A hotel and bar operator based in the North East has announced that it has successfully acquired the popular York café bar, ‘The Parish’. The venue operates from an 11th century site on the corner of North Street and Micklegate, York, with all 17 staff set to be retained. Cairn Group, based in Newcastle, is planning to breathe new life into the York bar with a series of improvements over the next few months which will be funded by a £700,000 pot set aside for refurbishments to its growing portfolio of venues. The property currently occupies a grade II listed church development which, before its conversion to a public house, was previously an arts centre. This acquisition also marks the new owners’ first standalone bar venue away from their home region. Director of the Cairn Group, Naveen Handa, commented: “We’re really excited to have secured this opportunity in York – a city I’m both personally fond of and have admired as a business destination for some time. “The Parish is a truly stunning building with huge potential and our location is ideal for passing footfall.” Handa insisted that the on-site team will stay on working at the venue, while they will also be introducing a training scheme which will formally bring them on board with the group. She added: “The bar will no doubt be a great asset for us and we’re looking forward to getting involved in York’s vibrant leisure scene.” HSBC Bank plc and Mincoffs Solicitors LLP supported Cairn Group on the acquisition of the business which marks the Group’s first acquisition after the completion of their £101 million refinance deal which was sealed earlier in the year. Cairn Group is a privately owned firm which, in May, outline plans to inject £50 million of the funds raised from the refinance towards an acquisition-focused growth and strengthening of its UK-wide portfolio, which already includes 26 hotels and more than 30 bars and restaurants.

Amey is set to lose a lucrative maintenance contract with London Underground after a 13 year stint, as the work will now be brought back in house. Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, expressed his pride that Transport for London (TfL) was bringing underground maintenance work back into the public sector. The TfL board explained that it will now manage maintenance work on the Piccadilly, Northern and Jubilee lines through its own in house management team. The board is expecting to save £80 million over the next decade thanks to the switch back in house. Amey, a Spanish owned firm, has been contracted to manage maintenance work across the three lines since 2003, as part of the legacy of the public private partnership (PPP) contract that used to exist between London Underground and the Tube Lines. However, at the end of next year this arrangement will come to an end, which is the earliest possible point allowed by the existing contract. This contract covers 2,395 bridges and structures, 200 miles of track, 100 stations, 251 trains, 227 escalators and 71 lifts. TfL said that London Underground is already experiences in managing operations in house after the demise of Metronet in 2007. Since then, the organisations claims that performance has improved and costs have been cut in comparison with the PPP era, while reliability has improved by 38% in the last five years. Mark Wild, Managing Director of London Underground, commented: “We are carrying out a root-and-branch review of our business to cost less and make transport in London more affordable for our customers. “As part of this, we are using our in-house maintenance expertise to save tens of millions of pounds. There will be no impact on our extremely high standards of maintenance and we will be working closely with Amey over the next 18 months to ensure a smooth transition.” Meanwhile, Mayor Khan added that he was proud to announce that TfL will bring underground maintenance work back in-house.

The controversial Garden Bridge project, intended to provide more greenery in London by using it to span the Thames, has had its state backing cut by £6m. Transport secretary Chris Grayling has announced that although the financial underwriting of the project will be extended for an unlimited time period, the guarantee will be cut down to £9m. The current guarantee, which covers up to £15m of cancellation liabilities, expired next month, which had prompted the Garden Bridge Trust to request a year’s extension. The chairman of the Trust, Mervyn Davies, had to then reissue the plea as the deadline approached with no response from the government, saying that this was a crucial point for the £175m project, and that it would be a “tragedy” if the government pulled their support now. In a statement by the Department of Transport, minister Lord Ahmad began with praise for the Heatherwick-designed project, but ended with a warning that the government financial support for it is strictly limited. The government wishes the exciting and innovative Garden Bridge project every success and has provided public funding to help get it off the ground,” he said. “We have extended our agreement to underwrite cancellation costs but capped at the current level of £9m. The taxpayer must not be exposed to any further risk and it is now for the trust to find private sector backers to invest in the delivery of this iconic project.” A spokesperson for the Garden Bridge Trust said they were confident of finding those private backers. “The main thing is the government has indicated its support and that’s the news we really wanted to hear,” she said. “We are talking about cancellation liabilities so it’s hypothetical but we have to be prudent.” An official statement added: “The government has made it clear it wishes to continue to support the ‘exciting and innovative’ Garden Bridge and has agreed to extend a large part of its underwriting agreement. The Garden Bridge Trustees have agreed to explore any further underwriting required and are currently working with new private-sector sources to build on the current support.”

The Building Services Research and Information Association (BSRIA) has released a new topic guide about ‘indoor air quality’ (IAQ), which is now available to download for free from the association’s website. The guide is written for those seeking some introductory information about indoor air quality including prevalence, history and definition, along with information on types of contaminants and their exposure limits, while readers are also provided with a useful site map. BSRIA’s asset performance team leader, Blanca Beato-Arribas, provides the commentary for the guide and she commented: “People spend approximately 80 per cent of their time indoors. There is enough evidence that links poor air quality with permanent damages to health or even death. “Therefore, we should be aware of the quality of the air that we breathe both at home and at work, and ensuring good indoor air quality at work should be a priority for employers.” Beato-Arribas added that the guide will provide a short insight into the most common contaminants, both from indoor sources and external sources, and what the exposure limits to these contaminants are. She said that the guide will also provide a summary of the current legislation and a guide map of what contaminants to investigate. TG12/2016 ‘At a Glance’ – Indoor Air Quality is now free to download from the BSRIA website for members and non-members. Earlier in the month, the BSRIA appointed Karl Godfrey to the newly created role of principal consultant – Facilities Management in its Sustainable Construction Group. The appointment was said to reflect the association’s to offering a strategic FM consultancy through the whole lifecycle of building property management and maintenance adding commercial awareness to best practise. Offering FM guidance from both client and contractor perspective. Godfrey has been working in the FM environment for over 20 years and has gained international experience in property and building services.

British manufacturing firm QRL Radiator Group has launched a campaign to introduce an energy labelling system for radiators. The group wants the system to be similar to the one used for hot water cylinders, renewables, boilers and other household essentials. QRL’s ‘Don’t Omit Emitters’ campaign was launched on August 23 and has called for the industry to join in with a petition to the government to include radiators in mandatory efficiency ratings. Currently, radiators are not covered by the Energy-related Products (ErP) Directive and its colour coded energy labelling system, with efficiency bands ranging from A+++ to G. This means that manufacturers are not required to produce and energy label for radiators, or for installers to include radiators when producing the package label to indicate the efficiency of the whole system. Chief Executive Officer at QRL Radiator Group, David Kerr, commented: “At a time when everyone connected with the heating industry – from government right through to manufacturers and installers – is putting efficiency at the top of the agenda, it’s ludicrous that there is no energy labelling system in place for radiators.” “Of course it’s important that we focus on insulation and the heat source, but if emitters aren’t included as the third piece of the efficiency puzzle then we risk undermining the performance of the system as a whole.” In the manifesto for the ‘Don’t Omit Emitters’ campaign, the firm argues that proper energy labelling would make it easier for people to identify high efficiency emitters – ones that will reduce emissions, cut costs and improve the performance of heating systems. QRL Radiator Group Product Development Manager, Mike Wright, added that inefficient emitters are costing businesses and homes thousands, as well as having a detrimental impact on our collective carbon footprint. Wright believes that the introduction of clear, recognisable and universal energy labels is the most effective way for the trade (and their customers) to confidently pit one product’s performance against another’s.

Hampshire Trust Bank is set to move to new larger headquarters early next year to support its expansion plans. The specialist bank is due to move from its current 7,500 sq ft London-based headquarters at 131 Finsbury Pavement, to a newly refurbished 21,000 sq ft office at 55 Bishopsgate in Q1 2017. Hampshire Trust Bank recently reported significant growth in its first half results to 30 June 2016, announcing that headcount has increased to more than 100, a 25% rise in employee numbers at the end of 2015, with plans in the pipeline for further growth to meet business objectives. Mark Sismey-Durrant, chief executive officer at Hampshire Trust Bank, said: “Next year’s move is a significant step in the journey of the bank. “Our new headquarters will provide us with significant room for expansion and help us to continue on our strong growth trajectory. “As we recently announced, we have transitioned into profit, we are now focused on building on this success and ensuring we are well positioned to make the most of future opportunities.” Hampshire Trust Bank lends to UK businesses, providing asset finance, property finance and commercial mortgages. It also offers savings accounts to individuals and businesses.

The Association of Plumbing & Heating Contractors (APHC), in collaboration with City & Guilds, has announced that it will host a series of free technical workshops throughout England and Wales during October this year. The sessions will take place in the morning and offer plumbing and hearing installers the chance to shape their industry and offer their views on a number of key issues. Among these issues are ‘New Water Supplies, Water Efficiency Calculations and meeting the requirements of Part G of Building Regulations’ and ‘The New Plumbing Apprenticeship.’ An increasing number of developers are asking for information on ‘New Water Supplies, Water Efficiency Calculations and meeting the requirements of Part G of Building Regulations’. The Water Efficiency Calculator will no longer be used an standard modelling is now available, so attendance at this session will mean that installers can make sure that they are up to date to meet this demand. Meanwhile, in terms of the ‘New Plumbing Apprenticeship’, APHC held workshops in March this year which have plumbing and heating installers the opportunity to put forward their views on the new Apprenticeship Standard. This free session will now provide them with the opportunity to tell the APHC what they think about the technical content involved in the learning material, while also providing them with a unique chance to examine the assessment methodologies. This October, the technical workshops will be held across the following dates and locations: Dartford, October 13 Solihull, October 19 Wakefield, October 20 Taunton, October 25 Newport, October 26. Last week, the APHC launched a new Online Learning Centre to support its commitment to help heating and plumbing businesses become more successful and profitable. The new online facility will offer learning products which are tailored specifically to the needs of the plumbing and heating industry, and provide access to bite size courses that cover the key areas of business development.