An unregistered gas fitter and his brother illegally installed a gas boiler and left it in a dangerous condition. Lee Butterworth, 43, who trades as English Riviera Building Company Ltd, contracted his brother Scott Butterworth, aged 41, to carry out the work at a house at Crabtree Close, Plymouth. The pair were prosecuted at Torquay Magistrates on Friday 21 August 2015 following an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). The court heard that Lee Butterworth was carrying out extensive works on the house which included installing a new gas boiler. Lee Butterworth arranged for his brother, Scott Butterworth, to install the gas boiler and gas pipework despite him not being a member of Gas Safe Register. After Scott Butterworth had fitted the gas boiler the homeowner then had a properly registered member of Gas Safe Register at his home to fit a gas cooker. That gas engineer found a gas leak on the gas pipework that Scott Butterworth had installed and classed what he found as ‘Immediately Dangerous’ as there was a real risk of a gas explosion. Lee Butterworth, of Oxley Close, Torquay, pleaded guilty to a single breach of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998. He was sentenced to 10 weeks imprisonment, suspended for 2 years and also ordered to undertake 150 hours unpaid community work and ordered to pay costs of £496.60. Scott Butterworth of Marine Drive, Paignton, pleaded guilty to two breaches of Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998. He was sentenced to 10 weeks imprisonment, suspended for 2 years for each offence, to run concurrently, and also ordered to undertake 150 hours unpaid community work and ordered to pay costs of £496.60. HSE Inspector Simon Jones, speaking after the hearing, said: “Scott Butterworth was not competent or registered to work on gas appliances and this was clearly shown when his work left a gas installation which had a gas leak. It is extremely fortunate that there was not a gas explosion as a result of Scott Butterworth’s work. ‘Lee Butterworth was in charge of this work and he should have ensured that anyone undertaking gaswork on his job was properly registered with Gas Safe Register. A simple check on the Gas Safe Register website would have alerted him to the fact that his brother was not registered to do gaswork but Lee Butterworth did not do this simple check but allowed his brother to undertake illegal gaswork. “The poor standard of work in this case could have had tragic consequences for the homeowners.”

A construction company has been fined for safety failings which led to a two-year-old boy wandering onto a building site. 360 Property Limited were the principal contractor for a new build housing development at Oak Road, Blaina. An improvement notice was served on the site after site security issues were not addressed, despite a previous visit from a HSE inspector who highlighted concerns. Newport Magistrates’ Court heard on 20 August how, between 22 January 2015 and 10 June 2015, the construction site was inadequately secured. On 21 May 2015, a two year old child had gained access to the site and was riding his bike when he fell into a drain, the cover of which had been removed. Fortunately, the child was shaken but not injured. 360 Property Limited was fined a total of £10,000, and ordered to pay £6,668.15 in costs after pleading guilty to two offences under Section 27(2) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 and Section 18(2) of the Construction (Design & Management) Regulations 2015, effectively one offence split by the change in regulations. HSE Inspector David Kirkpatrick said: “It is absolutely imperative that construction companies adequately secure their construction sites to prevent unauthorised access. Construction sites can contain hazards that children and vulnerable people may not fully appreciate.”

National Grid’s property business is pleased to announce that it has awarded a three year contract to BNP Paribas Real Estate, to provide property management, real estate and facilities management for its commercial property portfolio. Richard Alden, Head of Commercial Property at National Grid said, “BNP Paribas Real Estate demonstrated its ability to reduce risk across a property portfolio, whilst maximising value and driving efficiency. “BNP Paribas Real Estate will start full delivery of services from 1 April 2016 and will start transition work from the existing provider, in early September.” Paul Abrey, Head of Property Management at BNP PRE says: ‘We are delighted to partner with such a prestigious client as National Grid across their portfolio in what is a very significant contract for us. The appointment validates our business model and demonstrates our ability to provide major cross business line services on a national scale, as well as showing confidence in our account management approach – something that we have recently invested significantly in to reinforce our long term commitment to our most important clients.’ BNP PRE has strategically partnered with Mitie to provide some of the direct Facilities Management services of the contract such as security and landscaping. The three year contract starts in April 2016 and also includes an option to extend the contract for a further two years.

Facilities maintenance and services provider MJ Ferguson has been selected to provide mechanical and electrical, planned and reactive maintenance services for three academies within the Ark Schools Framework. MJ Ferguson will be providing mechanical and electrical (M&E) maintenance services including a biomass boiler, access control, fire, security, lighting and catering equipment maintenance. It will also deliver M&E services to another independent school, which shares some of its services with its neighbouring Ark academy. MJ Ferguson was selected because it has “considerable experience in the education sector and will be working in partnership with Ark to create Innovative Learning Spaces (ILS) for productive and inspirational learning environments for students”. MJ Ferguson will be providing framework support, initially for three years, for Ark Boulton and Ark Chamberlain – both in Birmingham – as well as for Ark All Saints Academy in London. It will also provide services for Highshore School, which is not part of the Ark organisation but shares the heating services with Ark All Saints Academy. – See more at: http://www.fm-world.co.uk/news/business-news/ferguson-on-board-to-maintain-three-ark-schools/#sthash.GZd6ZJaQ.dpuf

Facilities management service provider Servest has acquired the energy efficiency business Llewellyn Smith to expand its energy management provision.   Llewellyn Smith provides compliance and consultancy services in both the commercial and domestic markets, including the big six utility companies, and energy efficiency installers within the Energy Companies Obligation (ECO) initiative.   Llewellyn Smith is also a lead assessor for the Environment Agency sponsored Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS), which will assist companies with greater than 250 employees and/or a turnover in excess of £38 million to achieve mandatory energy audit requirements.   Servest has identified the Bury St Edmunds-based energy company as being a good strategic fit for its expansion of the business in the high-growth energy management sector.   Rob Legge, group chief executive officer, UK and Europe at Servest, said: “Servest is already helping clients to save up to 30 per cent on their annual energy bill. The acquisition of Llewellyn Smith enables us to offer additional energy services and expertise to clients. This will ultimately help clients to further reduce their carbon footprint, save money and improve their sustainable and environmental credentials.”    Llewellyn Smith aims to improve the energy efficiency of domestic and commercial properties and help to reduce the effects of climate change. The company was founded in 2002. In 13 years of trading, Llewellyn Smith has never lost a customer and has retained all existing contracts.   David Llewellyn, group chief executive of Llewellyn Smith, and the senior management team, will remain in place to drive the strategy and growth of Servest’s energy management division. Llewellyn said: “There are real cultural similarities between both businesses. We both value respect and honesty and are committed to the highest levels of service for our customers.”   Servest and Llewellyn Smith have been working together on a number of ventures over the past six months.

Cofely has been awarded a total facilities and property management contract by the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in south-west London. Encompassing about 80 corporate (non-housing) properties, the contract is initially for seven years with the option to extend it to a further three years. It is expected to deliver £20 million of direct savings over the life of the contract. In addition, a framework agreement will be established alongside the main contract for similar services to be accessed by schools in the borough at preferential rates. The deal will see integration of property maintenance, facilities and energy management and procurement to drive down costs, improve performance and service delivery, while reducing energy use and carbon emissions. In parallel, there will be “a transformation of the council’s corporate property to release significant value and generate new income streams through commercialising the estate and assets”. A key element of the new partnership between Cofely and Kingston is a commitment to social values to generate significant benefits for the local community. These include creation of local apprenticeships and employment of local people, with guaranteed training for all staff, as well as the development of supply relationships with local businesses. Cofely staff will also engage with local community volunteer programmes and provide work experience opportunities for schools that source services through the framework agreement. Councillor David Cunningham, of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, said: “We were seeking a partner that is able to work with us strategically in identifying opportunities to create additional value from our property portfolio while also delivering significant cost savings.” Cofely CEO Wilfrid Petrie added: “Through our experience of working with other local authorities we are ideally positioned to bring significant benefits to the Royal Borough of Kingston and its residents.” – See more at: http://www.fm-world.co.uk/news/business-news/cofely-wins-40m-tfm-deal-with-kingston-council/#sthash.Vbcwc9Rn.dpuf

Support service provider Carillion has appointed Adrian Connor to the newly created role of operations director of infrastructure services.

Costain has announced the acquisition of Rhead Group, a professional services consultancy for a total cash consideration of £36 million.