Pour Moi, the rapidly growing lingerie, swimwear and clothing brand, has commenced a comprehensive, quarter of a million-pound, fit-out project to its new head office in Brighton. The work is being carried out by BRAC Contracts, which also completed the transformation of the building in Black Lion Street, including the
Having invested in re-branding its flourishing business in 2019, specialist off-site building solutions provider, Excel, has created a new, dynamic group operating structure. Introduced to define and add greater clarity to its comprehensive solution provision and product offering, Excel Group now incorporates three separate and autonomous operating divisions – Excel
The Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) this week celebrated the centenary of Welwyn Garden City, one of the world’s first garden cities, with a visit to the Hertfordshire town. On Monday RTPI President, Dr Wei Yang FRTPI, and Chief Executive Victoria Hills MRTPI, toured Welwyn Garden City alongside Tony Skottowe,
Significant new project will see development of two new speculative logistics/warehouse units of 149,000 and 41,000 sq ft… GMI Construction has announced that it has been instructed by leading logistics development company Tritax Symmetry to develop a huge new speculative logistics/warehouse scheme at a site in Middlewich known as MA6NITUDE.
Stewart Milne Group is selling its market leading timber systems business to focus on investing in the growth of Stewart Milne Homes across Scotland and North-west England. The independent housebuilder and manufacturer of timberframe for offsite construction is capitalising on Stewart Milne Timber Systems’ (SMTS) position as the recognised UK
Terra Strategic has entered into a hybrid agreement to promote and part-purchase a 19.7 Ha (49-acre) land parcel to the east of Swindon, which forms part of the New Eastern Villages (NEV) allocation. The site could accommodate up to 280 high quality new homes. The land – which lies north
The latest property market analysis by London lettings and estate agent, Benham and Reeves, has revealed that in the last 25 years, the cost of stamp duty has increased by 490% for the average homebuyer. Now that the stamp duty holiday is done and dusted, the average homebuyer in England
Hundreds of thousands of businesses promised business rates reliefs through the £1.5 billion Government Business Rates Relief Fund have still not received a penny, despite promises made by the Government last Spring. In March, the Government took the unprecedented step of announcing it would legislate that Material Change of Circumstance
Wider choice of 4 finance schemes for buying new Bobcat equipment Under a special promotion running to the end of December 2021, Bobcat is offering customers an expanded choice of attractive hire purchase financing options for buying new Bobcat loaders, mini-excavators and telehandlers. The roster of finance options in the
Providing the safest possible working environment for hire and construction operations is crucial for sectors that play such a vital role in the UK economy. However, it comes at a cost – financial and time – which is why cross-recognition between member safety schemes is much more productive. Hire Association
Pour Moi, the rapidly growing lingerie, swimwear and clothing brand, has commenced a comprehensive, quarter of a million-pound, fit-out project to its new head office in Brighton. The work is being carried out by BRAC Contracts, which also completed the transformation of the building in Black Lion Street, including the construction of a new, two-storey rooftop extension that Pour Moi is leasing from DTZ Investments on a ten-year agreement. Work on the 1,000 m² project is focused on the transformation of the fourth floor to provide office space with work including the installation of stud partition walls, glass partitions, full M and E installation and a kitchen and tea points. The fifth floor, which boasts a stunning roof terrace with far reaching views over the Brighton coastline, will include a bar area for entertaining and product launches and a bespoke photographic studio area. BRAC Contracts has partnered with Brighton-based Axiom Architects on the project. Pour Moi was established in Macclesfield in 2005 and set-up its head office in Brighton in 2017. It has subsequently grown its headcount ten-fold from five employees to 50 and with further growth anticipated, it needed a new base from which to realise this growth. Michael Thomson, CEO and Founder of Pour Moi, explains: “Moore House on Black Lion Street offers our growing business a unified balance between the fourth floor being used as a functional workspace and the fifth floor offering space to entertain, with the bonus of outside space. “Not to mention the enviable location just minutes from the seafront, which collectively sold this building to us as somewhere that we wanted to grow our fabulous brand.” Completion of the project is anticipated by mid-November and Adam Clark, MD at BRAC Contracts, concludes: “Having worked with the building owners, DTZ Investments, on the refurbishment of the existing building and the two-storey airspace extension, it was an honour to be chosen by Pour Moi to carry out the refit work – not least of all because the team there commented on the quality of our previous work. “Having been involved with this building over the entirety of its transformation, the BRAC team is looking forward to seeing how Pour Moi brings the new areas to life.”
Having invested in re-branding its flourishing business in 2019, specialist off-site building solutions provider, Excel, has created a new, dynamic group operating structure. Introduced to define and add greater clarity to its comprehensive solution provision and product offering, Excel Group now incorporates three separate and autonomous operating divisions – Excel Structures, Excel Facades and Excel Off-Site. As Group Managing Director, Jason Pritchard states: “The expanding, multidimensional nature of the business made the decision to create a Group operating structure an obvious one. We occupy a unique position in the sustainable off-site building sector in our capacity to offer a range of different building systems, not just one. Such a proven and all-inclusive business model has proven hugely successful, and with the new structure in place we are looking to further elevate our standing within the off-site construction sector, which continues to gain momentum here in the UK.” As already demonstrated through the new look Excel Group website – excelgroup.uk – it is Excel Structures that adopts responsibility for delivering a range of off-site building systems – SIPS (Structural Insulated Panels), Light Gauge Steel Frame, pre-insulated timber frame and CLT (Cross Laminated Timber). In terms of project flexibility, Excel Structures’ involvement can extend from designing; supplying and installing a structural build system, through to a complete weather tight and insulated structure. Excel Facades, as its name suggests, is looking to build on its acclaim for providing of a wide range of world class, high performance, thermally efficient windows and doors, both traditional and contemporary, whilst enjoying partnership agreements with industry leading names such as: Velfac®, Solarlux®, Rationel®, and Origin. Again, with flexibility being key, windows and doors can be supplied integral to a build system or on a standalone basis. Excel Off-Site meanwhile will support a move into the arena of main contractor, where full project build and coordination will become the order of the day. As Jason explains: “Setting up a main contractor division has been something that has always been on the sidelines, however we feel the time is now right to expand our capabilities even further. We already have established proven, sustainable and scalable relationships with not only our specialist supply partners, but also a growing team of architects, consultants and sub-contractors, so full project delivery of off-site schemes is something that we are extremely excited about. Indeed by creating a platform where we can manage the complete build process we will ensure that the benefits of utilising an off-site building system are maximised project by project.” Adopting a philosophy of delivering homes and buildings that are not only highly-energy efficient but which have minimum impact on the environment, Excel seeks to ensure that the build system most suited to any particular project is adopted and implemented in the most efficient and affordable way possible. As Jason injects: “Excel Group’s USP comes from the fact that it can offer clients access to an all-inclusive range of off-site solutions – residential and non-residential – all of which are fully bespoke and tailored to individual customer requirements in terms of architectural design intent, budget and environmental impact.” In addition to demonstrating high levels of flexibility in terms of system solution provision, Excel will continue with its policy of creating a single point of contact from enquiry through to project completion. It is a relationship strategy that is seen as fundamental when it comes to ensuring clients receive the highest quality, most reliable and best value solution.
The Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) this week celebrated the centenary of Welwyn Garden City, one of the world’s first garden cities, with a visit to the Hertfordshire town. On Monday RTPI President, Dr Wei Yang FRTPI, and Chief Executive Victoria Hills MRTPI, toured Welwyn Garden City alongside Tony Skottowe, Chair of the Welwyn Garden City Heritage Trust. Wei and Victoria’s tour included a visit to a new sculpture of Sir Ebenezer Howard who designed the town in 1920. The urban planner, who was the first honorary member of the RTPI, was also responsible Letchworth Garden City and was the founder of the wider garden city movement. After meeting Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council’s Chief Executive Ka Ng, Council Leader Tony Kingsbury and others, Wei and Victoria made their way to 15 miles north to Letchworth Garden City. During their visit to Letchworth Garden City Wei and Victoria toured the town centre and attended a tree planting ceremony with Pam Burn, Chair of Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation and North Hertfordshire District Council Chair Val Bryant. The day ended with a visit to Sir Ebenezer Howard’s grave where Wei Yang laid flowers in his honour. Wei Yang, RTPI President, said: “It was my great pleasure to visit Welwyn Garden City with our Chief Executive Victoria Hills to officially congratulate the garden city’s centenary celebration on behalf of the Royal Town Planning Institute. “The garden city movement is the foundation of modern town and country planning. Built after the First World War, Welwyn Garden City provided the garden city model with an opportunity to make a fresh start in relation to the challenges of the time. It is remarkable to see the success of the garden city and its world-renowned status. “I was also delighted to attend the tree planting ceremony in Letchworth Garden City as a way to express our gratitude and appreciation to Sir Ebenezer Howard and the garden city pioneers and show our determination to rekindle the founding spirit to tackle the challenges we face today. “It was my great honour to lay flowers on behalf of the RTPI at Howard’s grave to pay our tribute for his selfless contribution and thank him for inventing the priceless garden city model for the world.” Tony Kingsbury, leader of Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council, said: “It was an honour to welcome the President and Chief Executive of the RTPI to our world famous town – the place where Ebenezer Howard, founding father of the global garden city movement, lived and died. “We had some interesting discussions about the borough’s exciting future, and how we can attract planners to come and work for the council. We very much look forward to welcoming our guests back again to see how we are progressing on those important plans.”
Significant new project will see development of two new speculative logistics/warehouse units of 149,000 and 41,000 sq ft… GMI Construction has announced that it has been instructed by leading logistics development company Tritax Symmetry to develop a huge new speculative logistics/warehouse scheme at a site in Middlewich known as MA6NITUDE. Infrastructure works are well underway on the Cheshire East development site which will see the construction of two units of 149,000 and 41,000 sq ft respectively. Both units will be net zero carbon in their construction and when complete, 15% of the roofs will be fitted with solar panels with the ability for the roofs to be fully covered in photovoltaic panels at a future date. Speaking about the instruction, Marc Banks, Divisional Managing Director at GMI Construction, said: “We are delighted to be working with Tritax Symmetry to deliver these important new facilities in Middlewich. Our team has made an excellent start and the site is already taking shape to what will eventually be a first-class sustainable building that will be a huge business asset to the area.” Also commenting David Nuttall, Development Director at Tritax Symmetry, said: “We are excited to see spades go in the ground here at MA6NITUDE and bring forward high quality facilities at a time when demand for space is at record levels. “There is a huge amount of activity happening across the site, with Swizzels’ facility also due to complete next year and detailed planning submitted for 238,000 sq ft of space at unit 41 which could also be delivered before the end of 2022.” Jonathan Atherton, Director at Savills, joint letting agents for the scheme with B8RE and Legat Owen, added: “The development at MA6NITUDE will provide much needed floor space to a market when supply is falling at its fastest ever rate. The location and quality of the units are expected to attract strong occupier interest.” This scheme is being delivered by GMI’s expert operations team including Project Manager, Dan Meadowcroft, Site Manager, Rebecca Shiels, Site Engineer, James Rushton, and supported by Construction Director, Anthony Judge. For further information about the development visit: https://ma6nitude.com/
Stewart Milne Group is selling its market leading timber systems business to focus on investing in the growth of Stewart Milne Homes across Scotland and North-west England. The independent housebuilder and manufacturer of timberframe for offsite construction is capitalising on Stewart Milne Timber Systems’ (SMTS) position as the recognised UK market leader by putting the business up for sale at a time when the market is set to grow exponentially. Demand for timberframe has been rising rapidly and its use is anticipated to double in the next five years to meet government housing targets. As housebuilders tackle the dual challenge of achieving net-zero carbon targets and dealing with acute skills shortages, they are increasingly turning to modern methods of construction using renewable sources. Stewart Milne Timber Systems has experienced “stellar” growth in the last five years with a current order book of close to £300million. This growth is attributed to a combination of technical and manufacturing excellence with strong customer relationships with the UK’s leading housebuilders, including Barratt, Taylor Wimpey and CALA. The £100m turnover business, which employs 400 people, has become the undisputed market leader with around 20% of market share. Alex Goodfellow, Stewart Milne Group Managing Director – Strategic Development, who is leading the sale process, said: “With the scale of the opportunity in the growing timber frame market, SMTS presents a highly compelling investment proposition. We anticipate attracting a high level of interest from potential buyers who will invest in order to capitalise on that opportunity.” Stewart Milne Group has been investing in SMTS’ product and manufacturing innovation and capacity at its factories in Aberdeen and Witney to keep up with the extremely strong demand. Increased volumes have led to the creation of a third production facility in central Scotland. Stewart Milne Group’s CEO, Stuart MacGregor, added: “To keep pace with demand, it’s clear that further investment in production capacity in both Scotland and England will be required. As a privately run, independent company, we need to prioritise where we invest in the future. “Since reopening last summer, after the initial COVID lockdown, we’ve seen record levels of activity in the UK housing sector. The strength of our business with its award-winning developments, new homes range and record sales has enabled us to capitalise on these favourable market conditions and positioned us superbly for future growth.” The buoyancy of the current homes market, however, does mean that land prices in Scotland and North West England are increasing rapidly says Mr MacGregor. “We have therefore chosen to divest our successful timber systems business to increase investment in additional sites for Stewart Milne Homes. Using our considerable land buying experience to take advantage of the development opportunities, we will invest in land in the short term and concentrate on growing our homes business in the longer term.” Once a sale has completed, Stewart Milne Group will be primarily focused on investing in the growth of its homes business in Scotland and North West England, reinforcing its reputation as one of the country’s leading independent housebuilders.
Terra Strategic has entered into a hybrid agreement to promote and part-purchase a 19.7 Ha (49-acre) land parcel to the east of Swindon, which forms part of the New Eastern Villages (NEV) allocation. The site could accommodate up to 280 high quality new homes. The land – which lies north of Redlands Farm – forms part of the wider context of the NEV Local Plan allocation for 8,000 homes, 40 Ha of employment space, a secondary school and primary schools, together with health, retail and leisure facilities, across a total area of 724 Ha. Significant new transport infrastructure is also planned as part of the NEV strategic development, with the Southern Connector Road now under construction to establish a new 1.5-mile-long link to the existing Commonhead Roundabout and Pack Hill. Terra has appointed Savills to undertake pre-application work with Swindon Borough Council, which includes a request for the Council to adopt an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Screening Opinion, to determine whether the proposal is EIA development. In 2022, Terra will be looking to progress an application to bring the site forward and implement further delivery of the New Eastern Villages. It is intended that the first phase will be undertaken by Terra’s sister business Hayfield; a five-star housebuilder, which has a live development of luxury homes in nearby Broad Blunsdon. James O’Shea, Managing Director of Solihull-based Terra Strategic said: “We are pleased to have secured land within the New Eastern Villages allocation to bring forward high quality new homes in this vast new community. Terra’s sister company Hayfield has already established a reputation in the Swindon area, with Hayfield Wood in Broad Blunsdon being one of the most popular new developments in the Borough. We look forward to working with the Council’s Officers and all stakeholders, as we prepare our plans, ready for wider consultation.” Terra agreed terms with two national charities and a private landowner to secure the 49-acre land parcel, which is within the south eastern area of the NEV, known as Redlands Village. In addition to the proposed 280 new dwellings, the plans will also incorporate extensive Public Open Space, including a Locally Equipped Area of Play, and strategic pedestrian and cycle routes – to connect with the new community and beyond. There will also be a 50m wide safeguarded corridor, to allow for the future delivery of a canal. The North Wessex Downs AONB is located approximately 1.5miles south of the site, on the southern side of large village of Wanborough. The proposed development will be around five miles from Swindon Train Station, which provides regular services to London Paddington in under an hour. Richard Pitt, Strategic Planning Director for Terra added: “We are very excited by the ambition for Swindon New Eastern Villages and our comprehensive plans for this prime site will reflect this. Wiltshire is already a hugely popular place to live, work and explore, and a scheme of this scale and calibre could genuinely push the boundaries in terms of design, specification, and green credentials.” Terra Strategic is an experienced residential land specialist with a portfolio in excess of 10,000 plots. The company enters into agreements with landowners and then pursues, funds and secures an agreeable planning permission. It also has the financial resources to secure land with or without residential planning consent to assist landowners looking for a quick sale process. Terra Strategic has a national reach, having recently secured additional residential land in Bedfordshire, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire, The West Midlands, Wiltshire and Worcestershire.
The latest property market analysis by London lettings and estate agent, Benham and Reeves, has revealed that in the last 25 years, the cost of stamp duty has increased by 490% for the average homebuyer. Now that the stamp duty holiday is done and dusted, the average homebuyer in England will once again pay the government for the pleasure of purchasing their own home, a bill of £3,548 on the current average house price to be exact. Thanks to a house price boom spurred by the stamp duty holiday itself, that’s a tax bill some 44% higher than the average stamp duty paid prior to its introduction. In fact, in the last 25 years, the cost of stamp duty has never been higher, despite the effective rate being paid falling below one percent when the old ‘slab’ structure was abolished in December 2014 and replaced by the new ‘slice’ system. When removing both unique instances of the recent SDLT holiday and the reprieve granted in 2009 in the wake of the financial crisis, the average cost of stamp duty has increased by an average of 8.4% every year since 1997. In fact, other than the two occasions where stamp duty was paused and reduced, the tax bill paid by homebuyers has only seen a year on year decline on four other occasions. The first three of these came prior to, and following, the initial stamp duty break in 2009 as house prices continued to decline following the financial crisis. The other materialised in 2015 following the switch from a ‘slab structure’ to a ‘slice’ structure whereby a property paid a percentage of stamp duty at each value threshold, rather than a full percentage based on the single threshold at which is sat. The cost of £3,548 now faced by the average homebuyer is also a whopping 490% more than the £601 paid back in 1997. Director of Benham and Reeves, Marc von Grundherr, commented: “With the latest generation of homebuyers enjoying a taste of stamp duty free property purchases there are renewed calls for its complete abolition but, as always, these will continue to go unheard. Over the last 25 years, the government has become very good at fuelling buyer demand while failing to address the housing crisis and building more homes. This has worked very nicely for them where an increased cost in stamp duty is concerned and their free slice of the pie, cut from the savings of struggling homebuyers, has continued to climb with absolutely no justification whatsoever.” Table shows how the rate of stamp duty paid by homebuyers in England has changed over the last 25 years Year SDLT type AveHP – England (July) SDLT cost SDLT effective rate SDLT cost change 1997 Slab Structure £60,089 £601 1% N/A 1998 Slab Structure £65,475 £655 1% 9.0% 1999 Slab Structure £70,612 £706 1% 7.8% 2000 Slab Structure £82,563 £826 1% 16.9% 2001 Slab Structure £91,430 £914 1% 10.7% 2002 Slab Structure £110,001 £1,100 1% 20.3% 2003 Slab Structure £132,318 £1,323 1% 20.3% 2004 Slab Structure £156,730 £1,567 1% 18.4% 2005 Slab Structure £165,756 £1,658 1% 5.8% 2006 Slab Structure £176,164 £1,762 1% 6.3% 2007 Slab Structure £193,360 £1,934 1% 9.8% 2008 Slab Structure £185,844 £1,858 1% -3.9% 2009 Stamp Duty Holiday £167,673 £0 0% N/A 2010 Slab Structure £180,519 £1,805 1% -2.87% 2011 Slab Structure £177,164 £1,772 1% -1.9% 2012 Slab Structure £179,756 £1,798 1% 1.5% 2013 Slab Structure £184,274 £1,843 1% 2.5% 2014 Slab Structure £200,825 £2,008 1% 9.0% 2015 Slice Structure £213,518 £1,770 0.83% -11.8% 2016 Slice Structure £230,868 £2,117 0.92% 19.6% 2017 Slice Structure £241,406 £2,328 0.96% 10.0% 2018 Slice Structure £247,981 £2,460 0.99% 5.6% 2019 Slice Structure £248,468 £2,469 0.99% 0.4% 2020 Initial Stamp Duty Holiday £253,226 £0 0% N/A 2021 Reduced Stamp Duty Holiday Threshold £270,973 £1,048 0.39% N/A 2021 Slice Structure £270,973 £3,548 1.31% 43.7% Median Rate of Annual Stamp Duty Tax Growth – 1997 to 2021 8.40% House price data sourced from the Gov.uk UK House Price Index based on a July annual change as the latest month available Historic stamp duty rates sourced from stampdutyrates.co.uk and applied to the respective average house price in each year
Hundreds of thousands of businesses promised business rates reliefs through the £1.5 billion Government Business Rates Relief Fund have still not received a penny, despite promises made by the Government last Spring. In March, the Government took the unprecedented step of announcing it would legislate that Material Change of Circumstance (MCC) business rates appeals for businesses impacted by Covid-19 would not be valid for the appeals system – a move that was lambasted by the rating profession at the time and put paid to the hopes of hundred of thousands of businesses who had started the appeals process against their rates bills, on the grounds of the impact the pandemic had had on their businesses. * As a sweetener the Government announced a £1.5 billion New Business Rates Relief fund for businesses affected by COVID-19, outside the retail, hospitality, and leisure sectors, which would be distributed by Local Authorities. The relief fund would “get cash to affected businesses in the most proportionate and equitable way.” The Government also said, “We’ll work with and support local government to enable ratepayers to apply as soon as possible this year, once the legislation relating to MCC provisions has passed and local authorities have set up local relief schemes.” All well and good- except the legislation relating to MCC provisions has still not passed through Parliament and become law- six months on – and there are no signs it will be passed in the immediate future. Not only that but as John Webber, Head of Business Rates at Colliers points out, “As far as we are aware neither the government nor the billing authorities have engaged with the rating industry or set out any guidance for businesses to apply to receive this relief fund. We are still very much in the dark.” There are also rumours that the government will leave it to each billing authority to draw up its own guidance – a situation Webber describes as “carnage.” “Giving the local authorities the ability to decide who will be eligible for the reliefs is just not prescriptive enough and we know from past experiences that authorities all have different interpretations of the regulations. We’ll have 300 odd policies and whether businesses receive relief or not will be a total ”postcode lottery.” Webber points out that by the time the billing authorities get their plans together it will be between 18 months and two years since Covid set in and the first Lockdown began and the Government told office workers to work from home. That’s nearly two years for businesses who’ve been adversely impacted by Covid-19 to miss out on the support they need. “One wonders what state they’ll be in by the time the reliefs are actually paid out.” “As we said at the time when the government announced this retrospective move to deny MCC appeals, £1.5 billion will not even scratch the surface for businesses struggling to pay their rates bills from last two year- over 400,000 of whom had started the appeals process in what was “the largest MCC caused by a single event in rating history”. “But to not even get the scheme started yet is a disgrace and affront to businesses.” Please Note *between April 1sts 2020, just after the start of the first Lockdown, and end March 2021, 409,430 checks (the first stage of the appeals process) were registered by businesses, most of whom had been impacted by Covid-19. This dwarfs the 158,910 number of checks registered in the previous three years (April 2017 to March 2020) and shows the total disruption to hundreds and thousands of businesses caused by the pandemic and lockdowns.
Wider choice of 4 finance schemes for buying new Bobcat equipment Under a special promotion running to the end of December 2021, Bobcat is offering customers an expanded choice of attractive hire purchase financing options for buying new Bobcat loaders, mini-excavators and telehandlers. The roster of finance options in the special promotion now includes a new Seasonal Payments Plan launched by Bobcat. This adds to the Buy Now, Pay Later; 50% Half Price Rentals and 0% Over 3 Years plans also available in the promotion period. These finance schemes are attractive for customers in all markets, including construction, rental, agriculture, horticulture, waste, recycling and landscaping. “Particularly suited to seasonal industries such as agriculture and horticulture, the new Seasonal Payments scheme adds another financing option to the wide array available to Bobcat customers. This expands choice and helps new and existing Bobcat customers to develop their businesses, both to weather tough market conditions, but also to meet increased demand,“ says Hayley Quinn, Finance Manager for Doosan Financial Solutions EMEA in the UK & Ireland. A Choice of Four Different Financing Schemes Seasonal Payments Plan – Under this scheme, customers pay an initial 10% downpayment, followed by an agreed schedule dictated by the seasonal nature of their businesses of further payments over a 36 month period, based on a very attractive 0% interest rate. Buy Now, Pay Later – Complementing the seasonal payments scheme, this plan provides up to 180 days deferral on the first payment. This allows customers to generate profits from their new Bobcat machines, well before they need to complete their first instalment payment, with no downpayment and a 0.45% interest rate. 50% Half Price Rentals – Providing another level of flexibility, under the 50% Half Price Rentals finance scheme, customers pay a 10% downpayment, but then only need to pay half of the regular monthly hire purchase payments for the first 12 months of the plan. 0% Over 3 Years – Completing the choice of finance plans is a 0% interest scheme, with payments spread over 36 months and with a 10% downpayment. As with all the plans, the customer will own the equipment following the final payment. John Christofides, Regional Sales Director, Northern Europe, East Europe and CIS and Russia for Bobcat EMEA, added: “With the addition of the new Seasonal Payments scheme, we are providing our customers with even more answers for purchasing Bobcat machines, so they can ensure their businesses prosper and meet increasing demand as we come out of the pandemic. Our special finance schemes also provide our customers’ businesses with the flexibility they need to deal with ever changing market conditions.” All details and applications for the finance schemes are available via Authorised Bobcat Dealers in the UK. For more information about Bobcat and Bobcat products, visit the website www.bobcat.com
Providing the safest possible working environment for hire and construction operations is crucial for sectors that play such a vital role in the UK economy. However, it comes at a cost – financial and time – which is why cross-recognition between member safety schemes is much more productive. Hire Association Europe’s (HAE) membership with SSIP (Safety Schemes in Procurement) aligns its SafeHire Certification Scheme with government backed construction pre-qualification modules within PAS 91. This provides an improved benefit for those members that can not only demonstrate SafeHire compliance but also satisfy SSIP’s core criteria. HAE will be promoting SafeHire and the new alliance with SSIP at this year’s Safety in Construction Show, the UK’s premier trade show for safety products in the construction and related industries, scheduled for Holywell Park Conference Centre in Loughborough on Wednesday October 6th. SafeHire is in demand from the industry as it enables customers to approach tool and plant hire companies with confidence. It proves a firm’s competence in upholding high standards in health, safety, environment and quality of equipment as well as a highly-trained workforce. Since its introduction, SafeHire has been a key feature of HAE’s support for members through thick and thin for over 10 years, especially through the turbulent transition of trading with the European Union after Brexit and then the significant disruption to business caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Now the association has aligned with an umbrella organisation that helps remove red tape in the supply chain. SSIP reduces duplication and demands on suppliers who have multiple certifications to different schemes, saving them time and money and allowing more focus on day-to-day operations. As the construction industry is more regulated than ever, HAE says having SafeHire certification and SSIP approval is a simple way to prove hire businesses take health and safety assessment seriously. Since its inception SSIP mutual recognition has facilitated savings to suppliers in excess of £280million (source: ssip.org.uk). SSIP is voluntary for HAE members but it recommends they get on board to make life easier for winning work from procurement departments. HAE’s Director of Certification Services, Carl Bartlett, says: “SafeHire and SSIP are not just for large organisations, but also for SMEs. SafeHire is a robust industry-specific standard designed by the industry for the industry, and achieving SafeHire certification and SSIP approval will help businesses secure more opportunities. “As all SSIP members agree to mutually recognise each other’s schemes, so procurement departments should as well. The whole purpose is to remove bureaucracy and reduce costs associated with the different schemes.” HAE is pushing ahead with its SafeHire programme and achieved a record number of site audits booked in September and a steady stream of enquiries sustaining the momentum. SafeHire Certification is not a goal for the faint-hearted as standards are challenging, but once attained the benefits of the scheme are plentiful. In order for hire firms to achieve certification, participation in SafeHire requires that businesses are inspected annually and everything from paperwork, day-to-day operations, staff training and environment is checked for continued compliance with the scheme’s rigorous standards. Achieving SSIP’s core criteria also demonstrates a supplier’s professional reputation for health and safety management systems. For more information catch up with HAE at the Safety in Construction Show, or visit www.hae.org.uk