27 April 2016 | Herpreet Kaur Grewal Events caterer Seasoned has earned a spot on historic mansion Two Temple Place’s preferred suppliers list.   It is the first time Seasoned has been on this list, although its partner companies, the Perfect Wedding Company and Venue Reservations, have already worked with Two Temple Place and introduced business into the venue.   Rachel Bellon, events manager of Two Temple Place, said: “We’re very much looking forward to working with Seasoned Events as they join our list of preferred suppliers. We manage a vast variety of events and it is absolutely vital that we have a team of suppliers who we can trust to provide the excellent support and impeccable service that our clients expect from such a unique venue.” Source link

Byrne Group has endured a further year of losses after problem projects secured by builder Ellmer and fit-out arm Chorus took their toll. In the year to March 2016, profits at the core concrete business trebled to £6 million, though the conclusion of a number of loss making contracts secured by builder Ellmer and fit-out arm Chorus ran up £14.6 million worth of losses. This resulted in the group suffering an overall loss of £11.9 million before tax after falling £4 million into the red in 2015. During 2016, Chorus achieved completion certificates on its three remaining loss-making contracts in London. Now, Byrne Group will look to recover cash from an under-performing M&E contractor that caused delay on one of the projects. Byrne Group saw its turnover increase by 10% to £329 million after a year of strong orders, with work getting under way on London’s Shell Centre redevelopment, an extension for retailer Westfield at Shepherd Bush and the redevelopment of the former BBC TV Centre in West London. Chief executive Micheal Byrne said that the performance of underlying businesses showed the operating profitability of the group in the future. He commented: “As part of the recovery strategy, we strengthened our commercial procedures and established a dedicated team to manage out the legacy contracts within the Chorus business. “Non-core businesses have been disposed of and the sale and lease back of our corporate headquarters was completed. “These moves have given the group a strong base to move forward from, reducing debt and strengthening the balance sheet.” He said that at the end of the year, Byrne Group had a net positive cash of £9.9 million, an increase of £14.3 million in the year. Specialist concrete frame business, Byrne Bros increased sales by a quarter to £185 million achieving an operating margin of 3.2%.

Stuart Turner acquires TWS Published:  14 April, 2016 Shower and water boosting pump manufacturer Stuart Turner Ltd has acquired Trentclyde Water Solutions Trentclyde Water Solutions trades as TWS – The Total Water Solutions Company, and offers products to improve low mains water pressure and flow in residential and light commercial properties. Mark Williams, managing director of Stuart Turner, said: “We are delighted to welcome TWS to the Stuart Turner Group and look forward to helping them realise their ambitious growth plans over the next few years. This is an exciting time for both TWS and Stuart Turner as we combine our engineering expertise and market presence to firmly establish ourselves as the go-to market leader in this growing sector.” TWS has a patented, WRAS approved and water regulations compliant MainsBoost range of water performance systems, which provide a solution to resolving poor water performance in residential and light commercial properties. TWS already works with plumbing contractors, consultants, housing authorities, local authorities, the Ministry of Defense, housebuilders, large construction companies and plumbing merchants. Conrad Baxter, managing director of TWS, said: “We are delighted to become an integral part of Stuart Turner Ltd, this gives us the financial and strategic support required to further push the boundaries in providing the most innovative solutions to the increasing problem of low mains water pressure and flow in properties throughout the UK and ROI.” Source link

24 August 2016 | Herpreet Kaur Grewal A study released by international real estate adviser Savills and the British Council for Offices (BCO) shows that almost half (46 per cent) of office workers think the office has a positive effect on their mental health.  Another 40 per cent think it has a positive impact on their physical health.  A clear correlation is shown between those who say they have less control over the setup and design of their working environment and those who report negative physical and mental health scores.   The report, What Workers Want, polled 1,132 office workers across the UK, asking employees what factors they look for in a workplace, and to what extent they believe that their current environment satisfies those requirements.  Those who work in a private office, as opposed to an open-plan one, are more likely to say it has a positive impact on their mental health (50 per cent opposed to 45 per cent)  and women are more likely to respond positively than men (48 per cent to 45 per cent).  The survey also asked about physical health, with 40 per cent of respondents saying the office also has a positive effect on their physical state, with 30 per cent saying it has a negative effect.  What Workers Want highlights the strong correlation between having control over one’s working environment and mental and physical health. Workers who say they had little or no control over their environment are far more likely to say the environment has a detrimental impact on both their mental and physical well-being.   Savills also compares respondents’ satisfaction with the light and temperature in their office with their views on how the office effects their mental and physical health. It was to be expected that those who are dissatisfied with their office temperature also reported that the office had a negative impact on their physical health, but the same was also true for their mental health.  Seventy-two per cent of those who said they were “very satisfied” with the temperature of their office also said the office positively affected their mental health, with only 9 per cent reporting a negative impact. In comparison, of those who said they were “‘not at all satisfied” with the office temperature, 56 per cent said the office had a negative impact on their mental health, with 24 per cent reporting a positive impact.  Steve Lang, director, of  Savills research and author of the report, said:  “Just as ‘wellness’ has become a bigger issue in wider society, it has also become a hot topic in the office, with occupiers taking steps to improve things such as natural daylight in the office in recognition that this impacts mental health. We, however, haven’t heard much about the apparent role that temperature plays in mental health.  “Given the potential knock-on effects, this needs to be looked at in more detail when designing the office. Office temperature wars are a perennial issue, but advances in technology will help: more nuanced monitoring of heat levels, climate control office chairs and integrated fans are already on the agenda and are likely to be permanent features of the office of the future.”    Jeremy Bates, head of Savills Worldwide Occupier Services, said: “That two-thirds of employees think that the office has a neutral or positive impact on their mental and physical health is very encouraging. But there is work to do to support the remaining third who say it has a negative impact.  “The fact that those who say they have more control are more likely to report better physical and mental health demonstrates the value of giving employees decision-making powers over simple aspects of the workplace — thereby empowering them. On the whole, however it’s a positive picture for the office.”   Source link

The prospect of Brexit has triggered some Britons to defer plans to move to a European Union country or purchase a second home in EU destinations, such as Spain or Portugal. Conversely, many Britons are continuing with their planned property purchase. No-one knows if – or to what extent – Brexit would affect the rights and overall experience of British homeowners in an EU Member State. For now, though, nothing has changed since before the Referendum. Until the UK Government officially triggers Brexit and negotiates new terms with the EU as a non-Member, it’s business as usual. Richard Way, editor of PropertyGuides.com and a homeowner in Spain, offers his thoughts, alongside five important considerations for anyone weighing up an EU property purchase right now.        1. How much can really change? “From my own perspective,” comments Richard Way, “the prospect of Brexit is an empty threat to a happy future as a second homeowner in Spain to both existing and future property owners. In the small resort where I enjoy time at my Spanish property, which lies in the just beside the picturesque Bay of Roses, people from all walks of life and of all nationalities – many of them non-EU citizens – have been enjoying life there for many years, moving freely to and fro. Brexit or no Brexit, British people will continue to be able to buy property in European countries and live in them, just like nationals from non-EU European and non-European countries have done for decades, even centuries. In my mind, I believe sufficient mutual appreciation exists between Spain and its significant number of British homeowners to minimise the potential disruption of Brexit to British homebuyers there, now and in the future – not forgetting the millions of euros that British tourists and homeowners bring into the Spanish economy every year! The same is also likely to be the case for other popular destinations with Britons, like Portugal, France and even Italy.” At worst, British expats may lose reciprocal rights to healthcare and other benefits. In the event of the UK leaving the EU, possible scenarios include: i) The UK remains in the single market, meaning Britons maintain their rights to live and work in the EU, similar to citizens from Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein. ii) The UK stays outside the single market, but the UK negotiates terms with individual EU countries, such as Spain, leading to legislation giving Britons similar rights to those they currently have as EU citizens. iii) The UK stays outside the single market, and Britons acquire similar rights to non-European nationals buying or moving there, such as Australians or Americans. So, in the event of Brexit, we’d essentially be treated like any other non-EU, non-European Economic Area (EEA) citizens, Americans and Australians, for example. The worst case scenario is that this may mean additional paperwork for securing your residency, potentially needing more paperwork in order to get visas, and this may mean a few more forms to fill in to own a property. Pensioners will also need to look in to healthcare contingency plans as an alternative to any reciprocal agreements that aren’t continued,” continues Way. The best case scenario is that Spain introduces new rules providing British property buyers and expats with similar rights to those that we enjoy currently as EU citizens, so, in this instance, nothing really changes. The other more unlikely scenario would be for the UK to adopt a similar stance to Norway and join the EEA, providing what are essentially the same automatic rights to buy a home, work and reside within EU countries that exist now. Swiss citizens already have this status in the EU, for example. So in this case, again, nothing would really change. What comes to mind looking at these potential scenarios is the fact that British homebuyers have not been deterred from buying in popular non-EU member destinations – such as Turkey, Florida, Dubai, or Cape Verde – and these destinations’ growing popularity is also reassuring.”  Valued customers Overseas property owners make a significant contribution to the local economy, and indeed, the social fabric of the area. Throughout the Spanish Costas, there are whole communities made up almost completely of Britons. I can’t see this all coming to an end, needlessly,” continues Richard Way. UK buyers account for a large percentage of property sales in key EU markets, particularly Spain, Portugal and France. In Spain, banks remain under pressure to sell repossessed property, with some leading institutions reporting that 50 percent of their sales are to Britons. Meanwhile, British homeowners contribute huge amounts to local economies across the EU, in particular in those areas with a high concentration of expats. It is unlikely Spain and other countries will want to lose this stream of revenue.     Cheap mortgages With European Central Bank interest rates at historic lows, European banks continue to offer very cheap mortgages, including to non-resident buyers. For example, fixed rates of 2-3 percent for a repayment mortgage are not uncommon in France and Spain, depending on the term. Banks expect to be able to offer these deals to UK buyers for the time being. And after Brexit, while the loan to value available might fall, the deals will remain very competitive. “I’m also hearing positive comments from experts within the overseas property industry,” Way notes. Spanish banks are still under pressure to dispense with repossessed properties ‘as speedily as possible to balance their books,’ as one experienced estate agent who sells these kinds of properties for one of the largest banks in Spain commented to me. His contact at the bank said the long term outlook for Brits buying Spanish property is likely to remain similar, however, short-term, the mortgage LTV available to British buyers could see a reduction of as much as 50 percent for new-builds or resales, but rates are likely to remain high for bank repossessions, which he believes are likely to stay at around the 100 percent mark.”     Value for