NATIONAL framework provider Pagabo has announced that developers are now able to download the tender documentation for the organisation’s brand-new £47bn developer-led framework. The framework will run for four years, with the option to extend to a further 16 months to April 2026, and will be open to all public
Winvic Construction Ltd, a leading main contractor that specialises in the design and delivery of multi-sector construction and civil engineering projects, has been appointed by IM Properties to construct Mercia Park. The 238-acre employment park is located in north west Leicestershire, adjacent to junction 11 of the M42, and will
Caddick Construction has won a contract to help Leeds United Football Club expand its coach park and upgrade its broadcasting facilities as they prepare for their first premiership season in the top flight. The Knottingley-based company will start work next month to create a new £1.3m coach park on the
Yourkeys and ContactBuilder have announced an alliance which enables housebuilders to put their lead management and sales progression ‘on autopilot’. Yourkeys is the first platform to fully digitise the new homes sales process, from onboarding and reservation through to exchange and completion. It recently introduced a function which allows sales
Hospitality design expert Dexter Moren Associates (DMA) has announced the completion of the new Hampton by Hilton on the Uxbridge Road in Ealing, close to the planned Crossrail station. Designed by DMA with a sympathetic exterior of soft autumn shades, the new hotel replaces two tired 1960s office buildings and
A 29-acre site is the latest industrial/warehouse scheme brought forward by the developer as it continues to expand its development pipeline St Francis Group, a leading UK-based property development and investment group and an expert in brownfield development and regeneration has announced that it has assembled a site of 29
BPH Plant Hire, an independently-owned plant hire company based in the South East, has launched a new website to coincide with the recent rebrand, following a commitment to increased investment in the company’s digital presence. The new website highlights for the first time the extensive fleet available to hire. Convenient
Chancerygate has achieved practical completion for its 94,000 sq ft Furlong Business Park scheme in Bishops Cleeve near Cheltenham, with almost a third of the development’s available units already sold. Furlong Business Park is a £10.2m development providing a total of 11 high-quality industrial and warehousing units ranging from 3,988 sq ft
IM Properties has teamed up with an award-winning, global tech firm to create a regional testbed for a new energy-saving streetlight system at Blythe Valley Park (BVP) in Solihull. Designed to reduce the use of electricity by up to 62.5%, the innovative smart system has been designed by Enzen, an
A draft recovery plan for the construction sector in Scotland has been launched today by the Scottish Construction Leadership Forum (CLF). The plan, which has been created collaboratively with industry, sets out the pathway for joint action between industry and the public sector in response to the impact caused by
NATIONAL framework provider Pagabo has announced that developers are now able to download the tender documentation for the organisation’s brand-new £47bn developer-led framework. The framework will run for four years, with the option to extend to a further 16 months to April 2026, and will be open to all public sector bodies including schools, universities, local authorities, police and emergency services, NHS organisations, health and social care providers, housing associations and central government departments. Jason Stapley, managing director at Pagabo, said: “We are really pleased to be bringing the first developer-led framework to the market at this time to help public sector bodies procure work with developers that is critical to building a better future. “It’s of course been a worrying time for the sector with construction output dropping, but despite the exceptional circumstances we have seen a tremendous amount of access agreements coming through from clients wanting to access our existing frameworks.” The framework features three lots: Property Development via Joint Venture (JV) and Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), Long Income Lease and Lease Back, and Property Development Single Site by Development Agreement. These three lots will cover a huge variety of works including, but not limited to, social housing, commercial buildings, student accommodation, health, education and mixed-use schemes. Jason added: “In everything we do, we consider how it will create positive change for the industry as a whole. We are listening to clients and understanding which projects our public sector clients are looking to procure and when. We are sharing that information with our partners, where and when we can – to instil confidence and help them plan for the COVID recovery phase and beyond.” For more information about Pagabo’s new public-led framework or to download the tender documentation, visit https://www.pagabo.co.uk/news/find-out-more-about-our-new-l47bn-developer-led-framework.
Winvic Construction Ltd, a leading main contractor that specialises in the design and delivery of multi-sector construction and civil engineering projects, has been appointed by IM Properties to construct Mercia Park. The 238-acre employment park is located in north west Leicestershire, adjacent to junction 11 of the M42, and will be home to leading international businesses Jaguar Land Rover and DSV Group. Winvic’s £21 million civils and infrastructure contract comprises an extensive earthworks programme, where over 1 million m3 of material will be excavated and remodelled to accommodate the development plateaux and 3000m of screening bunds. The earthworks have been designed to transport as little excavated earth from the site to reduce HGV traffic in the local community and highways network. Currently, a Volvo EC950 Crawler Excavator is being utilised on site to carry out a large proportion of the vast earth moving task; it is the very first of its kind and the largest crawler excavator to be used in the UK. The 90-tonne machine is capable of excavating 7m3 of material – and lift up to 39,900kg – in each bucketload, facilitating fast and efficient movement of earth. Additionally, 7,500m of underground drainage will be installed also by Winvic, three areas of highway improvements and footpaths throughout the park will be constructed and extensive landscaping works – including up to 30 acres of new woodland – will be undertaken. The civils and infrastructure works began on 2 June and are due be complete in December 2021. Rob Cook, Winvic’s Director of Civils and Infrastructure, commented: “Having completed some vast earthworks programmes in the last few years, Winvic’s reputation in this area is becoming ever more robust. Our clients understand that we deliver schemes of any scale in a safe, expeditious and commercially viable way. Having worked with IM Properties on many other projects, it’s rewarding to know their team have confidence in everything we deliver; utilising the specialist trimble based machines and remodelling the plateaux intelligently to avoid disposing of excesses of material off-site illustrates our strategic outlook to design, regardless of the sector or size.” Jason Jasper UK Project Director, from IM Properties, added: “When developing a scheme of this scale, it’s important to partner with trusted suppliers who not only have the resources and skills to deliver the project, but share in our commitment to create a best in class scheme, working with the local community and creating a positive lasting legacy we can all be proud of.” For more information on Winvic, the company’s latest project news and job vacancies please visit www.winvic.co.uk. Join Winvic on social media – visit Twitter @WinvicLtd – and LinkedIn.
Caddick Construction has won a contract to help Leeds United Football Club expand its coach park and upgrade its broadcasting facilities as they prepare for their first premiership season in the top flight. The Knottingley-based company will start work next month to create a new £1.3m coach park on the Fullerton Park and West Stand car park, a Sky Compound and a pedestrian walkway for fans to make their way safely to the Elland Road stadium. The improvements are expected to be completed in December this year and will help the Club manage the anticipated increase in away coaches for the Premiership fixtures, when spectators are once again allowed in to watch live matches. This isn’t the first time Caddick Construction has worked for Leeds United. Over the years Caddick has been involved in various projects with Leeds United including the design and construction of its 27,000 sq. ft. 1200-seat banquet, conferencing and exhibition facility. Caddick also refurbished the Elland Road East Stand which included new hospitality areas and kitchens, improvements to terrace seating and the construction of 28 new executive boxes. The company also built the club’s training facility at Thorp Arch, north of Leeds. “The new coach park, pedestrian walkway and broadcasting compound will help ensure that Elland Road will be worthy of its Premiership status,” said Caddick Senior Contracts Manager Chris Allott “It’s great that we are once again working with the Club to improve the ground’s facilities and make sure it is fit for purpose to welcome back fans when the time is right.” Mark Broadley, Head of IT and Facilities at LUFC added: “We are delighted to be working with Caddick Construction again, and we are looking forward to seeing the upgraded ground facilities completed and in use for our first Premiership season for 16 years.”
Yourkeys and ContactBuilder have announced an alliance which enables housebuilders to put their lead management and sales progression ‘on autopilot’. Yourkeys is the first platform to fully digitise the new homes sales process, from onboarding and reservation through to exchange and completion. It recently introduced a function which allows sales proceed without the customer being present in response to the COVID-19 crisis. ContactBuilder is the gold-standard customer relationship management (CRM) package specifically designed for housebuilders. The alliance means that housebuilders will be able to take reservations using the Yourkeys platform from inside ContactBuilder’s CRM system. This will help them to retain house buyers, reduce the time to exchange contracts by around half, and save many hours currently spent by sales staff on progression. Yourkeys CEO Riccardo Iannucci-Dawson said: “This marks a significant moment for Yourkeys. ContactBuilder is one of the leading CRM suppliers to housebuilders and, by integrating our platform, we have immediately made it accessible to ContactBuilder’s sizeable client base. “Many of our clients have adopted ContactBuilder’s CRM ahead of the launch of our collaboration, so together we have created a ready-made audience who will immediately benefit from the two systems working together. “Managing leads and progressing sales are functions which have caused many a headache for housebuilders. Now they can switch both functions to autopilot and focus their efforts on selling more homes, supporting the wider economic recovery.” Yourkeys will automatically create documents to manage ID checks, deposit payments and mortgage updates. This information is securely held in a document store within ContactBuilder. Yourkeys will then link to one of 1,100 law firms and 1,400 mortgage brokers to progress the sale, with real-time updates visible to all parties. Danielle Mitton, operations director of ContactBuilder, said: “ContactBuilder’s fundamental strength is its ability to streamline a housebuilder’s sales process by collating leads from multiple sources and empowering users to efficiently manage the sales process through to reservation. Our alliance with Yourkeys provides the next logical step and allows the sale to be managed right through to completion.” Yourkeys launched in January and already has 46 clients, as housebuilders increasingly seek to digitise their entire sales process. June had been a record month for new home sales activity through the platform. The numbers were six times higher than April and showed a 50 per cent increase since May, demonstrating pent-up demand. July’s figures were higher again. With the government announcement about the Stamp Duty holiday, this is set to increase transactions significantly. ContactBuilder was established in 2008 and currently provides a CRM platform for over 50 of the UK’s most forward-thinking housebuilders, ranging from small, local developers through to top 10 PLCs. Throughout the recent lockdown period, interest in ContactBuilder has increased dramatically due to it being the perfect solution for home-workers, with access to the system available from any internet-connected PC, tablet or smartphone. For more information or for a free demonstration, go to Yourkeys.com. To find out more about ContactBuilder’s lead-management platform and to arrange a free demonstration, see Contact-Builder.co.uk.
Hospitality design expert Dexter Moren Associates (DMA) has announced the completion of the new Hampton by Hilton on the Uxbridge Road in Ealing, close to the planned Crossrail station. Designed by DMA with a sympathetic exterior of soft autumn shades, the new hotel replaces two tired 1960s office buildings and features 181 guest rooms, as well as bar and restaurant fronting onto a generous boulevard-style public realm. Mark Wood, Partner at DMA, says: “This project continues DMA’s experience in delivering the Hilton Hampton brand, following the successful completion and opening of our 297-bed Hampton by Hilton London Waterloo. This latest development, located bordering a leafy conservation area along the bustling Uxbridge Road, will help reinvigorate the area with a high-quality, elegant design and engaging streetscape.” The nine-storey hotel is unified using a reconstituted stone frame incorporating an infill of three colours of zinc “fish tail” shingles. The combination of colours creates a subtle gradation of autumnal shades, similar in colour and tone to London stock bricks, and references the green open spaces of Ealing and the immediate context. The buildings are stepped back from one another to open out the landscaped area at the front and provide increased visual interest. To the rear, DMA’s attentive design has reduced the massing and impact on properties to the south by stepping the building back four times, whilst flat roofs will feature sedum planting to promote increased biodiversity. As a car-free development, the old, uninviting hard standing previously used for car-parking space has been transformed into a new high-quality boulevard, with refined paving and additional trees. The restaurant will face on to this generous landscaped public realm with an outdoor seating area, enriching the atmosphere and activity along the high street. DMA worked on a unified design for the two original plots, 109 and 111 Uxbridge Road, which were purchased separately and subject to two separate planning submissions, granted in 2014 and 2015. Work started on site in May 2018, with DMA working closely with main contractor MB McNamara Construction on the delivery of the project – this proved particularly important towards the latter stages of the project due to COVID-19-imposed site restrictions. Project Team Client: Chart Forte Court (UK) Ltd Project Manager: Virtus Project Management Main Contractor: M.B. McNamara Construction Architect: Dexter Moren MEP Consultant: Ferguson Brown Sustainable Engineering Ltd Structural Engineer: Barratt Mahony Consulting Engineers Planning Consultant: Smith Jenkins
A 29-acre site is the latest industrial/warehouse scheme brought forward by the developer as it continues to expand its development pipeline St Francis Group, a leading UK-based property development and investment group and an expert in brownfield development and regeneration has announced that it has assembled a site of 29 acres in Kings Norton, Birmingham for the development of new industrial warehouse space. Announcing the purchase of the Pilkington Automotive and GKN Aerospace sites, the speculative development of a 400,000 sq. ft multi-unit scheme will be funded by the Richardson family making this the third collaboration between the two parties following the successful development and sale of Velocity42 in Redditch and Cransley Park in Kettering. A detailed planning application will be submitted later this year with work on site scheduled to begin once the existing occupiers vacate next year. The new proposals could create around 900 new jobs. Speaking about the announcement Gareth Williams, Director at St Francis Group said “We are delighted to have secured these strategic sites and to be able to promote a scheme in the heart of the greater Birmingham conurbation. We have seen a huge growth in the mid box industrial warehouse market, and we will be aiming to meet that demand with 8 new energy efficient units ranging from 25,000 sq. ft to 70,000 sq. ft” “We recognise the value in higher performing sustainable assets and so we are looking to develop units using construction standards that exceed occupier expectations throughout their life cycle.” New units will be ready for occupation by the end of 2022. Marketing for pre-let deals will begin immediately. Savills and JLL have been retained as sole letting agents on the scheme.
BPH Plant Hire, an independently-owned plant hire company based in the South East, has launched a new website to coincide with the recent rebrand, following a commitment to increased investment in the company’s digital presence. The new website highlights for the first time the extensive fleet available to hire. Convenient features of the site include the category pages, which have been designed so that users can easily find their desired model by filtering specifications such as tonnage, and whether the equipment is cabbed or wheeled. Users can also compare models from specification tables that show side by side comparisons of each vehicle available. Enquiries about specific models can now be made directly from the results page with ‘get a quote’ forms that autofill the vehicle model, saving time and extra clicks. Commenting on the new site, Managing Director at BPH, Simon Bastable says: “The new website is another step in our mission to continually improve the experience of hiring plant machinery. “We’ve worked hard to ensure that technical specifications are digested into the key pieces of information our customers care about and our product descriptions benefit from our expertise, like where we outline the most suitable applications of each vehicle and attachment. “Early feedback has been really positive and we look forward to continued growth and investment in our digital presence.” BPH Plant hire boasts immediate availability on the hire of excavators, dumpers, dozers. As an arm of BPH UK, which specialises in hydraulic attachments, when you enquire through BPH Plant Hire, you can also arrange any plant hire attachments needed. Visit the new website here: https://bphplanthire.com/
Chancerygate has achieved practical completion for its 94,000 sq ft Furlong Business Park scheme in Bishops Cleeve near Cheltenham, with almost a third of the development’s available units already sold. Furlong Business Park is a £10.2m development providing a total of 11 high-quality industrial and warehousing units ranging from 3,988 sq ft to 25,714 sq ft. Units are available on both a freehold and leasehold basis. Having pre-sold a 3,075 sq ft unit to Chipping Norton-based printing company KopyRite Printers last November, Chancerygate pre-sold a further 4,590 sq ft unit before the scheme’s completion, which was purchased by building specialists, D&G Contracting. A further unit totalling 4,865 sq ft was bought by creative agency Still Moving Media within days of the development’s completion, while a 3,988 sq ft unit is currently under offer. Situated within Cleeve Business Park on the outskirts of Cheltenham, Furlong Business Park is approximately one mile north of Cheltenham racecourse and four miles from Junction 10 of the M5. Nearby occupiers on Cleeve Business Park include GE Aviation, Zurich Insurance and Capita Life & Pensions. Chancerygate is also in the process of developing a second industrial scheme in Cheltenham, which is expected to be available for occupation next autumn. Called Festival Trade Park, the development will offer 14 trade counter, industrial and warehousing units ranging from 3,487 to 34,981 sq ft and is part of a joint venture with international real estate firm Hines. Commenting on the site’s practical completion, Chancerygate development director George Dickens, said: “We’re very pleased to have achieved practical completion at Furlong Business Park with a third of the scheme’s units now sold and the remaining seven units attracting plenty of interest. “Prior to our two active sites in Cheltenham, there had not been a speculative development in the area for more than a decade. Our recent investment in the region shows our commitment to giving prospective occupiers high-quality industrial space to grow their businesses in Gloucestershire.” BNP Paribas Real Estates and Colliers International are joint sales agents for Furlong Business Park.
IM Properties has teamed up with an award-winning, global tech firm to create a regional testbed for a new energy-saving streetlight system at Blythe Valley Park (BVP) in Solihull. Designed to reduce the use of electricity by up to 62.5%, the innovative smart system has been designed by Enzen, an occupier at BVP and winner of ‘Business of the Year’ at the Birmingham Signature Awards 2020 for its excellence and innovation in utilities. The new system uses sensors to control the streetlights and dim them when the roads are not in use. It incorporates wireless communication and an inbuilt app within the 63 smart LED streetlights to identify maintenance and repairs required to ensure optimum performance. It can also add a renewable energy source such as solar panels or smart battery power at a later date to drive further energy efficiencies. IM Properties invested in the £90,000 technology during the lockdown and reports that if successful, the system could not only be rolled out across its own portfolio but provide Enzen with a living lab to showcase the solution to other organisations, within the private and public sector, achieve their sustainability goals. Rob Hemus, asset director at IM Properties said they were pleased to be utilising the skills of one of BVP’s occupiers to create a more sustainable lighting system for the park and create real savings for occupiers. “Despite lockdown, we decided to proceed with the project as there are wider environmental and sustainability gains for the Park and it was a chance to carry out a major infrastructure project without disruption to our occupiers. The new system should begin to deliver savings on the electricity used by the streetlighting immediately. “Since we bought Blythe Valley Park in 2014 we have invested steadily in the on-site infrastructure and this latest initiative is part of our ongoing strategy to add value for occupiers and create a high-quality working environment and sustainable best in class scheme for people to live, work and relax.” For Enzen, BVP provides an exciting new opportunity to collect live data and demonstrate the benefits of technology to new and existing customers. Harsha Anand from Enzen added: “Cities and communities will play a major role in making energy to be more available, affordable and sustainable. Smart technology and smart telecommunications will be enablers in this energy transition journey. We are very happy to be supported by IM Properties in making our base at Blythe Valley Park (BVP) in Solihull into a Living Lab Showcase for these Smart Technologies.” BVP near junction 4, M42, is one of the Midlands first truly mixed-use schemes set amidst 122 acres of parkland, with 25 businesses employing 3500 people and combining commercial, industrial, leisure and residential.
A draft recovery plan for the construction sector in Scotland has been launched today by the Scottish Construction Leadership Forum (CLF). The plan, which has been created collaboratively with industry, sets out the pathway for joint action between industry and the public sector in response to the impact caused by the global pandemic on the on the construction sector. The construction industry in Scotland has, like many others, been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic. The sector in Scotland which provided £7.8 billion GVA to the Scottish economy and employs 143,000 people in over 50,000 enterprises, is estimated to have contracted by 28.6 per cent in June as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic compared to the same month a year ago (June 2019). The recovery plan has been created through extensive consultation and collaboration with more than 50 organisations across business, Scottish Government, trades unions and other bodies, including the Construction Industry Coronavirus (CICV) Forum, and represents a shared view from across the sector of a plan to get industry back on its feet. The plan outlines the immediate and short-term response to Covid-19 and sets out a pathway between this and the longer-term transformation required to build a stronger, fairer and greener economic future for Scotland. Peter Reekie, chief executive of the Scottish Futures Trust and chair of the editorial group of the Construction Leadership Forum, said: “The construction industry in Scotland has received a major blow from the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the level of collaboration which has gone in to preparing this Recovery Plan is unprecedented and sets a strong foundation for transformative recovery for the industry. I urge all stakeholders with an interest in the construction and related industries in Scotland to feed in your thoughts to make it even stronger.” Ken Gillespie, chair of the Industry Leadership Group, said: “This plan has only been possible through the depth of collaboration across the sector, and hard work of all involved, and demonstrates the sector’s ability to come together in a time of crisis. This is only the beginning though. The plan will evolve and respond to reflect the feedback and the needs of the sector. We are therefore calling for industry to review and contribute to the plan.” The plan identifies five areas for concerted and collaborative efforts over the coming months and has established Sub-Groups to develop and progress joint action plans: Pipeline & Commercials Skills & Workforce Transformation Supply Chain Resilience & Capability Industry Data & Insight The plan calls for key actions to respond to immediate needs which include: A clear pipeline of work brought to market quickly and efficiently on fair commercial terms which reflect the reality of the Covid-19 environment. Support of employment, fairness of work and those who may become unemployed through what will be a difficult period. Transformation of working practices to maintain and enhance worker safety whilst enabling productivity in the Covid-19 working environment. Housing Minister Kevin Stewart said: “The construction sector supports many other areas of our economy so it is important that we maintain the health and vitality of the industry. In order to develop this plan, we have reached new heights of collaboration but we are now keen to hear from the wider industry to ensure that we arrive at a plan that will preserve jobs and help to revive our economy.” The Scottish Construction Leadership Forum (CLF), which has led the development of the plan, is a collaborative initiative of Construction Scotland and the Scottish Government. It was established in March 2019. Chaired by Housing Minister Kevin Stewart for the duration of the crisis, it widened its membership in response to Covid-19 and has already developed and implemented plans to get the industry safely back to work to develop and implement an action plan of improvement initiatives aligned with Government policies and the Construction Scotland Industry Strategy. Several streams of work are ongoing and prior to Covid-19, the Forum was at the early stages of considering a wider agenda for change across the industry. The CLF shared vision is of an industry that promotes a safe, productive, profitable, digitally-enabled, low-carbon, and socially responsible construction industry which offers quality jobs and fair work to a highly skilled and diverse workforce and a quality and life-time value product to its customers. The recovery plan is available to view on https://www.constructionforum.scot/. Industry is invited to send feedback, comments and questions via the website on enquiries@constructionforum.scot by 15 September. CLF will take all feedback on board to help develop the plan further, with regular updates published on the CLF site.