Several high-value London properties are part of a major new national contract won by Principle Estate Management. Principle will be looking after a development of apartments each worth more than £1.5 million on America Street, just off Southwark Bridge Road – near the famous Borough Market, Tate Modern art gallery
Since the official turf cutting back in September 2018, significant progress is being made on the Triton Knoll offshore wind farm project managed by lead shareholder, Innogy. Construction specialist Mick George Ltd has now been appointed on behalf of J. Murphy and Sons Ltd to complete Earthworks at the main
As the level of housing completions continues to head in the right direction according to statistics published today, the country’s home building industry urged the Scottish Government to build on this positive news to enable it to deliver more of the homes Scotland’s growing population needs. Nicola Barclay, Chief Executive
MIKE TYLER, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER AT WSP, JOINS THE BOARD – After seeking a new national board member to fulfil the role of North West Regional Director, networking group the Forum for the Built Environment (FBE) have appointed Mike Tyler of global construction consultants WSP. Tyler returns to the FBE
The STA has conducted a fresh assessment of large-scale solar costs which was explored with leading energy analysts & BEIS at an expert workshop today. The STA’s last assessment of solar’s Levelised Cost of Electricity (LCOE), published in November 2014, had anticipated costs of around £80MWh in 2019. The updated
The construction division of The Premier Group, specialists in retail forecourts and commercial fuel installations, has appointed a new director to its board, strengthening the company’s leadership with a dedicated staff member. Shane Fairburn, new director at the construction division of The Premier Group, has worked with the Swansea-based company
BE DESIGN, the multi-disciplinary architecture and engineering practice, is rounding off the year with a series of significant new appointments, announcing seven additional members to its team. The practice celebrated its fifth anniversary this year and works across a number of sectors – from retail and leisure to residential and
Platinum Facilities Maintenance, a Hamilton-based business which employs twelve staff, has successfully completed a second South Lanarkshire Council (SLC) contract to clean the kitchen canopies and extract ductwork of 68 of its properties, including primary schools, leisure centres and nursing homes. Colin Chambers, managing director of Platinum Facilities Maintenance, said:
Tridify, the software technology specialist delivering automation products for the AEC industry, announced today a partnership with Unity Technologies to deliver Tridify Convert, an automation tool available on the Unity Asset store, which will streamline Unity AEC developer workflows. Tridify Convert is an automatically scalable BIM cloud service, enabling the conversion of
Two-thirds (66%) of property professionals in the UK believe former retail premises could be the biggest untapped resource for new residential development, according to a survey by MRI Software, a global leader in real estate software solutions. Nearly three-quarters (72%) of those surveyed see residential redevelopment of sites previously used by
Several high-value London properties are part of a major new national contract won by Principle Estate Management. Principle will be looking after a development of apartments each worth more than £1.5 million on America Street, just off Southwark Bridge Road – near the famous Borough Market, Tate Modern art gallery and Shakespeare’s Globe theatre. Other properties in the portfolio is a mixed use development comprising a restaurant and with apartments above on Poland Street, off Oxford Street in trendy Soho; and another mixed use development with including offices and apartments in Hamond Square, near Hackney’s renowned Hoxton Street market. Principle will also look after a further mixed use building including retail and apartments on the Old Brompton Road, in the prestigious Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea. Outside of Central London, the contract includes another developments in South Croydon, Crawley, Portsmouth, Slough, Wickford and Godalming. Principle’s appointment comes after the Wallace Group purchased Gray’s Inn Holdings Limited which owns 20,000 leasehold properties. The management arm of the Wallace Group, Simarc Property Management Limited, then moved to change some of the managing agents in order to ensure standards complied with their internal code for agents’ conduct. Brett Williams, managing director of Principle, said: “Mixed use buildings require a specialist management approach to ensure the needs of all users are catered for and properly balanced, and it’s this expertise that Simarc was impressed with. “I’ve known senior people at Simarc for many years and they were aware that I’d recently set Principle up. They’d also seen me attending high-level meetings following the government’s various consultations into leasehold reform.” Natalie Chambers, director of Simarc, said: “Principle has a reputation for managing properties on behalf of freeholders who need to be comfortable that their agent is on top of health & safety compliance, finance and maintenance. “We also want an agent that provides outstanding service to our customers, and we know Principle has been built to deliver that.” Principle was launched earlier this year by Mr Williams, the former head of residential property management at CPBigwood in Birmingham and an experienced chartered surveyor. Although based in Birmingham, Principle offers a national property management service and has already won a series of contracts across the UK. Mr Williams said: “This contract includes our first instructions in the capital, although we have plenty of experience of managing a national portfolio and are in London every week. We have another South East portfolio going live next year. “As for the other areas, the Surrey and Sussex properties are very close to where I grew up, while Slough is near other properties we have and Portsmouth has previously been one of our core areas. “We are experienced in managing portfolios at distance, treating them all as if they are five minutes-walk from our office and ensuring we have regular site inspections and are very contactable. “We’ve already been working on a few maintenance matters at a couple of properties ahead of our commencement as we’d rather get things moving than wait until we take over, and residents have appreciated this.” Mr Williams added: “It’s fantastic to have clients instructing us on new properties on a weekly basis. We are well set up to deal with handovers from other agents and to proactively manage properties from the outset.”
Since the official turf cutting back in September 2018, significant progress is being made on the Triton Knoll offshore wind farm project managed by lead shareholder, Innogy. Construction specialist Mick George Ltd has now been appointed on behalf of J. Murphy and Sons Ltd to complete Earthworks at the main onshore cable site off the A16 near Stickney. The firm will be stripping the easement where the cables will be placed for this 860MW project and will have the capability to transmit renewable electricity from the wind farm to more than 800,000 UK homes per year. This estimated £2bn renewable energy scheme will not be without its engineering challenges. It involves the installation of more than 57km of underground high-voltage electrical export cable in Lincolnshire. The route starts at the landfall location north of Anderby Creek, where the onshore and offshore cables connect. It runs to a new substation being constructed near Bicker, and then to the existing National Grid Bicker Fen Substation where the electricity from the offshore wind farm will ultimately connect into the grid. Both are on the outskirts of Boston More than 300 individual directional drills – a record for a UK infrastructure project – will ensure the onshore cables can be installed without obstructing any roads, highways, rivers or drains. Although the two-year onshore construction programme is underway, offshore activities are not expected to begin until late 2019. First energy generation could be as early as 2021. At the peak of the development, the project is anticipating upward of 3,000 employment opportunities. Michael George, Managing Director at Mick George Ltd commented: ‘’As a business that is well experienced in providing sustainable solutions through our waste management division, we recognise the importance of projects such as this and are excited to be involved.’’
As the level of housing completions continues to head in the right direction according to statistics published today, the country’s home building industry urged the Scottish Government to build on this positive news to enable it to deliver more of the homes Scotland’s growing population needs. Nicola Barclay, Chief Executive of trade body Homes for Scotland, said: “It’s great to see ongoing growth in the overall number of homes being built, but just under seven hundred extra homes over the last year is not going to solve our housing crisis. In order to return to the levels of a decade ago, we would need to see ten times this number on an annual basis. “Scotland’s housing market remains amongst the most affordable places to live in the UK, and huge social and economic opportunities exist for the Scottish Government to attract further housing investment from both within Scotland and elsewhere – if it can create and maintain the favourable conditions this requires. “Ways in which this can be achieved include ensuring the Planning Bill currently going through the Scottish Parliament meets the original objective of delivering more homes; encouraging more entrants into the industry; supporting those SMEs who want to develop more homes; preserving a regulatory environment that promotes investment and ensuring policies like Help to Buy are continued until such times that the mortgage market fully supports First Time Buyers. “Ultimately, it needs joined-up thinking across portfolios, therefore we look forward to seeing how tomorrow’s Budget supports sustainable housing growth so builders can contribute even more to Scotland’s social wellbeing and economic success.”
MIKE TYLER, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER AT WSP, JOINS THE BOARD – After seeking a new national board member to fulfil the role of North West Regional Director, networking group the Forum for the Built Environment (FBE) have appointed Mike Tyler of global construction consultants WSP. Tyler returns to the FBE following a brief spell away to focus on his family commitments. He was previously involved with the FBE Manchester group, utilising his extensive experience of dealing with the Public Sector. As Regional Director, Tyler will be supporting and advising the Lancashire, Liverpool and Manchester FBE branches, as well as giving North West members a voice on the larger, national stage by feeding back to the wider group. One of his key aims will be to engage with potential speakers, and drive attendance to the FBE’s fantastic range of events in the North West. Of his appointment, Tyler said: “I am thrilled to be asked to join the board, particularly at such an exciting time for the region with businesses thriving and expanding in the North West. I can’t wait to work alongside the existing board members to help the FBE keep moving forward and cement our status as the go-to national networking group for the construction industry.” David Jones, National Chairman of the FBE, added: “Mike is a fantastic addition to the FBE Board. His experience in the sector as well as his knowledge of Manchester and the North West made him an obvious choice for the appointment.” The Liverpool and Manchester branches are already collaborating on upcoming events, including a breakfast celebrating the achievements of the whole North West region to be held in Chester on the 9th January.
The STA has conducted a fresh assessment of large-scale solar costs which was explored with leading energy analysts & BEIS at an expert workshop today. The STA’s last assessment of solar’s Levelised Cost of Electricity (LCOE), published in November 2014, had anticipated costs of around £80MWh in 2019. The updated analysis for 2019 shows that solar has gone beyond the STA’s earlier expectations with LCOE costs of around £50-60MWh in 2019, a figure which is also significantly below BEIS’s 2016 Central Estimate of Electricity Generation Costs. Although costs vary significantly on a site by site basis, the findings confirm that under a long-term power purchase contract, solar could soon be the cheapest electricity generation technology in the UK. STA Policy Analyst Nicholas Gall, who undertook the study working with STA members over the past six months, said; “This is yet another example of the fast-moving solar power market outpacing official costs analyses. Our aim here is to provide an accurate assessment of where large-scale solar costs stand as we enter 2019, when we hope to see some revival of the UK large-scale solar market. We urge all organisations conducting low-carbon or energy cost analyses to make use of this up-to-date industry data, which comes directly from our members’ own experience of the UK market. We also urge decision-makers to understand how effective policy frameworks enable the lowest possible costs for solar, which will greatly benefit consumers.” Large-scale solar has been excluded from clean energy auctions in the UK since 2015, and the Renewables Obligation was closed in March 2017. This has left the sector to develop its own commercial routes-to-market, within a complex energy market heavily distorted by Government support for other technologies and facing significant policy uncertainties. The STA analysis presented today shows that solar can now deploy at around £50-60/MWh, making it highly competitive with CCGT and onshore wind, and attractive for commercial and industrial consumers under long-term Power Purchase Agreements. The analysis also underscores the high potential for UK content in large-scale solar and its contribution to GDP, with imported modules likely to form just 10% of total lifetime costs by 2030. A significant solar pipeline is widely expected to re-start in the UK in 2019, assisted in the short term by developer needs to build out previously stalled projects, and by a global module surplus. In the medium to longer term, the market outlook is supported by improved manufacturing efficiencies, higher gas price projections, and the UK’s growing need for clean generation capacity. However, the outlook is clouded by policy uncertainties such as Ofgem’s latest proposed changes to network charging, the future of carbon pricing given uncertainties over post-Brexit arrangements with the EU Emissions Trading System, and ongoing grid constraint challenges. Accompanying the cost figures released today, the STA sets out three targeted policy measures to facilitate growth of the large-scale solar market: Introducing a technology-neutral floor-price Contract for Difference auction; Enacting network access and charging reforms to enable storage + PV to realise its full potential; and providing a Climate Change Levy exemption for newly built zero-carbon generation procured through corporate renewable power purchase agreements (PPAs). Chris Hewett, Chief Executive of the Solar Trade Association said; “We have a clear message for Government and corporate energy buyers today: UK solar electricity is now cost competitive with fossil fuels. By establishing the right policy framework for solar and storage, including expediting a smart, flexible energy system, government can enable this technology to realise its full potential in delivering an affordable, low-carbon future energy system.”
The construction division of The Premier Group, specialists in retail forecourts and commercial fuel installations, has appointed a new director to its board, strengthening the company’s leadership with a dedicated staff member. Shane Fairburn, new director at the construction division of The Premier Group, has worked with the Swansea-based company since June 2014. He has undertaken various roles during his time with the company including project manager, head of major works and most recently, head of contracts. Fairburn’s promotion to director has been in recognition of the integral part he plays within the business. His outstanding enthusiasm, contribution and commitment to his role will be invaluable to the company’s board. His dedication to The Premier Group will also enable the company to capture and implement the vision of the next generation into the future strategy of the business. One of The Premier Group’s core values is ‘people’, which enables the business to focus on recognising, rewarding and promoting its employees. Fairburn’s invitation to become a director is testament to this, showing the company’s commitment to recognising and rewarding its employees for their hard work and dedication to the company. Steve Evans, managing director of the construction division of The Premier Group, said: “Shane’s appointment to the board is recognition of his hard work and commitment to the business and I am personally thankful for the support he has given me over the last few years. I have worked with Shane since he first joined the business and have seen first-hand his development into his role. He has been a huge inspiration to others through leading and developing his own team. It has been a true pleasure to witness Shane’s progress and I look forward to him being a valuable member of the board.” Shane Fairburn, director at the construction division of The Premier Group, added: “I am thrilled to have been invited to join the board of The Premier Group and am thankful to the team for all their support and guidance over the years. The company has always been incredibly supportive of each employee’s development and this promotion just shows how hard work is recognised and rewarded. I am keen to begin my journey as a director and contribute beneficial insights to our strategy going forward.” The Premier Group is a leading UK independent fuel engineering company that operates as two main divisions: construction and maintenance. The company works with many major national brands, including BP, Esso, Shell, MFG, MRH, Rontec, Asda and Tesco.
BE DESIGN, the multi-disciplinary architecture and engineering practice, is rounding off the year with a series of significant new appointments, announcing seven additional members to its team. The practice celebrated its fifth anniversary this year and works across a number of sectors – from retail and leisure to residential and industrial – designing projects across the UK and throughout Europe. A number of appointments have been made to the technical team, including Adam Hancocks, who brings 12 years’ experience to his new role as principal engineer. He will be working on the development of Grantham Designer Outlet Village and various international projects. Speaking of his new role, Adam said; “Having worked in the industry in the East Midlands since graduating, I’m really pleased to be staying in the region and joining the BE Design family. I’m looking forward to getting to know my clients, understanding their projects and applying my technical skills to solve problems and deliver high-quality buildings with a variety of end uses. “One thing that really drew me to the company was the friendly environment and focus on training and development, and I’m looking forward to furthering not only my own development, but that of other team members through mentoring.” Joining Adam will be: Tim Wallis, senior engineering BIM technician; Sam Johnson, engineering BIM technician; Sophie Hayes and Will Turner, junior BIM technicians and Su Ford, administration assistant. Katie Barnes also joins the team as an architectural placement student from Newcastle University. Stephen Oakden, director at BE Design said: “At BE Design, we know that the people in our practice are the key to our success as a business. With their passion, and the support of our development programmes, we work together as a close-knit team to ensure that our clients receive service that exceeds their expectations every time. “We recently announced a raft of internal promotions, and we’re thrilled to be following that with this boost of new staff throughout the technical and support teams. Myself and the wider team look forward to working alongside this talented influx of new staff and wish them all the best in their new roles.” Find out more about BE Design at www.bedesign.co.uk or join the conversation on Twitter @B_E_Design.
Platinum Facilities Maintenance, a Hamilton-based business which employs twelve staff, has successfully completed a second South Lanarkshire Council (SLC) contract to clean the kitchen canopies and extract ductwork of 68 of its properties, including primary schools, leisure centres and nursing homes. Colin Chambers, managing director of Platinum Facilities Maintenance, said: “This is another council contract we have been awarded with in order to carry out the mandatory compliance works. We successfully undertook a cleaning operation on a similar number of SLC properties earlier this year. “We are delighted that the Council has acknowledged our ability to perform this work by giving us a further contract which we have completed in record time.” Every organization in the UK with commercial kitchens is legally obliged to carry out annual cleans of their canopies and ductwork to make them compliant with legislation. Mr. Chambers, whose business provides comprehensive solutions for all building compliance issues for a range of customers in both the public and private sectors, said: “All property owners have a duty of care towards the public and need to be aware of the cost and time implications non-compliance with the regulations could have for their companies. “Anyone who is uncertain about their situation should seek expert guidance to help mitigate the more damaging potential effects.”
Tridify, the software technology specialist delivering automation products for the AEC industry, announced today a partnership with Unity Technologies to deliver Tridify Convert, an automation tool available on the Unity Asset store, which will streamline Unity AEC developer workflows. Tridify Convert is an automatically scalable BIM cloud service, enabling the conversion of 3D BIM CAD data into Unity in real-time. It delivers UV-mapped and optimized models regardless of the project size. Tridify Convert includes a simple Industry Foundation Class (IFC) file export from all BIM and CAD software platforms, with automated features such as material mapping, colliders, and lighting generation. “We have a deep understanding of BIM and the AEC industry having used Unity to develop our own AEC visualization application over five years ago,” said Juha Alanen, EVP of Sales at Tridify. “Our R&D team recognized that by working with Unity, we could deliver a solution that would automatically streamline the process of delivering UV-mapped and optimized architectural models to XR-ready 3D files. Together, with Unity, we are solving the problem of repetitive, slow, and error-prone re-modeling.” “Unity’s mission is to solve hard problems for all developers and working with Tridify ensures that our AEC developers can save money, increase efficiencies, and improve collaboration,” said Tim McDonough, General Manager of Industrial at Unity Technologies. “For designers, engineers, and trailblazers across AEC, Unity is the most versatile and widely used real-time 3D platform for visualizing products and building interactive and virtual experiences and we look forward to working with Tridify to shape the future of AEC. For more information about Tridify Convert, visit the Tridify website.
Two-thirds (66%) of property professionals in the UK believe former retail premises could be the biggest untapped resource for new residential development, according to a survey by MRI Software, a global leader in real estate software solutions. Nearly three-quarters (72%) of those surveyed see residential redevelopment of sites previously used by retailers giving the British High Street a new lease of life, the research report, Charting UK Property Trends, shows. The research also reveals that three-quarters (76%) of the industry experts MRI canvassed think Brexit will not seriously hamper the ability of the UK property sector to get the funding it needs to develop properties – including 94% of the property investors, owners and developers. Over three-quarters (77%) of respondents also see demand for residential rentals in the UK accelerating, driven by the continued high cost of buying a home. “Charting UK Property Trends provides a comprehensive inside view of the challenges property players face today and where the opportunities lie,” says Dermot Briody, Executive Managing Director, Europe at MRI Software. “The research shows we will see a far greater number of people living in town centres, which will give a boost to retailers on the High Street while feeding other businesses such as gyms and entertainment venues.” The survey took the responses of 144 senior property experts from a range of organisations, including investors/owners/developers, consultants, contractors, property managers, sales and lettings agents, service providers, and business occupiers. “The vast majority of industry players we surveyed were bullish on the outlook for the sector,” Briody notes. “Even where Brexit is concerned, the positive outweighed the negative, as two-thirds maintain that even a Hard Brexit won’t hurt their ability to get funding for property development.” Other findings in the survey of property professionals include: Eight in ten (82%) say ‘Generation Rent’ – young adults unable to purchase a home due to high housing prices – is here to stay, with little likelihood buying conditions will improve The same proportion (82%) say Generation Rent is renting for longer, driving demand for higher quality properties Nine in ten (90%) see rentals becoming more important to the UK residential market over next 12-18 months Four out of five (81%) say co-working / shared office spaces such as WeWork are likely to be users of former retail premises in UK town and city centers Three quarters (75%) say their organisation struggles to turn the data it holds into actionable insight but needs to be able to do so Over half (54%) say connecting up or linking applications, processes and data within their company is difficult and want an easier way to do it The online survey took place in October and November. To download a copy, click here. About MRI Software MRI Software is a leading provider of innovative real estate software applications and hosted solutions. MRI’s comprehensive and flexible technology platform coupled with an open and connected ecosystem meets the unique needs of real estate businesses – from property-level management and accounting to investment modelling and analytics for the global commercial and residential markets. A pioneer of the real estate software industry, MRI develops lasting client relationships based on nearly five decades of expertise and insight. Through leading solutions and a rich partner ecosystem, MRI liberates real estate companies to elevate their business and gain a competitive edge. For more information, please visit mrisoftware.com.