The award-winning team at SO Resi has launched an innovative new shared ownership sales agency for external parties, be it other housing associations, local authority housing providers, investment funds or private developers. In the spirit of sharing best practice, the team wants to share their approach to ensure greater access
• £460,000 award from Local Growth Fund will be used to create an additional cut-through to ease traffic flow at NEC roundabout • The scheme forms part of plans to provide the robust infrastructure needed to support anticipated growth within the area The Urban Growth Company (UGC) is continuing to
The concept of insurance has been around for millennia, and yet the industry continues to evolve and grow as it responds to changes in society as well as the technological revolutions that shape our modern world. Here is a look at what significant shifts are occurring at the moment, and
Richardson and Ask Real Estate have secured £57 million funding from Legal & General’s Build to Rent Fund (BTR Fund) and Access Development Partnership (a joint venture between Legal & General Capital and PGGM), for the development of Tower Works, a new major Build to Rent site in Leeds City
Building contractor Pave Aways is opening a second office in Wales to support the growth of its work in Mid Wales. The firm is adding a new base in Newtown to its Welsh headquarters in Wrexham to underpin its increasing presence in the region. Its office at Ladywell House, which
Addington Capital, the investment and asset management company has sold The Quadrant, Abingdon Science Park to Kadans Science Partner, a science park, investor, developer and operator at a price of around £13 million. The scheme comprises four terraces of offices and laboratory buildings totalling 75,316 sq. ft. along with a
Kirklees’ Cabinet to consider £58M investment plan that could secure funding to support their Dewsbury Blueprint Ambitions. At their Cabinet meeting on the 19 January, councillors will consider a report on the proposed application for 25M funding from the Government’s Towns Deal Fund. The Dewsbury Town Board and Kirklees Council
Global building materials solutions supplier CEMEX has confirmed an investment of over £5 million into two new plastic packing lines for packed cement at its Rugby Cement Plant. This important development will significantly increase its capacity for producing packed cement and allow the business to provide long term surety of
Recent correspondence from British Steel has indicated increases in the cost of steel sections, the step increase in the cost of steel is very high considering the volatile market structural steelwork fabricators are working under. The problem here is that the market rate for structural sections has been for far
More encouraging volumes in the second half of the year signal a cautious return of confidence and investor appetite for 2021 Leading independent property advisory firm, Lismore Real Estate today released its comprehensive quarterly review of the Scottish investment market. In a year like no other, with challenges across the
The award-winning team at SO Resi has launched an innovative new shared ownership sales agency for external parties, be it other housing associations, local authority housing providers, investment funds or private developers. In the spirit of sharing best practice, the team wants to share their approach to ensure greater access to affordable homes, especially for those looking to buy a home in the current economic climate. SO Resi Agency will offer partners an extensive database of would-be buyers looking for shared ownership homes. Coupled with this, owing to its strong market presence SO Resi has on average 50,000-60,000 visitors to their website every month. The service the team can provide is twofold; from finding buyers to taking customers through to legal completion, utilising their internal processes to help get sales across the line. The agency service will allow users to advertise their property on the SO Resi Agency website and access the teams’ expertise including marketing and sales support. Diana Alam, Head of Sales at Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing, comments: “With lending becoming more challenging at entry level, and an economic backdrop that presents challenges to homebuyers, more and more people are looking to shared ownership as a way to get into the market, or upsize without the risk of taking on a burdensome mortgage. “We have been inundated with people interested in shared ownership, which is why we are excited to be launching a new sales agency dedicated to shared ownership housing. We are looking forward to sharing best practice, but more importantly providing buyers with access to more affordable homes and promoting the many benefits offered by shared ownership.” Over the last six months, Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing has been working closely with ReSI Housing, a for-profit Registered Provider managed by Gresham House, a for-profit fund, and together the partnership has brought forward 138 new homes to the Shared Ownership Market. It hopes to replicate this with other funds, housing associations and local authority providers to share best practice and more choice. Diana Alam adds: “We have already established a number of partnerships through SO Resi Agency, with high levels of reservations recorded for recently launched properties on behalf of our partners. Partnerships are vital in accelerating the delivery of affordable homes across the country, and we hope to continue to work with those in the industry to provide aspirational buyers with the opportunity to own their own home.” To find out more about SO Resi Agency, visit www.soagency.co.uk or call 020 3369 0273.
• £460,000 award from Local Growth Fund will be used to create an additional cut-through to ease traffic flow at NEC roundabout • The scheme forms part of plans to provide the robust infrastructure needed to support anticipated growth within the area The Urban Growth Company (UGC) is continuing to progress its ambitious plans for the UK Central Hub in Solihull after securing an additional £460,000 of match funding from the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership’s (GBSLEP) Local Growth Fund to help improve a key traffic roundabout. The funding – alongside the £2.1 million previously awarded by the West Midlands Combined Authority in 2019 – will be used to design an additional traffic-easing measure to a roundabout currently located at the edge of the NEC campus. The introduction of a new cut-through will ease current traffic flow and ensure that existing infrastructure is able to support future planned growth associated with the arrival of HS2 and the new development at the nearby Arden Cross site. The roundabout improvement scheme – scheduled to be completed by June 2022 – is pre-emptive in anticipation of planned growth, minimising disruption, delivering cost savings and future-proofing the area for continuing development. The UGC-led scheme will create a cut-through that allows traffic travelling north to continue straight-on without having to enter the roundabout. The aim is to ease traffic leaving the NEC at Northway (the arm after the A452) and prevent it backing up on the A452. Sue Barrett, Commercial & Contracts Director at the UGC, said: “We are delighted to have received this funding boost from the LEP which is about so much more than a change to a roundabout design. Smaller, individual improvement schemes like this make significant contributions to our broader, strategic vision for The Hub. They serve as critical enablers for growth by ensuring the area continues to enjoy unrivalled road, rail and air connectivity. “Our approach to future-proof The Hub also creates the confidence needed to attract future investment that will enable the major economic boost we plan to deliver in terms of jobs and homes. It’s also important that we look to a post -Covid future and ensure that our infrastructure supports the recovery of the major stakeholders across The Hub – the NEC and Birmingham Airport will be looking to ramp up their businesses again as soon as possible and this sort of project will help them to do that.” Michael Steventon, Non-executive board director at GBSLEP said: “Investing in infrastructure is an integral part of our work as it opens up access to businesses, workers, visitors and people living in the area. The longabout project will ensure traffic will keep flowing though Solihull and Birmingham – an important commuter corridor with its close proximity to the NEC and Birmingham Airport. Furthermore, with the development of HS2 and the new I nterchange Station, there is great potential for economic development in the area. We continue to work with our partners in the public and private sectors to create opportunities for inclusive economic g rowth as we look towards a post-Covid recovery.” Councillor Ian Courts, Leader of Solihull Council, said: “Congratulations to the UGC and our transport team for securing the funds as well as coming up with a solution to this complex project. Working with UGC and other partners, we will continue to maximise the economic benefit of HS2 coming to Solihull. This funding will mean we can ensure easy access to The Hub and improved traffic flow in the area.” For more information about GBSLEP, please visit the website, subscribe to its newsletter or followon Twitter and LinkedIn.
The concept of insurance has been around for millennia, and yet the industry continues to evolve and grow as it responds to changes in society as well as the technological revolutions that shape our modern world. Here is a look at what significant shifts are occurring at the moment, and why consumers and business owners alike should take note. Choice is fuelling competition The rise of online comparison tools has made it easier than ever for customers to weigh up the myriad insurance products that are available to them. In turn this has made the market far more competitive, allowing smaller brands and start-ups to flourish and take on the incumbent, established operators on more of a level playing field. Of course it is also possible for consumers to be overwhelmed by the amount of choice on offer, but according to Policy Scout it is possible to manage your expectations and identify the ideal insurance policy based on your needs and budget. Social media is improving customer service Insurance firms have had a slightly bad reputation when it comes to customer service quality, in part because traditional methods of communication hampered their ability to efficiently handle the sheer volume of correspondence from existing and prospective policy holders. Social media has changed this for the better, not only giving customers a place to find and engage with insurers, but also letting them get a response to queries and complaints in a jiffy. This is not only a short term advantage, but also leads to the building of trust between customer and brand that is especially important in the insurance industry. Data is taking the guesswork out of calculating risk Insurance is all about calculating risk, and the more accurately an insurer can do this, the better its products will be, as well as its profits. Manually crunching the numbers necessary to come up with appropriate cover costs is resource-intensive and time consuming, yet thanks to the rise of big data and machine learning, much of this can be automated as well as massively catalyzed. Furthermore as data becomes the driver for the entire market, fresh and previously overlooked insights will be gleaned, meaning that insurers will be able to spot correlations between different behaviors across varied customer groups, and use this to precisely predict risk without going too far in either direction. Smart devices are increasingly common A lot of the aforementioned data is being generated not just by more general studies and anonymized customer interactions over time, but also through the provision of information relating to a specific policy holder from moment to moment. This has manifested itself in a number of ways, from insurers being able to offer in-car monitoring that helps keep premiums low for young drivers, to companies offering to monitor weather conditions and provide buildings insurance customers with advice about how to prepare for changes to the climate. More than ever, the insurance industry is becoming tech-led, and the rewards stand to benefit everyone involved.
Richardson and Ask Real Estate have secured £57 million funding from Legal & General’s Build to Rent Fund (BTR Fund) and Access Development Partnership (a joint venture between Legal & General Capital and PGGM), for the development of Tower Works, a new major Build to Rent site in Leeds City Centre. Having secured planning for Phase 1 of the scheme last year, Richardson and Ask Real Estate will act as developers for Legal & General’s latest 245 unit BTR development at Tower Works. Once complete, the mixed development will provide two new residential buildings with 1, 2 and 3-bedroom apartments to the south of Leeds railway station. Sir Robert McAlpine is in place as lead contractor and works will start on site in the coming weeks. Leeds is one of the UK’s largest cities in terms of population and economic output, yet supply of housing in the city centre has been severely constrained over the past decade. Current housing stock is unable to meet the growing demand for rental accommodation. Recognising the prospect for rental growth in Leeds, Legal & General has acquired two BTR sites in the city centre; Mustard Wharf in 2017, and now Tower Works. Both sites are central to the landmark South Bank regeneration area, and together will deliver 500 homes, offering one, two and three bedroom apartments, alongside over 16,000 sq. ft. of commercial space. Ben Holmes, Real Estate Director for Richardson added: “Tower Works is one of Leeds’ most exciting residential development opportunities and we are very proud to have secured funding with Legal & General to bring this superb site forward and create much needed new homes for the city.” Dan Batterton, Senior Fund Manager, BTR, LGIM Real Assets said: “As Covid-19 drives secular changes and a fundamental rethink of many areas of the real estate sector, BTR has remained largely unaffected. It has delivered stable income returns throughout the crisis, with occupancy, rent collection and demand remaining high. In the last two weeks we have let our 1,000th apartment and welcomed the first residents to our Mustard Wharf scheme in Leeds. This continued demand further demonstrates the need for homes with functional space to work, alongside convenient access to local cultural and leisure amenities.” “The Tower Works development further strengthens our existing portfolio. Today, it has committed over £2 billion in the sector, with nearly 2,000 operational apartments and a pipeline to deliver a further 7,000 apartments by 2025.” Legal & General was advised by global property consultancy Knight Frank.
Building contractor Pave Aways is opening a second office in Wales to support the growth of its work in Mid Wales. The firm is adding a new base in Newtown to its Welsh headquarters in Wrexham to underpin its increasing presence in the region. Its office at Ladywell House, which will open when the country’s latest lockdown ends, will be led by construction director Jamie Evans and used by its Mid Wales based team. Pave Aways completed the £2.1m conversion of the former office building into a hub for small business for the Heart of Wales Property Service last year. The firm is currently working on contracts valued at more than £26m with a third of that, including new homes for Powys County Council in Newtown and Sarn, taking place in Wales. Pave Aways, which has a Shropshire base near Oswestry, recently handed over the council’s first Passivhaus school in Welshpool in 2020 and has also been appointed to the Welsh Procurement Alliance’s Dynamic Purchasing System for Housing Construction. Managing Director Steven Owen said: “We already have a strong presence in Mid Wales and have worked on some key schemes in the region but this will allow us to provide a specific focus for our clients in the county. “We believe in having a positive impact on the area where we work and the addition of our new office will have a beneficial effect on the local economy. It will enable us to enhance the community support and education and training opportunities we can offer.” He added: “It’s a very exciting development for us and a great way to start 2021, especially after such a challenging year generally for construction. This is a positive step forward and signals our commitment to our clients in Mid Wales.”
Addington Capital, the investment and asset management company has sold The Quadrant, Abingdon Science Park to Kadans Science Partner, a science park, investor, developer and operator at a price of around £13 million. The scheme comprises four terraces of offices and laboratory buildings totalling 75,316 sq. ft. along with a 1.59-acre parcel of land, with planning consent for a further 20,000 sq. ft. of office and laboratory buildings. The Quadrant was acquired in January 2016 in a joint venture. Since then, Addington has successfully improved the occupancy from 30% to 85%, increased headline rents by 20% and secured planning permission on the development land. Existing tenants include PsiOxus Therapeutics, Tessella and Fishawack. Philip Symonds, partner at Addington Capital said, “By investing in the fabric of the highly adaptable buildings at the Quadrant, we were able to attract new tenants whilst meeting existing occupiers’ requirements. We were also able to design and secure consent for the next phase of development at the property. South Oxfordshire benefits from favourable occupational dynamics largely due to its burgeoning technology and life sciences sectors, which have proven resilient during the Covid-19 pandemic. We experienced this first hand in the number of new lettings, renewals and expansions completed at the property during the business plan. There continues to be strong demand for excellent quality, flexible accommodation in the region.” “I have no doubt the property under Kadans’ ownership, as well as the wider Abingdon Science Park, will continue to flourish in the coming years.” Doherty Baines acted for Addington Capital. Bidwells advised Kadans Science Partner.
Kirklees’ Cabinet to consider £58M investment plan that could secure funding to support their Dewsbury Blueprint Ambitions. At their Cabinet meeting on the 19 January, councillors will consider a report on the proposed application for 25M funding from the Government’s Towns Deal Fund. The Dewsbury Town Board and Kirklees Council have compiled a Town Investment Plan as part of their bid, following consultation with local people at end of 2020. The investment plan proposes nine projects that the board feels would best benefit from the funding and deliver on what is important to local people. Cllr Shabir Pandor, Leader of the Council and Interim Chair of Dewsbury Town Board said: “The council and the town board are working together to make our ambitions for Dewsbury come true. In February 2020 we set out a ten-year vision for the town, many of the schemes that the board has selected to support with this plan were included in that vision. With this funding from the government, and match funding from the council we could see many of our plans come to fruition and demonstrate that Dewsbury really is a town of distinction. With a new town centre park, the regeneration of the arcade and the market, and high quality residential accommodation attracting commuters from nearby cities, local people could see significant changes in the town over the coming years. Dewsbury is a proud town and it deserves to be brought back to life as a family friendly place to live, work, shop and play.” Should the bid be successful, in order to make sure they can successfully complete the projects, the council will also be looking to allocate £33.6M of match funding from a variety of sources including council capital, Arts Council grants, private sector contributions, and the Government’s Transforming Cities Fund and Getting Building Fund. If Cabinet approves the report, officers will finalise the Town Improvement Plan and submit it to the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government by 29 January 2021. Once agreed Kirklees Council and the Town Board will enter into a Town Deal with government, before drawing up more detailed plans for the proposed schemes. The full list of projects included in the Town Improvement Plan are: £1.3M for the redevelopment of The Arcade as a multiuse space. £6.6M for an improved market offer in the town. £3.15M to build on the success of the Townscape Heritage Initiative with a new Building Revival Scheme. £250,000 investment in digital connectivity for town centre properties. 6.25M to create a town park and improve the public realm throughout the town. £1.5M investment in construction skills for local people. £2.195M investment in the Union Arts Centre as part of the town’s creative town ambitions. £3m to develop a living town at Daisy Hill in Dewsbury, and finally £2M to improve the roads and make it safer and easier to travel by bike or on foot. This latest funding opportunity will build on the council’s earlier investments of over £8M in the town, including the recent redevelopment of Pioneer House as the Pioneers Higher skills Centre, and the purchase of The Arcade.
Global building materials solutions supplier CEMEX has confirmed an investment of over £5 million into two new plastic packing lines for packed cement at its Rugby Cement Plant. This important development will significantly increase its capacity for producing packed cement and allow the business to provide long term surety of supply to its customers. Since CEMEX entered the plastic packed cement market in 2011, it has seen demand grow greatly year on year, and this investment will enable the company to meet existing and future customer requirements. Additionally, this investment will improve the design of the packed product so it can be better transported and stored. “We are very pleased to confirm plans to significantly enhance the plastic packing line at our Rugby Cement Plant. Packed cement is an important part of our UK business and this will greatly increase our capacity. This work will ensure we can continue to provide customers with the quality packed cement they need for their construction projects, while also offering further benefits during supply and storage of the product,” said Craig Williamson, Commercial Director of UK Cement for CEMEX. Work will begin at Rugby Cement Plant early 2021 and is expected to be completed by the start of the second half of the year. The development will run alongside the existing operation so there will be no disruption to production.
Recent correspondence from British Steel has indicated increases in the cost of steel sections, the step increase in the cost of steel is very high considering the volatile market structural steelwork fabricators are working under. The problem here is that the market rate for structural sections has been for far too long at a level that is unsustainable for steel mills to be viable. Equally, the market rate for fabricated structural steelwork is equally unsustainable in the long term when you consider part of the business is a bespoke design and detailing service, coupled with a semi-production type business, followed by unique sites requiring unique solutions. Recently, due to demand in other parts of the world, the cost of iron ore has almost doubled since March 2020 to a figure of $160 USD/dmt. Metallurgical Coke has also risen in the order of 45% during the same period. These two commodities being vastly important in determining the market rate of BOS produced steelwork. In a similar way, scrap has also recently increased in value by circa 70% from March 2020 to a price of $425 USD/t. With scrap being an important component of EAF produced steel, we would expect Arcelor to increase their prices in a similar way. It was explained to me over twenty years ago that any increase in the price of steel is headline news, whereas any increase in concrete just seems to go under the radar of the news outlets. Historically, an increase in the price of steel is swiftly followed by an increase in the price of concrete by a similar margin, I’m sure an economist would be using the term, “The Law of one Price” at this stage. I think we all know that the price of structural frames, irrespective of the material are set at a very low level due to the large capacity of the Tier 2 framing sub-contractors. These Tier 2 sub-contractors have for years being providing excellent frames at prices with wafer thin margins for decades. The resilience of Tier 2 sub-contract framing providers to events and changes beyond their control is nothing short of staggering. What is required is a very steady increase in the market rate of buildings such that all levels of the supply chain are making a reasonable margin for the risks they are taking in the construction industry, all the way from Tier 1 Principal Contractors, to Tier 2 sub-contractors and down the line to Tier 3 sub-contracts and suppliers. Historically, going back in the order of twenty years the steel mills used to try to maintain steady increases to their product by accepting the risk of buying iron-ore, coke, scrap and energy prices within their price structure. When demand for steelwork increased dramatically in China, circa 2004, the steel mills changed direction and decided their business model was not working and began pricing steel with rapid fluctuations in commodity items being passed down to their customers, namely Tier 2 sub-contractors. Perhaps, this was necessary to keep steel mills operational, as we all know the UK steel producer has been a serial loss maker for far too many years. The problem with this approach was now the fluctuation in the market rate of a commodity passed up the chain rapidly, which upsets the market rhythm by blowing budgets every time commodity prices increase, leading to further delays, further depressed prices as fabricators become nervous about not having enough work to meet contribution in their factories. So, it is not great when the commodity increases in price, but it must be great when the commodity reduces in price due to a lack of demand. Well the problem here is that there are simply too many steelwork contractors chasing too little structural steelwork, a hint of a dip in the price of steel is passed to the Tier 1 contractors probably at a faster pace than an increase as steelwork contractors push for an edge in an over saturated market. What is for certain when everybody in the construction industry has suffered the consequences of the uncertainties of BREXIT and the continued uncertainties of COVID, the last thing the industry wanted was what is seen by many has a large increase in the market rate of steel. Budgets for many future contracts will be based on artificially low framing prices and the result is going to be delays in contract awards, further value-engineering exercises and someone in the supply chain is going to ultimately “catch a cold”. Ideally this will be equally shared out throughout the supply chain from the clients right down to the suppliers, but I’m not confident that this will happen. I suspect there will be further delays to contracts commencing, which will make 2021 a much tougher year than already expected. What is for certain a “race to the bottom” in pricing will do nothing to maintain the quality of fabricated steelwork in the market.
More encouraging volumes in the second half of the year signal a cautious return of confidence and investor appetite for 2021 Leading independent property advisory firm, Lismore Real Estate today released its comprehensive quarterly review of the Scottish investment market. In a year like no other, with challenges across the entire property market and global economy, Lismore reflects on 2020 and looks forward to 2021. Transaction volumes for Q4 are anticipated to end at circa £420m, which is some 30% up on Q3 at £320m. Against the annual five-year average, this will be around 50% down, but in the face of such significant headwinds, it is not surprising and more positive than many were predicting earlier in the year. After a relatively subdued first half of the year, volumes in the second half of the year have been more encouraging, meaning that total volumes for 2020 will end up at close to £1bn. Against this backdrop and with the roll-out of a national Covid-19 vaccine programme, Lismore predicts a brighter year ahead, with investor appetite continuing across the hottest ‘in vogue’ sectors of the market, including distribution and multi-let industrial assets, along with food anchored and well-located retail warehouse parks. Recent deals including the £31m sale of Sainsbury’s regional distribution centre in East Kilbride clearly illustrate this trend. The residential market will remain resilient in 2021, particularly student accommodation, senior living, care homes and build-to-rent. Indeed the BTR sector will chalk up its most successful year on record, including the £81.5m sale of Candleriggs Square, Glasgow, a 346-unit scheme in September. The rapid emergence of life sciences as a stand-alone asset class will continue, with a significant weight of money starting to discover the sector and its burgeoning opportunities. The standout office deal of the quarter was the £45m sale of Quartermile 3 in Edinburgh by M&G to the German KanAm Grund Group. Colin Finlayson, Director at Lismore, said: “The outlook for 2021 is reliant on a successful vaccine roll-out to provide a much-needed literal and economic shot in the arm, along with the resultant lifting of Government lockdown restrictions. “If this happens we will see confidence returning and fear subsiding in the market, albeit Brexit will continues to loom in the background and cause uncertainty.” “Despite some concerns last quarter that the core plus sector was softening slightly, this has not (yet) happened and the continuing weight of capital circling this sector is helping to maintain pricing. “2021 is likely to see more opportunity for private equity. Patience remains a virtue and it makes sense for asset managers to add value where they can.” In terms of investor activity, some of the UK open ended funds have resumed trading and there has been orderly selling, with strong pricing being achieved for sales in the liquid sectors. Acquisition activity has been very focused on the safest sectors of distribution, industrial, long income and residential. Overseas investors remain prevalent and once current travel restrictions ease, we anticipate a strong comeback. The weight of global capital looking for a home has not diminished. Colin Finlayson concludes: “It is difficult to put into words the dramatic changes that the pandemic has caused to the economy and property market this year, but we are cautiously optimistic and look forward to increased activity and brighter times in 2021.” The Lismore Quarterly Review includes research on investor appetite and the evolution of real estate financing for 2021. In addition, it also features two in-depth interviews, one with a leading high street lender (RBS) and the other with Aberdeen Standard Investments. (Note from FR – may move this para into notes to editors) The full Lismore Quarterly can be seen here
