ADEY Professional Heating Solutions has secured a management buy out as it continues to pursue its ongoing strategy for growth. The water treatment manufacturer has been bought out by a consortium led by John Vaughan, the Chief Executive Officer of ADEY, and has received full backing from the company board, along with the support and investment of LDC, which is part of the Lloyds Banking Group. A decade ago, the company invented the MagnaClean filter and from then the firm has established an approach of ‘total system best practice’, with the creation of a family of products that are designed to test, protect, maintain, flush and clean heating systems. Mr Vaughan commented that the buy out marks the next step in the company’s journey of growth and will go some way to helping them achieve their ultimate aim of providing all of its customers, both in the UK and abroad, with the finest possible preventative solutions in the market of heating systems. He added that ADEY is a company built on innovation, and the company will continue to launch a range of new products that will help heating installers to serve the needs of its customers with the best tools. Mr Vaughan pointed out that there are over three million Magna Clean filters installed in Britain, and the Board’s growth ambitions are driven by the scope for more local authorities, businesses and households to benefit from ADEY’s low cost energy saving products. The company currently supplies its products in Britain and mainland Europe, but there are plans in place for the firm’s expansion into a range of new markets, including Eastern Europe, Asia and the US, along with further investments in the development of new products. Earlier in the year, ADEY was rewarded for its ‘best practice approach to central heating maintenance’ at the industry’s awards ceremony.

UK: Mitsubishi Electric is to begin marketing and selling Climaveneta branded chillers in the UK, following the acquisition of the Climaveneta brand last year. The Climaveneta NX range of air source and water cooled chillers will be available from Mitsubishi Electric from July 4. These will be in addition to Mitsubishi Electric’s own range of e-series chiller, launched in the UK, and other European countries last year. Each chiller model in Climaveneta’s NX range is offered in up to six different configurations. Two levels of efficiency available and a further three options on sound emission levels: standard, low noise, and super low noise. Capacities range from 39 to 371kW with a choice of plate or shell and tube heat exchanger. “Climaveneta is a well-respected and high quality European chiller brand and we are proud to be able to add these products to our portfolio,” commented Mitsubishi Electric UK’s commercial director Donald Daw. “This addition allows us to deliver a comprehensive and versatile range of solutions for our customers, whatever their need and regardless of whether they are involved in a new-build or retro-fit situation. “We have had a lot of interest following the initial purchase of Climaveneta and with the range available from the 4th of July we are expecting to be busy,” he added. Mitsubishi Electric says it will be working in partnership with Climaveneta Powermaster, the existing Climaveneta distributor in the UK, to ensure that customers are offered the best solution for their chiller projects.

Smart phones are infiltrating every area of our lives. We perform a daily juggling act when managing our private and professional lives through our mobile devices. Recent statistics revealed that on average, people touch their phones every four minutes- equivalent to 253 times a day! According to a recent study on the preferences and spending habits of Millennials, two in five London millennials are willing to spend up to £125 per month for superfast internet access. What’s apparent is that we are never really switched off. Regarding connectivity and building infrastructure, The Royal Institute of British Architects estimates that twenty hours of our day is spent inside either commercial or residential premises. Yet, what’s concerning here is that, with roughly two billion smartphone customers worldwide, and with around 80 per cent of mobile data sessions beginning or ending indoors, only two percent of commercial properties have specific systems in place for ensuring indoor mobile coverage. A few months ago, CommScope surveyed experts in charge of the architecture and management of buildings to understand their opinions on indoor wireless connectivity. Those surveyed included building executives, facilities overseers, real estate managers and the architects themselves. The results showed that we all need a robust and reliable network and, in order to deliver best performance and provide mobile coverage to users within larger and more complex buildings, businesses require investment in dedicated technology. Leaving financial implications and technical complexities aside, the obligation for businesses to install such a dedicated system is apparent. Nowadays, residents expect to have cellular connectivity inside buildings, in the same way they expect a reliable supply of electricity, water and gas. Interestingly, the study found that cellular mobile coverage indoors could increase a property’s value by 28 per cent – meaning a £2.5 million office building could be worth £700,000 more with a dedicated indoor cellular system. Moreover, 60 per cent of those who participated in the survey admitted that indoor wireless connectivity was “imperative” for workers. The growing demand for connectivity within commercial buildings can be attributed to the fact that offices have now taken on a world of their own, and are not simply a place for us to carry on our daily 9-to-5 grind. Indeed, office spaces now function as sites where colleagues share ideas, connect and innovate around the clock. What’s evident is that companies can no longer rest on their laurels; in order to hire the most talented staff and attract residents, management teams need to provide a state-of-the art working environment that will have lasting positive impacts upon the overall wellbeing and productivity of their employees. To highlight this correlation, those who were surveyed believed that indoor wireless coverage would enable employees to work more productively (77%), support the hiring of more skilled professionals (46%) and may even entice more visitors (39%).   Real-time data stream The way we work is constantly evolving. The topic of the ‘workplace of the future’ has certainly been hitting the headlines in recent months. Indeed, buildings of the future must offer a range of options for connecting multiple devices and, due to growing demand, an infrastructure for indoor wireless systems may not be far off and will soon become the norm in the majority of buildings. Yet, while it’s necessary to provide employees with mobile connectivity, companies need to also consider the present state of an environment if they wish to continue making necessary improvements to it and, to do so, they need to be able to track important environmental, special, and energy metrics. With advanced sensor technology woven into a building’s fabric, this data can be taken instantaneously, processed and dealt with accordingly. This user-friendly system will, in turn, enable companies to automatically manage desk or conference areas in a more optimised way. The overall ambience of a room or building, including air conditioning systems, the brightness of overhead lights, or temperature, can be regulated to offer employees a pleasant space more conducive to efficient work and, by optimising energy consumption minute-by-minute, a building’s carbon footprint can be significantly reduced, meaning cost savings and improved CSR credentials. Moreover, this real-time data stream will be linked into Integrated Workplace Management Systems and other, similar, software platforms to enable a resourceful, smart and employee-friendly working environment. Attracting top talent and helping partners and customers successfully transition to the digital economy has never been more important. Indeed, as more and more technology is added to the exploding Internet of Things sphere, and more people connect to the network and each other, more and more data will be generated and accessed in commercial and residential buildings. In order to keep up with, manage and interpret this data appropriately, all businesses need to upgrade to a fully intelligent building to maintain a competitive advantage.   By Lewis White, Managing Director for Northern Europe, CommScope

Last month saw a fall in property supply for more than half of towns and cities in the UK, the latest data from House Simple has revealed. The falls in towns and cities comes despite an overall supply gaining 4.8%, with the report showing biggest falls in supply in Loughborough and Southport. In these towns, the supply of new property listings went down by 24.1% and 28% respectively and of all the areas that saw the biggest falls in supply, almost half (47%) were in the North of England. On the other end of the scale, Lichfield in the West Midlands saw an unprecedented increase of 55.8% for its new property listings last month compared to April, while Rugby and Chesterfield saw increases of 32.5% and 35.7% respectively. The most positive news from the research came in the Midlands, as a third of towns and cities that saw the biggest increases in supply came there. London saw an overall decrease in supply, however 53% of the 32 London boroughs saw supply increases in May, with Waltham Forest leading the way with a 31% month on month increase after an 8% rise in April. Merton was the second best performing borough, with a 30% supply increase last month, following April’s 15% rise. House Simple’s CEO, Alex Gosling, said that despite an increase in property supply in May, vast areas of the country saw a fall in the number of new properties listed. Some have suggested that this may be down to the economic uncertainty surrounding the EU referendum, with scare tactics used by both sides of the debate resulting in a lack of confidence from both sellers and buyers. As a result, the current period that usually sees a significant amount of activity in the property market may now see a drop in market activity due to the Brexit vote in three weeks.