Have you ever wondered whether your land may be of value to developers? And if so, how to make some money out of it? Whether you own farmland or a large garden, bought a plot of land as an investment or have come into an inheritance, you will be pleased
Home improvement projects can come in all shapes and sizes – from simple additions here and there to full-on extensions being added to the side of the house. However, while making any kind of change to your home may seem incredibly exciting on the surface, it’s important to bear in
Employee-owned packaging business Kite Packaging is constantly bringing solutions to market to support companies looking for high quality packaging. In recent years they have shown a commitment to increasing their range of environmental solutions, and their paper bubble dispenser box is their newest addition. 100% recyclable and the perfect solution
The shortlist for the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) Construction Manager of the Year Awards 2020 has been revealed. A total of 60 of the very best construction managers in the UK have been named in the shortlists for nine categories. The Construction Manager of the Year Awards (CMYA), run by the CIOB every
When investing in real estate, there are a few things to think about. This is specifically true when you’ve decided to invest in rental property. For one, you’ll have various challenges to deal with, including marketing, screening tenants, collecting rent, evictions, and property maintenance, among other things. This can be
Cohesive Menus There’s much that goes into ensuring that a restaurant is as good as can be, but the most important detail is the menu. It has to be. While customers can enjoy the atmosphere, the drinks, the price, whatever else you have going on, if the food isn’t up
If you run a business or have dreams of being a business owner, there are plenty of places you can learn from. Perhaps you know people personally who run their own businesses; perhaps you have been to college or university and have studied business; or perhaps you have worked in
GLP, investor and developer of logistics warehouses and distribution parks, today announces that it has delivered the first net zero carbon development to be officially verified as Net Zero carbon for construction in line with the UKGBC Net Zero Carbon Buildings Framework Definition. The development, known as Magnitude 313, was
Concrete is a material that has long been used for industrial buildings and home construction for several decades. It is one of the most durable materials that is used for building projects. But did you know that it has numerous uses aside from conventional construction projects? Concrete can be used
Purfleet 338 Will Include 29,000 Sq Ft of Offices Green light granted for one of the largest warehouses available within the M25, meeting demand for quality logistics space close to the Capital Customers to benefit from access to a skilled workforce, including 1.6 million qualified locals1 Planning has been granted
Have you ever wondered whether your land may be of value to developers? And if so, how to make some money out of it? Whether you own farmland or a large garden, bought a plot of land as an investment or have come into an inheritance, you will be pleased to hear that housing development land has never been in greater demand. We all know why – there’s a national housing crisis on! This means that local councils are actively looking for more land for residential development, putting you in a great position to take advantage of the commercial opportunities of selling your land. Here are four things you need to know about selling land for housing development. Before you get carried away with the prospect of significant financial gain, the first question to get clarity on is whether you have the ‘right’ sort of land that developers might be interested in. Let’s just say that if you own a field in the middle of one of Britain’s 15 National Parks, the site is less likely to be suitable than if your asset is a disused urban plot. That said, cases are very rarely clear cut, so always double-check your assumptions by speaking to an industry expert. A planning consultancy or land development agency should be your first port of call. Some may offer free initial advice, others may charge you for a detailed planning appraisal. The latter can be a useful tool on a site where the suitability for development may not be that obvious and may first need to be established. 2. What are the first steps to sell your land? Whether you are selling your home or a plot of land, professional advice and guidance is a must. According to this property expert, there are 11 steps to getting your land sold, from the initial assessment of your land’s potential through to close cooperation with your land agent to close the deal. Put bluntly, when it comes to land sales, the layman simply doesn’t have the necessary commercial experience or technical knowledge to be a match for professional teams negotiating on behalf of seasoned housebuilders. In order to get the best deal for your land, you should find yourself a knowledgeable land agent that you can trust to represent your interests and who will guide you through the complex sales process with integrity and plenty of industry experience. Ask other landowners for references and recommendations and choose an agent who will work with you to create a marketing strategy that best suits your financial goals and the particular character of your land. 3. How much can you get for your land? This is where it gets interesting. While a surveyor can give you an informed valuation of your land as is, its real value clearly lies in its development potential. Basically, the site is worth as much as a developer is prepared to pay for it, meaning the value of your land is proportionate to the financial return the buyer can achieve. In practical terms, the value of a field with planning permission for residential development is calculated as the profit that can be made from selling the individual houses once they’re built. The trick to maximising the value of your land to you, the seller, therefore lies in working with highly experienced land professionals to identify the best land use and development that will be most lucrative for the developer and, by extension, for you. 4. How do you get planning permission for your land? For the seller, the biggest financial gains are made by transforming a piece of land without planning permission into one with planning permission. Getting consent for the right scheme is crucial to maximise the land’s value. Often, developers will want to control the planning process themselves so it can be tailored to the exact product specifications, but it is possible (though risky) to get your own. Below are the most commonly used mechanisms of sale for land transactions: The most straightforward way to dispose of your land and the quickest way to liquidise the asset is by way of an unconditional sale. That way, the land is sold without any conditions other than vacant possession on completion. However, selling the land without planning permission for the buyer to develop the site is unlikely to achieve the maximum value of the land for you. If you are confident that the buyer can make a profit, you may be able to negotiate an additional ‘hope value’, defined by the RICS as ‘an element of market value in excess of the existing use value, reflecting the prospect of some more valuable future use’. A conditional sale subject to planning permission involves a contract whereby the buyer is obliged to pay an agreed price but only when he has succeeded in obtaining planning consent for the land (at his own cost). The land price achieved is likely to be higher than with an unconditional deal since there is much less risk to the developer. Conditional contracts can be useful because they bind both parties to the deal early on. However, deals like this can literally take years to complete, and sometimes never are. If an uncertain wait is not a satisfactory solution for you, you should seek to structure the deal in a different way. Exploring financing options with a reliable private money lender in Singapore can provide alternative solutions to help you navigate through such property transactions with greater flexibility. Option agreements are the most common form of land transaction. It is a way for landowners to realise an increase in land value but without having to get involved in obtaining planning permission. That risk is taken by the developer who has the option to buy the site at any point during an agreed period, either for a pre-arranged price or at reduced market value. Typically, the sale will be triggered by planning permission being received. Negotiating an option agreement will include agreeing
Home improvement projects can come in all shapes and sizes – from simple additions here and there to full-on extensions being added to the side of the house. However, while making any kind of change to your home may seem incredibly exciting on the surface, it’s important to bear in mind some of the challenges and potential issues you could encounter along the way. Failure to properly prepare in advance or safeguard yourself against any potential issues could only leave you frustrated and out of pocket as a result, which is simply no good for anyone. So, we thought we should help. Join us as we run through some of the key things to look out for before starting any kind of home improvement project – whether it be something simple like installing the right type of skylight rooftop blind or something a lot more complex like checking for damp or asbestos before a loft conversion. 1. Stick To A Budget It’s all too easy to spend, spend, spend when it comes to improving your home, so try to stick to a budget. Before you head to the shops or start contacting tradesmen to do the work, take a look at your finances to see what you can actually afford. Ask yourself: what am I specifically looking for? And how much do I realistically want to spend? While it would be great to work with a builder with the best reputation in the world or fit an air-conditioning unit in your home office, if you can’t afford it then – unfortunately – you’ll only end shooting yourself in the foot in doing so. 2. You Won’t Always Meet Your Deadline While you may dream of having your home renovation done by a set time, as hard as it may be to come to terms with, this may not happen. Say, for example, you want to build an entirely new kitchen in your home – you’ve found the ideal design, the dream tiles and have even booked it in for a set date in the future. Just because it’s been booked in doesn’t mean there won’t be any hiccups along the way. From labour issues to stock problems, there are a lot of components to installing a kitchen, so it only takes one minor thing to go wrong for the deadline to be pushed back. Therefore, don’t rush getting your home renovations done. Take your time to look for the best price and supplier so that you can ensure whatever work you have done – or products you want to buy – are worth it in the end. 3. Get Everything In Writing Without meaning to cause any offence to contractors, they generally aren’t considered to have the best listening skills. Therefore, it’s important to really think about what you want to have done in advance so that you can get it in writing before the work starts. That way, your workmen will have a much better idea of what they’re doing and you’ll feel a lot more rest assured in the fact that the work they’re doing will match what you both agreed to. The last thing you want, after all, is to build a new swimming pool with the wrong sized tub or fit a new bathroom with a sink that doesn’t match your preferred colour scheme. Be upfront and honest with them about what you expect to achieve. 4. Keep The Number Of People Involved To A Minimum As the old saying goes, too many cooks spoil a broth and the same logic applies when it comes to home improvements. With project managers, builders, family members, friends, tradesmen and public planning officers often involved in home renovations or improvement projects, that is a lot of voices and opinions to listen to and work your own way of thinking around. Therefore, not only is it important to trust your own opinion – it’s your home improvement, after all – but it’s also generally considered a good idea to source one or two trusted people to take ownership of the renovation project. That way, you’ll know for definite that whatever it is you’re planning to do will be in the best hands available. Final Thoughts… Improving your home is one of the most exciting things you can do but, if you rush into it, you could end up feeling regretful. To prevent this from happening to you, plan as much as you can in advance and don’t be afraid to ask hard questions if you need to. You may just be thankful you did once the work has all been completed.
Employee-owned packaging business Kite Packaging is constantly bringing solutions to market to support companies looking for high quality packaging. In recent years they have shown a commitment to increasing their range of environmental solutions, and their paper bubble dispenser box is their newest addition. 100% recyclable and the perfect solution for pick, pack and despatch areas, this compact solution includes Kite’s popular paper bubble in a portable dispenser box. Produced from biodegradable and recyclable materials it is extremely easy to use and is an ideal sustainable and cost-effective solution for companies needing to protect delicate goods. It is easy to move around to different locations and with a serrated edge it is extremely efficient and makes easy work of tearing paper off to your ideal length. Suited to small and medium sized operations particularly ecommerce, its ideal for filling and cushioning and perfect for eco-conscious minds wanting to protect fragile, delicate, and expensive items such as ceramics, glass and much more. For more information please visit kitepackaging.co.uk.
The shortlist for the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) Construction Manager of the Year Awards 2020 has been revealed. A total of 60 of the very best construction managers in the UK have been named in the shortlists for nine categories. The Construction Manager of the Year Awards (CMYA), run by the CIOB every year since 1978, celebrates extraordinary individuals who go above and beyond to deliver buildings that make a positive impact on the lives of the people who use them. The finalists will be whittled down to one winner in each category when the awards are presented at a glittering ceremony on 25 November 2020 at the JW Marriott Grosvenor House Hotel. The overall Construction Manager of the Year winner is chosen from the category winners and is awarded the prestigious title and the trophy at the ceremony. Further details of the night and how to attend can be found here. The announcement of the finalists for each category follows a rigorous assessment process which sees the CMYA judges assess paper applications, as well as panel interviews. Caroline Gumble, Chief Executive of the CIOB said: “These awards are the most rigorously judged in the industry and a unique barometer for management talent in our sector. To reach the final is a major achievement and a sure sign that the very highest level of professionalism is on show.” The finalists are: Residential under 10 storeys Tony Gallagher – Durkan Ltd Matt Hamilton – SEACON Ltd Dominic Jankowski – The Power House, Gunpowder Mill Paul Jeal – St George West London Tomasz Magiera – WRW Construction Ltd Michael Saunders – Lovell Partnerships Mark Woollen – Willmott Dixon Residential over 10 storeys Brendan Conway – McAleer and Rushe Caroline Heraghty – Ardmore Construction Ltd Terry Kirby – Berkeley Homes East Thames Alistair MacPartlin – JJ Rhatigan Building Contractors Anthony Mitchell – ISG Patrick Phillips – Durkan Limited Gerald Ward – Bennett Construction Ltd Primary education Laura Allison – Morgan Sindall Mike Castle – Knights Brown Mark McElwee – Morgan Sindall Michael Pyatt – Morgan Sindall Stephen Sear – Morgan Sindall Construction Thomas Prince – Willmott Dixon Construction Massimiliano Crea – MID Group Schools John Blundell – T J Evers Andrew Miles – Kier Construction Daniel Morrish – Morgan Sindall Mark Prince – Eric Wright Construction Graham Thompson – Willmott Dixon Higher education Neil Adams – Willmott Dixon Interiors David Clarke – Wates Construction Frank Connolly – Mace Ltd Anthony Cooper – Interserve Construction Karl Crisp – Willmott Dixon Construction Ltd Glyn Jones – Willmott Dixon Lee Mullett – Willmott Dixon Construction (Midlands) Adam Price – Beard Ian Rainbow – BAM Construct UK Lee Wayper – Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd Richard White – ISG Construction Ltd Leisure Jamie Beard – Willmott Dixon Construction Theresa McErlean – Heron Bros Danni Oliveira – VINCI Construction UK Jonathan Roberts – VINCI Construction UK Nick Stoyles – Willmott Dixon Construction Paul Turner – VINCI Construction UK Offices Kevin English – Lendlease Paul Epton – Robertson Construction Central East Richard Kirkpatrick – Skanska Daniel Miller – Wates Construction Ltd Ian Rowe – Oakmont Construction Limited Craig Stokes – Laing O’Rourke Public and infrastructure Kevin Alden – Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd Kristian Cartwright – Willmott Dixon Paul Clarke – Willmott Dixon Brian Hanlon – Willmott Dixon Construction Ltd Russ Parks – Willmott Dixon Construction Ltd John Stedman – Morgan Sindall Construction and Infrastructure Ltd Simon Whittingham – Willmott Dixon Construction Healthcare Matt Gavin – Kier Construction Tom Millard – Willmott Dixon Construction Lewis Blake – Willmott Dixon Interiors Robert Palmer – Kier Regional Building London and South East
When investing in real estate, there are a few things to think about. This is specifically true when you’ve decided to invest in rental property. For one, you’ll have various challenges to deal with, including marketing, screening tenants, collecting rent, evictions, and property maintenance, among other things. This can be a real headache as a landlord, especially if you’re just starting out. If you guessed right, this is where property management agencies come in. With this having been mentioned, here are the top 4 reasons to hire a property manager. 1. Property Managers Know the Law Maybe you have at some point in life wished to own property and probably collect rent like we have been loading our landlords’ bank account every month. Well, it’s just a matter of setting goals, and working towards your dreams… nothing is impossible. But how conversant are you with the laws that govern landlords and tenants? No idea? Well, you don’t have to worry about that if you have a rental property management firm taking care of business. These professionals are well informed about the hustle and bustle of managing a property. Their services range from admitting tenants to collecting rent, managing utility payments, and enforcing evictions. They also take care of property leases and everything in between. As an investor, it may cost you time and resources to understand the law that governs the rental property. These professionals are a must-have if you want to have peace of mind as a landlord. 2. They Enhance Professionalism Property managers are a link between the landlord and the tenants. Sometimes, situations may get hard, and the tenants may not pay their bills on time. A property manager is there to bar the tenant from having a “conversation” with the landlord about the situation. These interactions may restrict professionalism, and end up affecting profitability. When you have a property manager, such situations will be handled professionally and effectively in favor of both parties without too much leniency on either side. After all, you are in business. 3. Are an Investment in Disguise When hiring a property manager, many investors fail by concentrating on the expenses and fees involved. As an investor, however, one thing is for sure… you may not have enough time to go around looking for new clients for your vacant property or houses. Also, when a tenant vacates their premises, they are supposed to bear the cost of damages during their occupancy. A good property manager will ensure that the tenant caters to these, usually through the security deposit or otherwise. 4. They Are Experienced Professionals When you choose to manage your property, you will admit every Tom, Dick, and Harry in your property to recover your money. Wait! Do you know how much of a headache it is to keep chasing a tenant for not paying rent? Just In the course of their profession, the property manager will be in a position to know the kind of tenant he is absorbing by screening their information. They will be in a better place to filter out “bad” tenants, thus ensuring your property gets the best tenants. Experienced property managers will almost always have a list of potential clients ready to occupy the property.
Cohesive Menus There’s much that goes into ensuring that a restaurant is as good as can be, but the most important detail is the menu. It has to be. While customers can enjoy the atmosphere, the drinks, the price, whatever else you have going on, if the food isn’t up to standard, then they won’t be coming back anytime soon. It’s not just about making delicious food, however. A restaurant gains a lot from having a cohesive menu. Do the meals that you offer make sense when you see them side by side? Essentially, it’s about picking some sort of theme. There’s a lot of space for freedom still, of course; what we’re saying is that your menu should not be entirely random. Finding Good Staff What do people go to restaurants for? Ultimately it’s all to have a good time. And there’s no avoiding the fact that your staff will play a big role in this. We’ve all been to restaurants where the staff seemed a little miserable or treated us like we were an inconvenience. It’s not the worst thing in the world, but it does make you think twice about the establishment. Would you visit again, if the staff hindered the experience? Probably. So when it comes to your restaurant, make sure that you’re hiring talented and likable people. If they don’t like engaging in small conversations with other humans, then they’ll be ill-suited to the world of restaurant work. Of course, finding good staff can be difficult — for that reason, it’s important to put together a hiring process, and not to rush anything. It’s better to wait for the right employee, rather than hire someone who will turn out to be an underwhelming employee. Handling the Money If there’s one thing that restaurant owners know, it’s that handling the money side of things can be pretty time-consuming. It is, however, essential. It’ll have such a big impact on the venture’s overall success or failure that it’s not something that you can avoid. If you have a solid grasp on the money side of things, then you’ll find it much easier to avoid many of the problems that cause restaurants to fall into difficulties. Take a read of some tips for restaurant accounting, and set aside some time each week. You’ll find that it’s much easier to feel like you’re on your way to restaurant success when you know that the money aspect has been taken care of. Additional Revenue The profit margins of restaurants can be pretty slim. For this reason, it’s important that all restaurants look at ways to maximize their revenue. Fortunately, this is something that’s possible for many restaurants. There are two primary ways to add additional revenue to a restaurant. One is to extend the hours that you’re open. Many restaurateurs shy away from opening for lunch, but it’s something that’s worth considering. There are a lot of people — more people than we usually give credit for — that prefer to go out for lunch rather than dinner, for one reason or another. Another potential revenue stream is hosting events. Could you host parties or weddings, for example? You may need to upgrade your space somewhat to bring it up to the standards of event hosting, but if you can do that, then you’ll find that there’s a lot of scope for boosting your income. Finding Reliable Suppliers It’s not just the meals that you make; it’s the ingredients you use to make them. One of the best things that a restaurant can do is to take their time when it comes to their suppliers. This is true of all ingredients, but especially of fresh produce. It just has too big an impact on the overall quality of the meal to be left up to chance. As well as the quality, check reliability. There’s nothing worse than having to tell a customer that they can’t have their preferred dish, all because you don’t have the ingredients you need to make it. (It’s important to remember that this job isn’t just up to your suppliers: taking stock of your inventory will also help to prevent any problems from arising.) Monitoring Feedback It can be difficult to get feedback from a customer in most industries, but this isn’t the case in the restaurant world. One of the good (and bad) things about food is that everyone has their opinion, and won’t mind sharing it with you. This can help you to make any changes as you see fit. Of course, it’s not as if you should make changes based on one person’s feedback. However, if you find that you hear one thing over and over, then it’s probably worth listening! The Neighbourhood There are some highly important details that can have a tremendous impact on a restaurant’s success or failure. The location is one of them. While it is possible to succeed in a remote, out of the way location, the truth is that you have to be pretty special to succeed in those spaces. In most cases, your reputation must already be developed — the out of the way restaurants will be your second/third operation. For nearly all restaurants, it pays to be in the mix. You might have to spend more than you’d like on rent, but it’ll be worth it. If there’s a restaurant district in your corner of the world, then that’s where you’ll want to be. Pushing Forward You might be experiencing a wave of success right now, but will it always be that way? Not necessarily. As with most industries, it’s important that you continue to push forward and develop. If you don’t, then it won’t be too long before it feels as if your best days are behind you. Pushing forward usually involves three things in the restaurant business. One is updating the menu. Another is updating the decor and your branding (for example, your signs, the physical menu, your restroom stalls, etc.).. The
If you run a business or have dreams of being a business owner, there are plenty of places you can learn from. Perhaps you know people personally who run their own businesses; perhaps you have been to college or university and have studied business; or perhaps you have worked in business all your life, building up your knowledge from experience. Whichever avenue you go down, you are bound to have formative experiences which help you lay the groundwork for your future business endeavours. Any experience with business – the good, the bad and the ugly – will form your knowledge and skill base which will help you down the line when you finally set up your own company. But when it comes to doing your own research, outside of education and personal experience, how can you learn about business? Well, look around and point to something. Nowadays, absolutely everything is wrapped up in business decisions – whether it’s healthcare, real estate, sport, technology or space travel! Even politics, scarily, seems to boil down to business decisions. While the increasing monetisation of everything around us seems frightening and isn’t necessarily beneficial for everyone, it does mean that as a prospective business owner, you can learn your lessons from the best of the best. Here are some examples of business decisions which teach a valuable lesson! Football Transfer Deals Football is one of the most lucrative industries in sport, and in that vein, you can take your business lessons from the transactional approach that footballers have to their teams. When it comes to transferring to a new team, the line between a business decision and an emotional decision becomes blurred. While some players are staunchly loyal to their teams for nostalgic or sentimental reasons, others choose their head over their heart. When it comes to learning from these decisions, it is important to look at deals that were almost made, as well as deals that were made. The biggest transfer deadline deals in football often never happened at all; reading why these decisions were not taken is just as valuable as learning from those who took the plunge. Ethical Consequences When business decisions and the media collide, the consequences can be pretty huge. Especially in today’s times, with the younger generations being keen to ‘expose’ companies who run unethical practices behind the scenes, it is hard to get away with any risky moves as a business owner. Fashion company BooHoo recently came under fire for underpaying their garment workers, which devastated their sales and harmed their reputation for life. As a business owner you can be subjected to trial by the media which can ruin your name. What’s the answer to this terrifying prospect? Simply run an ethical business, which pays its employees properly. If there are no skeletons in your closet, then you need not fear exposure. Conclusion Learning about business can be done in your own experience or from outside research. With business decisions happening all around us every day, there is no limit to the lessons that can be learned, simply by looking around and taking notice.
GLP, investor and developer of logistics warehouses and distribution parks, today announces that it has delivered the first net zero carbon development to be officially verified as Net Zero carbon for construction in line with the UKGBC Net Zero Carbon Buildings Framework Definition. The development, known as Magnitude 313, was developed at GLP’s flagship logistics park Magna Park Milton Keynes. It is GLP’s 6th building to go through the Planet Mark accreditation scheme and part of its strategy to reduce the carbon footprint further. Whilst GLP’s building specifications are continually reviewed, the project team conducted a deeper assessment on Magnitude in order to maximise the efficiency and sustainability credentials of the materials, resulting in significantly lower levels of embodied carbon. Key manufacturers were asked to provide a complete breakdown of their products along with their origin, embodied carbon and whether the product can be reused or recycled. Chetwoods Thrive and Circular Ecology, along with other leaders in the field were engaged to help the design team and wider supply chain collaborate and reduce as much embodied carbon as possible. Magnitude has been used as a vehicle for innovation, using embodied carbon reduction as a key driver for finding techno-economically feasible solutions. Where possible the outcomes have been incorporated in Magnitude. GLP can attest to the fact that they have reduced the embodied carbon as much as possible at this time. Further solutions will be carried forward to improve future buildings, providing a longer-term legacy. Steven Alexander, UK Construction Director at GLP Europe, said: “Magnitude is a milestone development for GLP and the logistics industry. It paves the way for further net zero carbon development as we continue our strategy of reducing our carbon footprint, keeping sustainability at the forefront of both the design and construction processes. We are proud to have developed the world’s first building to be verified as net zero carbon for construction and look forward to continuing our sustainability journey.” Nick Cook, President, GLP Europe, said: “This is a landmark development for GLP and we hope that it will set a new standard for sustainability in the sector. The team is constantly striving to find innovative ways to improve the carbon footprint of our buildings and ensure that GLP is considered synonymous with sustainable development.” Julie Hirigoyen, Chief Executive at UKGBC, said: “The urgency of the climate crisis means it is vital that we address all carbon impacts from buildings including the upfront embodied carbon from products, materials and construction. In some cases these can account for up to half of a new building’s lifetime carbon impacts – before it has even been occupied. We are delighted to see GLP leading the way by becoming the first developer to achieve net zero carbon for construction using UKGBC’s Framework. We hope that this will act as an example to the rest of the industry and inspire others to go even further in reducing the impacts from construction.”
Concrete is a material that has long been used for industrial buildings and home construction for several decades. It is one of the most durable materials that is used for building projects. But did you know that it has numerous uses aside from conventional construction projects? Concrete can be used for landscaping, decorating, spraying, block filling, and many more building applications. If you want to learn more about its uses, then you have come to the right place. This article will discuss the different uses of concrete, and some of the essential things you need to know. What is Concrete? According to an article by the Concrete Network, concrete has three components: cement, water, and aggregates. Aggregates can come in the form of rock, sand, or gravel. Once the three components are mixed and combined, the product becomes the durable material used for construction projects. What is the difference between Concrete and Cement? One of the common misconceptions when it comes to the construction industry is that concrete and cement are the same; this is not true. As mentioned above, cement is just a component to create a concrete mixture. Concrete for Landscaping When the topic of home landscaping comes to mind, the common things people think about are grass, wood, and rocks. Concrete seldom becomes a part of the conversation when people talk about landscaping, which should not be the case. Concrete can be a material used for landscaping as it can also provide the elegant touch that grass, wood, or rocks produce. Concrete nowadays comes in different colours, which can complement the architectural design of your home. If you want the exterior of your home to stand out, then you should try concrete. Concrete for Decorative Purposes When it comes to interior design, the common choice of homeowners for their walls is wood, which goes the same for flooring. If you are planning to build a new home or remodel it, you should consider concrete for your interior design. Concrete nowadays can be used for decorative purposes as well. Concrete that has exposed aggregates of small rocks and stones can be used for both flooring and walls of your household. It can then be further enhanced by honing and polishing once the mixture has already hardened. Concrete as a decorative material can transform the appearance of any room in your home, whether it may be the bedroom, living room, kitchen, and even entrances. Concrete Driveways Concrete has become the material of choice for constructing driveways because of its benefits and advantages. For instance, concrete driveways have a longer lifespan (50 years or more) than other alternatives, such as asphalt and gravel, lasting between 20-30 years. Concrete driveways are also more alluring to look at, and it drastically improves the curb appeal of your home. Homes with concrete driveways also have a considerably better price tag compared to asphalt or gravel driveways. Concrete as a material has a full range of uses, as mentioned above. Concrete can be used with aesthetics in mind, whether for landscaping or decorative purposes. Concrete is undoubtedly the best material for any building application. However, it would be best to get products from reliable and trusted sellers to ensure that you get high-quality materials.
Purfleet 338 Will Include 29,000 Sq Ft of Offices Green light granted for one of the largest warehouses available within the M25, meeting demand for quality logistics space close to the Capital Customers to benefit from access to a skilled workforce, including 1.6 million qualified locals1 Planning has been granted for a high specification 338,267 sq ft single unit warehouse at Purfleet Commercial Park, Essex. Available to pre-let with the ability for an immediate start on site, Purfleet 338 is just 16 miles from Central London and at the heart of the M25 and A13 corridors, providing excellent connectivity across Greater London and the South East. This location has prime access to the national motorway network, only half a mile from junctions 30 and 31 of the M25. This sees it able to efficiently service potential e-commerce, retail and third-party logistics customers, with capability of reaching 21 million consumers, with a combined purchasing power of £453 billion per annum2, within two hours. Purfleet 338 also benefits from a sizeable base of potential employees – with 9,300 job seekers within a 30-minute radius and access to 1.6 million locals with qualifications relevant to logistics and distribution. The warehouse will be developed to a BREEAM ‘Excellent’ specification and will include more than 29,000 sq ft of high quality office space. Sustainably designed and energy efficient, the property will feature electric car charging points and infrastructure for future electric vehicle fleets, solar thermal heating and hot water, and carbon neutral cladding. The wider park has been designed to meet the business, health and wellbeing needs of Goodman’s customers with outdoor seating alongside a pond, mature landscaping, and a delineated running track. George Glennie, Development Director at Goodman, said: “Purfleet 338 sees Goodman continuing our commitment to provide critical infrastructure for delivery of essential goods and services. “With this new development, we will further connect our customers with their consumers both in the Capital and wider South East region, helping them meet growing expectations for faster deliveries.” Purfleet 338’s plans also include an 18 metre clear internal height, 55 metre yard depth, 4MVA of power and a cladding system designed to meet chill-store requirements – offering customers flexibility in usage while maximising operational efficiency. Glennie continued: “Goodman focuses on securing key sites for properties that stand the test of time. We know that well located, designed and managed properties are better prepared for the challenges of tomorrow. Our Purfleet investment allows for rising demand in flexible, high-specification spaces that support supply chain efficiencies.” To find out more about Purfleet Commercial Park, please visit the website for further details. Joint agents marketing the scheme are Cushman & Wakefield and JLL.