holding some back as prices keep moving upwards

Category: Construction Industry Today | Subscribe to Construction Industry Today Feed Published Thu, Apr 7th 2016 A team of experts has been assembled to spearhead the creation of a national Centre for Horology at Upton Hall, near Newark. Posted via Industry Today. Follow us on Twitter @IndustryToday A team of experts has been assembled to spearhead the creation of a national Centre for Horology at Upton Hall, near Newark.Last October it was announced that the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) had earmarked a £2.8 million grant for the BHI to develop a new centre of excellence to help train the next generation of clock and watchmakers in the UK.The project – known as Saving Time – is the first phase of an £8.5 million masterplan that Nottingham-based funding, economic development and project management specialist Focus Consultants has developed for the site.Now a team has been appointed to progress plans, produce a fully costed proposal, apply for planning permission, and submit a second round application to the HLF before the earmarked grant can be released.“I am delighted that we have now appointed a team of experts to support the British Horological Institute as we move into the next phase of making our plans a reality,” said Dudley Giles, chief executive officer of the BHI. “Work on Saving Time is now in full swing.”The team appointed by the BHI includes Focus Consultants as project manager, bid planner and quantity surveyor, Newark-based Guy Taylor Associates as architects, Newark-based William Saunders as civil and structural engineer, and Hertfordshire-based mechanical and electrical engineers SVM. Other members of the team are activity planners Oakmere Solutions Ltd based in Ipswich and Cambridge, access consultants Jane Toplis Associates, from Bath, fundraising consultants Judith Egerton and Nancy Chambers, from Gloucestershire, and Swinton-based exhibition designer PLB.“This is the next stage in the process of securing the grant from the HLF,” said Focus partner Kevin Osbon. “Focus and architects Guy Taylor Associates have been involved in the long-term planning of the scheme right from the start and for around three years now, so we’re really pleased to be part of the team going forward, along with a number of other professionals who have expertise in developing exciting and innovative projects like the one being undertaken at Upton Hall.”The realisation of the masterplan will eventually see the refurbishment of Upton Hall – a Grade II* listed building, which is included in the Heritage at Risk register kept by Historic England.The BHI priority in the masterplan is training and education. This is to address the UK-wide shortage of horologists by creating new training and workshop facilities, allowing the BHI to double the number of students it trains over the coming years.The facilities created during Saving Time include new clock and watch workshop spaces in a former stable block and glasshouse adjacent to Upton Hall. Saving Time will also include the refurbishment of the ground floor of the west wing of Upton Hall.Focus, which also has offices in London, Leicester, Boston and Aubourn in Lincolnshire, specialises in creative approaches to securing funding packages and delivering high quality projects across the UK. Since its creation in 1994, Focus has helped to secure more than £953 million of grant assistance for a range of projects and businesses across the UK and delivered more than £1.3 billion of projects and programmes – making it one of the most successful companies of its kind.  Source link

The prime regional housing markets have remained in positive growth both year on year and since the autumn statement of December 2014, in contrast to prime London which has been more significantly impacted by increased stamp duty rates on high value homes, according to new data by international real estate adviser Savills. However, pre referendum uncertainty all but stalled price growth across all regions in the second quarter of 2016. At a regional level, London’s outer commuting zone, 30-60 minutes from the capital, remained most robust, up 0.8 per cent in the quarter and 3.5 per cent on last year against.  By contrast, the prime suburban markets around London slipped into negative territory between April and June, down -0.4 per cent. Table showing all regional growth “Prime regional markets are at a different stage in their cycle, having been slower to recover since the 2007 peak, and therefore appear to have been slightly less affected by pre referendum uncertainty,” said Sophie Chick, associate director, Savills research. “However, while the prime regional markets continue to offer real value compared to London, these figures suggest that the ripple of house price growth out from the capital  was put on hold before the referendum.” Across the market, the outperformance of urban locations against their rural counterparts continues to be an overarching trend through all regions. On average year on year, homes in urban locations saw a 3.6 per cent increase in price growth, compared to just 0.9 per cent in rural locations. Table showing growth by location type Smaller, lower value homes are also outperforming larger properties.  Across the index homes priced under £500,000 experienced the strongest growth, up by 0.9 per cent from April to June and 4.6 per cent annually, while those over £2m saw values fall by -0.2 per cent in the quarter, with prices all but flat (+0.6%) over the past year.  Similarly, cottages recorded quarterly price growth of 0.9 per cent and 3.7 per cent annually, compared to country houses which have slipped -0.6 per cent in the past year. The referendum vote to leave the EU is expected to result in added caution in the prime residential property markets. Looking ahead, the true strength of market demand is only likely to become clear over a period of months, though early indications are that there remains a seam of demand for good quality, well priced stock and much less market disruption than in the capital. Source link

According to ITV, Stuart Wilkie is leading a team that could bid to take over the business, potentially saving up to 15,000 jobs. Mr Wilkie is expected to formally reveal his plans later today, according to reports. So far, the only potential bidder for Tata’s UK operation is Liberty House, part of the Gupta family’s group of companies. Liberty House last month bought two previously mothballed Tata plants in Lanarkshire and has said it would consider a move for the rest of the Indian conglomerate’s UK facilities. Speaking to Construction News, the Gupta Group’s Jay Hambro said that it would be more likely to launch a bid if the government threw its weight behind the Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon project, which could help drive down energy costs. Unions have cautiously backed Mr Wilkie’s plans for a buyout, but reports suggest the plan would still require funding, including a £100m cash injection. Source link

Elon Musk has taken a step towards rolling up his different corporate interests, using the high-flying stock of electric car company Tesla Motors to make an all-stock offer worth nearly $3bn for solar power company SolarCity. The prospect of Tesla paying a substantial premium for a company in which Mr Musk is already the chairman and the largest shareholder unnerved Wall Street and knocked nearly 13 per cent from Tesla shares in after-market trading. The $4.1bn that was wiped from Tesla’s stock market value overshadowed a $500m jump in SolarCity’s share price on the news. Mr Musk said that shareholders in both companies would vote on the deal, and that he would abstain from voting both his 21 per cent stake in Tesla and his 22 per cent SolarCity interest. “This would only move forward if there is a majority vote of the non-me shareholders in both companies,” he said. The dent to Tesla’s share price comes in stark contrast to the strong backing Mr Musk has been able to count on from investors up to now when issuing more stock to finance his company’s ambitions expansion. The company raised nearly $1.5bn from a stock sale last month as it scaled up plans for first proposed mass-market vehicle, the Model 3. “My personal opinion is that obviously this is something that should happen — like it’s a no-brainer,” Mr Musk said in conference call on Tuesday afternoon to announce the deal. By adding SolarCity’s solar panel installation and leasing business to Tesla’s electric cars, battery manufacturing and electricity storage, Tesla would become an “integrated sustainable energy company,” he said. SolarCity, run by Lyndon Rive, Mr Musk’s cousin, has had a mixed record since it went public in 2012. It rode a wave of enthusiasm for domestic solar installation as the price of panels fell steadily, sending its stock market value up to more than $8bn by early 2014. However, the credibility of the company’s management has been “at risk” after it “missed [expectations] or guided down multiple quarters in a row,” analysts at Deutsche Bank wrote in a report to investors earlier this year. Its stock price hit a low of $16.31 earlier this year, down from a high of more than $61 a year ago. From the archive From the US to China, solar power is poised to tackle climate change and shake up the electricity industry Folding SolarCity into Tesla would boost both companies, for instance by making it possible to sell solar panel installation through the car maker’s stores, Mr Musk said. The company’s products would also become more tightly integrated, he said. Tesla sells a home electricity storage unit called Powerwall that is also sold to SolarCity customers. The carmaker is building a massive battery plant in Nevada to supply both its electric vehicles and power storage businesses. SolarCity’s customers use the same technology to store excess power produced by their panels. “You’ll be able to go into a store and with a few clicks and a few words get everything from batteries to solar panels to electric cars,” Mr Musk said. Combining the two companies could also boost demands for SolarCity’s services, he added: “Most of our [Tesla] customers have an interest in solar — I’d be shocked if they don’t.” While the all-stock offer came at a low point in SolarCity’s fortunes, Mr Musk said the timing was determined by both companies’ product plans, with Tesla “wrapping up its activities … with energy storage”. He added: “From a consumer experience standpoint, everything will work together really well … It’s a single customer relationship that needs to be maintained, rather than multiple ones.” Related article The planned deal looks like a bailout between two Elon Musk companies that investors will vote down Tesla said it would issue 0.122-0.131 of a share for each share of SolarCity. Based on Tesla’s closing price on Tuesday, that was equivalent to $26.79-$28.77 a share. SolarCity’s shares had ended the day earlier at $21.19. Tesla did not immediately explain how the precise exchange ratio would be calculated. Companies generally use “collars” in all-stock deals to give shareholders in a selling company a degree of downside protection if the share of the buyer falls. Based on the 13 per cent after-house decline in Tesla’s shares, SolarCity shareholders would get stock worth a maximum of $25.10, equivalent to an 18 per cent premium. Source link

The UK’s largest contractor said the government must take advantage of low interest rates and borrow more to fill the infrastructure investment black hole created by the UK’s vote to leave. The Infrastructure 2050 report stated that the falling interest rates made it the “ideal time” to borrow. It added this was “far from being an irresponsible course of action as some maintain”. Question marks have been raised over infrastructure investment post-Brexit, with uncertainty over short-term private and public funding. Balfour Beatty said the Brexit vote would see private investors postponing investment decisions until Britain’s relationship with the EU was renegotiated and said this would put major projects at risk.  Infrastructure like Crossrail 2 and the London Underground upgrades were also likely to be affected by the UK leaving the European Investment Bank, it said. The private sector is to provide 69 per cent (£260bn) of the UK’s planned infrastructure, while the EIB has invested more than £16bn in UK infrastructure projects over the last three years. According to the report, these financing gaps could not be covered by the Treasury alone and other income streams would need to be found. It said: “While a possible recession would mean lower tax receipts for the Treasury, the current low interest rates – predicted to sink even lower – mean that now is an ideal time for government to borrow money in order to finance projects.” Prime minister Theresa May last week pledged more infrastructure bonds available to major projects in a bid to boost infrastructure investment. The Infrastructure 2050 report found skills shortages were a key area in which the government needed to act quickly to ensure the UK’s biggest infrastructure projects could be built. The report urged the government to ensure those workers who had migrated to the UK were able to continue to work here. It said funds available for training the domestic workforce must be retained, despite the economic turbulence created by Brexit. Failure to do so, the report said, would increase construction costs and result in delays to projects such as Hinkley and HS2. The report also came up with a number of recommendations for the government and its various infrastructure operators to ensure that the UK delivers the infrastructure it needs by 2050. These included calls for ensuring future transport investments were robust for automated vehicles, new long-term plans for future rail and aviation projects and a long-term vision for energy policy to provide investors with greater certainty. (See box) Balfour Beatty recommendations include: Government action is needed to maintain economic stability, to provide a timeline for the UK’s exit from the EU and early answers to the many practical questions about doing business during and after Brexit New transport investments need to show that their business cases are robust to new automated technologies Remove existing barriers to young people entering training (i.e.) cost of university, attractiveness of old industries to new, unattractiveness of sector to women and ethnic minorities A far-reaching vision for the national rail network. Including plans for HS3, HS Scotland, HS Southwest, the reinstatement of the HS2 link and Heathrow spur, another Channel Tunnel, a new East Coast line, Crossrail 3 and 4. A full review of aviation capacity review looking at additional runway capacity at Birmingham and Stansted airports Clear long-term vision for energy policy needs to be developed and agreed to provide investors with certainty Government must continue to support the current 16GW nuclear new build programme plus small modular reactor development Government should update its nuclear decommissioning strategy post Brexit to seize opportunities for economic growth in the area Imperative to think about future flood impact when designing and installing new infrastructure Source link

New air quality guide from BSRIA Published:  24 August, 2016 BSRIA has announced the release of a new topic guide on the subject of indoor air quality (IAQ), which is available to download free from its website. The BSRIA Topic Guides are designed to be an at-a-glance publication introducing readers to key industry topics and suggesting further reading. The guide is aimed at those looking for introductory information about indoor air quality including definition, history and prevalence. There is also information on types of contaminants and their exposure limits, as well as providing readers with a useful site map. Commentary is provided by BSRIA’s asset performance team leader, Blanca Beato-Arribas, who said: “People spend approximately 80% of their time indoors. There is enough evidence that links poor air quality with permanent damages to health or even death. Therefore, we should be aware of the quality of the air that we breathe both at home and at work, and ensuring good indoor air quality at work should be a priority for employers.” TG12/2016 ‘At a Glance’ – Indoor Air Quality is now free to download from the BSRIA website for members and non-members alike at www.bsria.co.uk/information-membership/information-centre/bsria-topic-guides/ Source link