On Monday, the FMB’s State of Trade Survey for Q1 of 2017 was released. The quarterly assessment is the largest of its kind in to the SME construction sector around the UK. It has found that smaller construction firms have been enjoying a rise in their workloads. This rise in
One of the leading investors and developers in logistics warehouses and distribution parks has announced that they have appointed a new UK Construction Director. IDI Gazeley has appointed Graeme Munro for the position and it is thought that he will start in this position in June 2017. The announcement of
A detailed set of plans have been set out by Ofcom that will lead to the improvement of Openreach’s infrastructure. The plans will make it easier and cheaper for competing providers to connect their own fibre broadband to homes and offices. It is thought that improving the competition in the
The global real estate investment manager, Invesco Real Estate has revealed that they are in the process of acquiring one of the largest shopping centres in London. The acquisition is happening in partnership with Land Securities, with Invesco acquiring a 50% interest in the shopping centre. The shopping centre in
Peter Cox Ltd, part of the Business Services group Rentokil Initial, is a UK market leader for offering a variety of different property treatments including damp proofing, waterproofing, wall stabilisation and timber preservation. The company was first founded in 1951 and currently employs more than 240 staff in their regional
Wilmott Dixon and Scape Group have been working together in order to complete the new Sacred Heart Primary School. The development took place in Sandwell and the school officially opened on the 24th April. Before the official opening, the primary school children had their first meal and had a tour
The demolition of the former Tesco in Rotherham Town Centre is underway as a part of the regeneration taking place in the area. The regeneration in Rotherham Town Centre is taking place at Forge Island, with plans to greatly improve the area. Rotherham Council bought the building from Tesco in
Work has been completed in The White Building, Reading. Graham Construction has completed their work on the £16.5 million price office redevelopment. The building was formerly known as Kings House, but the multi-million-pound redevelopment has created new commercial workspace. The Development has been carried out by Boultbee Brooks Real Estate.
Wates Group is one of the UK’s largest privately-owned construction, development and property services companies. The company has confirmed that they will deploy defibrillators throughout their organisation. Wates Group’s Headquarters is located in Leatherhead, Surrey and the Group will be partnering with Cardiac Science, the leading manufacturers, in order to
The Arora Group and Whitbread has announced that they have completed a new Premier Inn hotel that is directly connected to London Heathrow’s Terminal 4. Grove developments, the construction division of the company was commissioned for the new hotel, which has been built especially for Premier Inn. Premier Inn took
On Monday, the FMB’s State of Trade Survey for Q1 of 2017 was released. The quarterly assessment is the largest of its kind in to the SME construction sector around the UK. It has found that smaller construction firms have been enjoying a rise in their workloads. This rise in workload is happening despite the concerns that are growing over the increasing cost of labour and materials. The Federation of Master Builders have released their survey which has shown that the workloads of SMEs have had a most significant rise in their workload since the second quarter of 2016, which was the quarter immediately before the referendum in June. According to the information released by the Federation of Master Builders, one in tow SMEs in the construction company have predicted that they will see a rise in workloads over the next few months. The research has found that only 5% of businesses are expecting a decrease in growth. Alongside these figures, 85% of the builders have said that they are expecting the price of their materials to go up over the course of the next three months, and 58% of the firms that were involved in the study have said that they have been struggling to hire carpenters following the post financial crisis high. The survey covers the time period before the announcement for the snap General Election, therefore it is unsure whether this will lower the levels of consumer confidence and effect the reliability of the first quarter survey. However, the news that workloads have risen in every part of the UK is positive for the industry. Also it is reassuring that amidst concerns that consumer confidence may be getting weaker, smaller construction companies not experiencing a drop off yet is a positive sign. It is thought that with the growth in the prices of materials and the construction skills demand getting worse, SMEs would be wise to be cautious in their optimism.
One of the leading investors and developers in logistics warehouses and distribution parks has announced that they have appointed a new UK Construction Director. IDI Gazeley has appointed Graeme Munro for the position and it is thought that he will start in this position in June 2017. The announcement of the new appointment happened last week. IDI Gazeley is known for being one of the leading owner and operator of logistics warehouses and distribution facilities in the world. The company have 56 million square feet of high quality property and 45 million square feet of development space. The company have sites that are near to major transport routes and market towns in North America, Europe and China. IDI Gazeley is also Brookfield Property Planners’ industrial property company. Brookfield is one of the largest property companies in the world. Making Graeme the UK Construction Director will provide more strength to IDI Gazeley’s ability to deliver a customer service that is the best in their class. The company works with customers from the retail, manufacturing, logistics and distribution sectors all around the UK. In his new role, Graeme Munro will be responsible for all of the activity that is related to construction that is carried out by the IDI Gazeley UK team. Graeme will be working with a highly experienced team that will be celebrating the 30th anniversary of the company this year. It is thought that Graeme will help the company continue to expand their customer community. Graeme will also bring a great deal of experience of understanding how the market is changing and ways to improve customer service. Graeme is moving in to this role from Lidl. In his former role, Graeme was most recently Head of Warehouse Distribution. Graeme has worked with Lidl for the past 15 years, for the majority of this he occupied the managerial role in Warehouse Distribution. We wish Graeme the very best in his new role.
A detailed set of plans have been set out by Ofcom that will lead to the improvement of Openreach’s infrastructure. The plans will make it easier and cheaper for competing providers to connect their own fibre broadband to homes and offices. It is thought that improving the competition in the network will lead to bigger benefits for the consumer. The changes will mean an increase in choice and innovation as the broadband companies will be able to offer better quality services at lower prices. The new plans that have been laid out by Ofcom will also hopefully lead to a reduced reliance on Openreach. The country has historically been reliant on Openreach, which is a network business under the BT Group. It is thought that the plans will make it easier for BT’s competitors to construct and install their own network for fibre broadband. Ofcom’s plans will allow competitors to build their own fibre network using the telegraph poles and ‘ducts’ that have already been established by Openreach. The main proposals by Ofcom includes access to BT’s ducts on fair terms, meaning that companies will be allowed to use the ducts and poles as easily as BT does. There has also been the suggestion that the cost to BT for providing access will be spread across all users. It has also been put forward that Openreach must work to see the repair of faulty infrastructure and blocked tunnels so other provider can access them. Ofcom has also proposed that companies can lay fibre for both consumers and large businesses as long as the purpose of the network is to deliver broadband. It has also been proposed that Openreach continue to provide a map of its network to allow competitors to plan new networks, and there should be the capacity available on telegraph pole for additional fibre cables to connect buildings to the competitors’ network.
The global real estate investment manager, Invesco Real Estate has revealed that they are in the process of acquiring one of the largest shopping centres in London. The acquisition is happening in partnership with Land Securities, with Invesco acquiring a 50% interest in the shopping centre. The shopping centre in question is the Southside Shopping Center that is located in Wandsworth, South London. The investment company will be acquiring the property from Delancey. Invesco Real Estate will be replacing Delancey in their 50/50 split partnership of the shopping centre with Land Securities, the listed property company. It is thought that this transaction is an opportunity to invest in in a dominant shopping centre that has a wide range of tenants and the potential to expand in an improving area of London. The deal will cost £150 million, and Invesco will take over 50% of the management from Delancey as part of their pan-European core strategy. Partnering with Land Securities will also be beneficial as the property company has a track record of owning and managing shopping centres. The Southside Shopping Centre is a valuable asset that will add to Invesco’s property portfolio. The Southside Shopping Centre is a 630,000 sq. ft. of space with a variety of tenants. Invesco are using Southside in order to grow their business allocation to shopping centres. The purchase of the south London Shopping Centre is also a vote of confidence for the UK retail market ans the overall levels of consumer spending in the UK. Invesco plan on working with Land Securities in order to improve their newly acquired asset. Delancey has been a part of the Metro Shopping fund since its establishment 13 years ago, and has experienced a longstanding working partnership with Land Securities during this time. Land Securities has been the party responsible for the significant developments that have taken place at Southside and the shopping centre has proven to be an important asset.
Peter Cox Ltd, part of the Business Services group Rentokil Initial, is a UK market leader for offering a variety of different property treatments including damp proofing, waterproofing, wall stabilisation and timber preservation. The company was first founded in 1951 and currently employs more than 240 staff in their regional branches located around the country. Peter Cox has announced this week that they have appointed Robert Sheldon as the national commercial manager; a new role for the property treatment company. Prior to this appointment, Robert Sheldon was the regional manager for the south. Sheldon has spent four years as a regional manager and helped Peter Cox double their revenue in the London and South East branch over the course of his first 12 months in the role. Hopefully he will be able to make as much of a difference in his new role within the company. Before he was a part of Peter Cox Ltd, Robert Sheldon worked in the insurance industry. For 10 years Sheldon surveyed fire and flood damage and acted as a mentor for franchises around the UK. It is thought that Sheldon will now lead the Peter Cox’s nationwide commercial team in order to help develop their operational and business development capabilities. In his new role, Sheldon will be working to oversee the key account managers across the UK in order to develop the company’s specialist service strategies, as well as managing the relationships with suppliers and working with the marketing team in order to improve commercial marketing strategies. Peter Cox is keen to expand their commercial sector services. The Commercial sector covers all activities that is non-residential and is considered a fruitful market to be a part of. Peter Cox is already the leading company in building preservation and hopefully with the new appointment, the company will be able to keep its top position and continue to develop.
Wilmott Dixon and Scape Group have been working together in order to complete the new Sacred Heart Primary School. The development took place in Sandwell and the school officially opened on the 24th April. Before the official opening, the primary school children had their first meal and had a tour around their new school. Sacred Heart Primary school has been designed and built by Sunesis, which is the name of the joint venture between Wilmott Dixon and Scape Group. The work was carried out to replace an existing facility and will also help the school meet the growing demand for school places. In Sandwell there has been a 26% increase in the birth rate, which can lead to pressure on the number of school places. There has also been a higher than normal movement in to Sandwell which can increase this pressure on schools. Therefore, the work to improve the Sacred Heart School will have appositive effect on the area. The new school will be able to offer 420 primary school places and 52 nursery places; it is thought that the school will be full by 2022. The new school building has been designed in order to meet the needs of their pupils. Sacred Heart School is now better equipped to be able to accommodate children with special educational needs and mobility requirements. The school is also able to meet the dietary requirements because of the school’s band new kitchen. The new school is larger than the previous structure and because of this there will be an opportunity to support the community by offering family learning, including additional English lessons for both parents and pupils. The new school has had a good response from the pupils and teachers, who started at the new site after the Easter Holidays. The project was delivered by Sunesis on time and on budget. Sunesis develops and pre designs new schools on a national scale and is known for their fixed costs and efficiency when meeting delivery dates.
The demolition of the former Tesco in Rotherham Town Centre is underway as a part of the regeneration taking place in the area. The regeneration in Rotherham Town Centre is taking place at Forge Island, with plans to greatly improve the area. Rotherham Council bought the building from Tesco in February in order to prepare the area for development. It is thought that the Forge Island regeneration is an important part of the Masterplans to redevelop the Town Centre. This Masterplan is being designed by WYG Group, a global company that works in urban design. The first draft of the company’s designs is expected in weeks. Demex are the chosen contractors who are currently at work clearing the site of the old supermarket buildings. Their work is expected to be finished in 6 to 8 weeks. The development is starting to progress now that the site is being cleared in preparation. There has been a lot of interest in the Forge Island Project by developers and it is thought that this site will be important for the regeneration of the town Centre as part of the Masterplan. The Forge Island development sits in a waterfront location and will be attractive area for investors. The developers are hoping to turn the area in to a buzzing leisure quarter, and now that the developers have acquired the building that used to be the magistrates court, there is more space to create a varied development. The Council has submitted plans to clear a site in order to extend the existing Forge Island car park. This expansion will mean that the capacity of the car park will increase from 309 to 544 spaces. Shoppers in this area will still be able to benefit from “red zone” parking space which allows for two hours free parking.
Work has been completed in The White Building, Reading. Graham Construction has completed their work on the £16.5 million price office redevelopment. The building was formerly known as Kings House, but the multi-million-pound redevelopment has created new commercial workspace. The Development has been carried out by Boultbee Brooks Real Estate. The construction work has taken more than two years, and Graham Construction has been able to deliver 93,145 sq. ft. of Grade A office space. The office space has been increased by removing the central core of the T-shaped building in order to create larger and more open floorplans. The changes to the building has created 23,000 sq. ft. of additional space. New lifts and stairs and other facilities have been added to the rear section of the building and there has also been work to make the building more energy efficient throughout. While Graham Construction were working to remove the central core, 70 tonnes of steel props were needed to support the buildings structure. This difficult task was vital in order to create more open and flexible work spaces. The building has already been partially let to Pharma Cosmos, Work.Life and Hervajec Group. The building has been transformed in to a modern space that could be used by a variety of different occupiers. The building was designed to include large single pane windows, open services and a column free internal space which adds to the appeal of the new space. It is thought that 25% of the space was let before the building was completed, and a further 45% is currently under offer. The demand for the new space is a testament to the work that has been carried out on The White Building. The seven storey office building is located at 33 Kings Road, Reading and is near to the Oracle Shopping Centre and the train station.
Wates Group is one of the UK’s largest privately-owned construction, development and property services companies. The company has confirmed that they will deploy defibrillators throughout their organisation. Wates Group’s Headquarters is located in Leatherhead, Surrey and the Group will be partnering with Cardiac Science, the leading manufacturers, in order to offer the Powerheart® G5 automated external defibrillators throughout Wates’ business. The defibrillators will help both experienced and first time rescuers act in a quick and confident manner if there is ever an emergency involving a sudden cardiac arrest. Cardiac Science is a company that develops, manufactures then markets Automated External Defibrillators and also provides a portfolio for training maintenance and support services for their equipment. The Wates Group employs more than 4,000 people and works with another 10,000 supply chain operatives and partners while they deliver their projects around the UK. Wates’ agreement with Cardiac Science will mean that the G5 defibrillators will be made available to all Wates Group employees throughout its business. The equipment will be purchased for long term projects and will be supplied via a weekly hire for shorter term projects. The construction group will also be able to take advantage of the unique online learning modules provided by Cardiac Science which are called CardiAcademy. This resource is well equipped to help the employees of Wates Group increase their knowledge around Sudden Cardiac Arrests and will also teach them how to use the G5 AED. The Wates Group partnership with Cardiac Science is a continuation to the company’s commitment to health and wellbeing, as well as the Groups Zero Harm strategy which will ask for all its employees to take responsibility for their own and their colleagues’ safety. Wates chose the Cardiac Science equipment because of its innovative features that includes a self-checking regime that makes sure that each AED will be able to perform as expected in an emergency.
The Arora Group and Whitbread has announced that they have completed a new Premier Inn hotel that is directly connected to London Heathrow’s Terminal 4. Grove developments, the construction division of the company was commissioned for the new hotel, which has been built especially for Premier Inn. Premier Inn took legal possession of the new development this month and it is hoped that the hotel will be open to guests in May. Terminal 4 is the sixth project The Arora Group has undertaken with Premier Inn over the course of the last six years. This means that The Arora Group is making an important contribution to the UK expansion of Premier Inn. This project also allowed The Arora Group to improve their expertise in airports and their end-to-end development capabilities. Premier Inn is planning to expand so that they can offer 85,000 bedrooms by 2020. At the minute, the hotel chain has around 68,000 bedrooms operating on more than 750 sites. The Arora Group was commissioned by Whitbread to deliver Premier Inn’s new London Hotel. This continues the companies’ previous working relationship which has seen new hotels opened at key locations for transport hubs around the UK. Some of these locations include Aberdeen Airport, London Stanstead, London Holborn and London Gatwick’s North Terminal. The hotel located near London Gatwick is currently the largest Premier Inn in the UK, with more than 700 bedrooms. The new Heathrow hotel includes 613 bedrooms and is linked to Terminal 4 through a short covered walkway. The hotel has rooms that meet the new Premier Inn ID4 specification, and also includes 322 cover restaurant that has been branded ‘Thyme’. The restaurant will serve meals throughout the day including the popular and award-winning Premier Inn breakfast. The hotel also benefits from the free Heathrow Connect train as well as the Heathrow Express.