Kite Packaging has taken just a week to devise, design and supply a new protective face visor for the NHS – with 10,000 units dispatched within seven days. They used their team of 12 engineers to design concepts for the visor and a prototype was tested locally by medics last
Gazeley, a leading investor and developer of logistics warehouses and distribution parks, is expanding Magna Park Lutterworth, Europe’s largest dedicated logistics and distribution park, from its current 9 million SQ FT of floor space to 16 million SQ FT in the coming years. Development has begun on three speculative logistics
GLP, a leading global investment manager and business builder in logistics, real estate, infrastructure, finance and related technologies, today announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Goodman Group’s Central and Eastern Europe logistics real estate portfolio, subject to regulatory approvals. GLP entered the European market in December
Poly UK has appointed Bennett Construction as the main contractor for a development project in Mill Hill, London. The £380m Plaza Collection scheme will deliver 257 homes. The company has also secured planning permission for an additional 82 homes. Plaza Collection will mark Poly’s entrance into the UK market, after
VINCI Facilities, a major provider of FM to the NHS, has announced it is diverting volunteers from its mobile repair teams (MRTs) to support existing facilities management services across several hospitals in the North West, Midlands and South East. As well as supporting with the ongoing repair and maintenance of
Design & Build Developer, Northern Developments (Cumbria) Limited, based in Carlisle, have been announced as a finalist in the National Building & Construction Awards 2020. They have been shortlisted in the £10M-£25M Category for the M-Sport Evaluation Centre (MEC) project at Dovenby near Cockermouth for M-Sport Limited. Northern Developments’ projects
The Hillhead trade fair for quarrying and construction machinery has been postponed by a year due to the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak. With Hillhead taking place in 2021 instead of 2020, the organisers of the PlantWorx trade show have agreed to move their event forward by a year also,
New industry research suggests half a million people could be living in unsafe buildings With government support limited to one specific type of cladding, these residents could be left with excessive bills to make their homes safe Resident groups form an unprecedented coalition with managing agents and building owners to
For the most part, there are two reasons for travelling from one place to another. The first is pleasure: we want to see the world, sample new tastes and sensations, and take a break from working life. The second reason is business. In today’s interconnected world, businesses which operate internationally
Mott MacDonald Ventures, the investment arm of global management, engineering and development consultancy Mott MacDonald, has announced a new strategic partnership with 3D Repo, pioneers of cloud-based design collaboration for building information modelling (BIM). The partnership follows a recent £2.3m A-series investment round in 3D Repo led by The Ingenious
Kite Packaging has taken just a week to devise, design and supply a new protective face visor for the NHS – with 10,000 units dispatched within seven days. They used their team of 12 engineers to design concepts for the visor and a prototype was tested locally by medics last weekend to allow production to start as soon as possible. An initial batch will reach front line medical staff in the next few days and Kite is confident that they can produce 100,000 of the masks a week and will be able to supply them directly to help speed up supply to staff working for health trusts and organisations across the region and the UK. Gavin Ashe, Managing Partner of Kite, said: “Like many companies we wanted to help and realised that we had the capabilities in-house to design a face visor which would fit the requirements of the medics and workers who are on the front line of the fight against Coronavirus. “Once our engineers had finalised the concept and we spoke to a range of companies in the industry, they have all responded magnificently. “All of them realised the urgency of the requirement for protective ware and that we had the skills to turn around a product quickly. “One of the suppliers is Staeger in Coventry while two of the others are based in the wider region. I know there is really good work going on across this area and that the tradition of design and engineering, which is so embedded in regional industry, is well suited to undertaking this sort of work.” The visors are being supplied in kit form for the medical staff to put them together at the point of use which minimises packaging and speeds up distribution. The visors feature a foam forehead pad which allows them to fit all head sizes, and they allow for a medical mask to be worn underneath. They have so far been ordered by the George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust, University Hospitals Coventry & Warwickshire NHS Trust, Shropshire Healthcare Procurement Service (SHPS), Alliance Boots, Warwick Hospital (South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust), Guys and St. Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, North East London NHS Foundation Trust, and Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust. Kite has previously worked with the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership (CWLEP) Growth Hub, and its Managing Director Craig Humphrey, said the speed of response underlined the engineering and manufacturing expertise of the area. He said: “Kite and their suppliers have been superb in their desire to help, the speed of their response, technical expertise and also their level of co-operation. There are companies across our area responding in similar way and they all deserve massive credit.”
Gazeley, a leading investor and developer of logistics warehouses and distribution parks, is expanding Magna Park Lutterworth, Europe’s largest dedicated logistics and distribution park, from its current 9 million SQ FT of floor space to 16 million SQ FT in the coming years. Development has begun on three speculative logistics and distribution units totalling 525,400 SQ FT and the units of 300,300 SQ FT, 126,300 SQ FT and 98,800 SQ FT will be available for occupancy in Autumn 2020. Gazeley is also preparing to construct a further unit of 746,500 SQ FT, subject to planning permission. In total Magna Park South, Lutterworth can accommodate 2.8 million SQ FT with build-to-suit options available in a range of sizes. In addition, a further extension to the Northern side of the park is also being developed on 225 acres of land, which will offer build-to-suit development options in a range of sizes with units from 100,000 SQ FT up to 1,000,000 SQ FT in a single unit, and overall up to 3.3 million SQ FT across the Northern side of the park. As a result, Magna Park Lutterworth will increase in size from its current 9 million SQ FT of floor space to a total of nearly 16 million SQ FT in the coming years. Both extensions to the park have been designed to include a range of leading sustainability features, including a fully landscaped country park with over one million trees already planted at Magna Park. The developments will also come equipped with online energy dashboards to help customers monitor energy usage, as well as rainwater harvesting and technology to optimise the use of natural light. In addition, the new buildings are expected to receive a BREAAM Excellent certification. Also planned, to further enhance the community benefits for the occupiers at Magna Park, are a series of new amenities, including wellness and recreation facilities and a lorry park, together with a Logistics Institute of Technology (LIT). Magna Park Lutterworth benefits from excellent transport links to the rest of the UK, with 59.3 million people, or 85% of the UK population, within four hours’ truck drive-time of the development, owing to its easy access to the M1, M6 and M69 motorways. Bruce Topley, Senior Development Director at Gazeley said: “Magna Park, Lutterworth is an iconic development, well known across the UK and Europe and recognised as an outstanding location for distribution and logistics, home to a host of leading companies and operators. “In light of the continued high demand for logistics space, particularly in this area, we are confident that these buildings will be a welcome addition to the market. Situated right in the heart of the “UK’s Logistics Golden Triangle”, the development is ideally suited to serve the fast-expanding supply chain operations of our customers.”
GLP, a leading global investment manager and business builder in logistics, real estate, infrastructure, finance and related technologies, today announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Goodman Group’s Central and Eastern Europe logistics real estate portfolio, subject to regulatory approvals. GLP entered the European market in December 2017 through the acquisition of Gazeley, a developer, investor and manager of European logistics warehouses and distribution parks with a 2.4 million sqm portfolio across the UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Poland and the Netherlands. The addition of this unique, high-quality portfolio that is spread across Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary will expand GLP’s European presence to 10 countries and it will join a select number of logistics real estate investors with a truly pan-European portfolio. The acquired 2.4 million sqm portfolio is concentrated on key logistics routes across the region with access to growing markets for e-commerce and distribution. It will bring a number of new customers into the business and allow it to better support existing customers with their expanding supply chain requirements across Europe in Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. In addition, Goodman Group’s Central and Eastern European approximately 40-person team working in the region will join GLP’s European team, Gazeley, upon completion of the transaction and will support the Company’s growth across Europe. The acquisition of the portfolio follows a broader European expansion since GLP entered the market at the end of 2017. In the past year, it has opened offices in both Spain and Italy following of a number of development opportunities. Nick Cook, Chief Executive Officer, Gazeley, said: “This deal is a very exciting part of our European growth strategy. The scale and geographic footprint of the portfolio is highly complementary to our existing business and offers us compelling opportunities for growth in a number of important European markets. We are confident that the addition of this portfolio will support us in delivering further value to investors and our customers. We very much look forward to welcoming the team, its customers and partners to Gazeley in the coming months.” Kirkland & Ellis served as legal counsel to GLP, with Greenberg Traurig and Kinstellar providing local legal advice. Cushman & Wakefield served as advisors to GLP and Goldman Sachs and Citi have committed to finance the acquisition.
Poly UK has appointed Bennett Construction as the main contractor for a development project in Mill Hill, London. The £380m Plaza Collection scheme will deliver 257 homes. The company has also secured planning permission for an additional 82 homes. Plaza Collection will mark Poly’s entrance into the UK market, after having success in China, Australia and America. The development scheme is part of the wider Millbrook Park transformation — a new 2,000+ home development on the site of the former Inglis Barracks. Poly UK will deliver in total 700 residential units, a landscaped plaza and 1,400 sqm of associated commercial and retail space over four phases. May Zhao, executive director at Poly UK, said: “As this is Poly’s first residential project in the UK, it is imperative that we have the best-in-class project team, from initial design to delivery, to meet our vision of creating standout homes. “Bennett Construction has a first-class track record in delivering large scale projects of this nature, making it an ideal partner to take the first phase of the site forward.”
VINCI Facilities, a major provider of FM to the NHS, has announced it is diverting volunteers from its mobile repair teams (MRTs) to support existing facilities management services across several hospitals in the North West, Midlands and South East. As well as supporting with the ongoing repair and maintenance of hospital wards and essential services to keep wards going and back up clinical staff, VINCI Facilities engineers and teams are going to be working to help with reconfiguration of other wards in the hospitals to re-purpose them to support the effort against COVID-19. Its teams will be bolstered by the engineers that usually work in the retail sector supporting charity and large chain store contracts bringing with them much needed extra help in maintaining electrical services and systems, air conditioning, heating and ventilation as well as building repairs and joinery work. The MRTs will be providing cover for staff who are unable to attend work through illness or self-isolation as well as add depth to the existing numbers of engineering staff giving further, much needed support.
Design & Build Developer, Northern Developments (Cumbria) Limited, based in Carlisle, have been announced as a finalist in the National Building & Construction Awards 2020. They have been shortlisted in the £10M-£25M Category for the M-Sport Evaluation Centre (MEC) project at Dovenby near Cockermouth for M-Sport Limited. Northern Developments’ projects are primarily their own developments across industrial, commercial, residential and purpose built student accommodation (PBSA); the only exception being their long term relationship with M-Sport for whom they have carried out all developments for on their Dovenby Hall Estate site, since it was procured in 1998. Whilst many major national companies are amongst the finalists, Northern Developments are a regional and very professional team, initially established in 1985 then working throughout the UK as Main Contractor; around the start of the new millennium becoming Developer / Contractor. Proud of their Cumbria roots they have, over those 35 years, completed several high-profile projects including multiple PBSA schemes exceeding £50million. They normally design “in-house” architecturally and usually only use external consultants for engineering, M&E, acoustics and specialist services. The MEC project combines large civils & external works alongside high-quality high-tech design and build all within the setting of a Grade II listed building, delivered to the highest standards in a relatively short time frame. The MEC will provide M Sport with the ability to further expand into the wider automotive R&D sector. Northern Developments managed the construction of the existing site facility back in 1999, and it was not long before M Sport were looking to expand further. The new building is more than twice the size of their existing production facilities, providing significant expansion and creating over 100 new jobs in the process. The first phase of the project, now complete, comprised the design and construction of a 2.5km test track. The civils works to facilitate this involved moving 200,000 Tonnes of earth, whilst ensuring a cut and fill balance to ensure that no materials needed to be removed from site. Ground stabilisation techniques were employed to mitigate import of excessive quarried materials. 6.5km of drainage to the track links to several balancing ponds to ensure no negative impact on the local watercourse. An approved scheme of woodland management was deployed at the outset, protecting certain areas of historic interest, with planting of trees and grassland to enhance the habitat across the site. Eddie Ward, Commercial Manager said, “We have worked in deep collaboration with the client for ten years now, to ensure that we deliver a solution to meet their business needs. At the early stages this involved the building element of the project evolving in numerous forms and growing significantly. Drawing on our experience and knowledge combined with our supply chain we were able to deliver significant value engineering solutions, whilst still meeting the business needs.” The groundworks for the 111,000ft2 production facility commenced in May 2019, and construction is now well underway, within six months of commencement over 550T of structural steelwork had been manufactured and erected, roofing complete, all external precast concrete walls installed, and a significant amount of high level M&E works commenced. The next significant milestone being in the installation of the specialist concrete slab. Malcolm Wilson OBE, Managing Director at M-Sport, said “It’s always been important for me to keep the business in Cumbria, and with the help of Cumbria LEP we’re seeing the growth of more and more businesses in our region. The M-Sport Evaluation Centre will provide a unique centre of engineering excellence – allowing world leaders in automotive technology to follow their concepts from design and development, right through to production. Our region is fast becoming a great place for business, and we’re proud to be a part of that.”
The Hillhead trade fair for quarrying and construction machinery has been postponed by a year due to the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak. With Hillhead taking place in 2021 instead of 2020, the organisers of the PlantWorx trade show have agreed to move their event forward by a year also, to 2022, to avoid clashing. Hillhead, which tales place every two years, had been all set for 23–25 June 2020 at Hillhead Quarry, near Buxton in Derbyshire with a record 550 exhibitors booked. It has now been postponed to 22–24 June 2021, at the same usual location. Hillhead event director Richard Bradbury said: “The health and safety of exhibitors, visitors, contractors and employees is our number one priority and with the peak of the epidemic predicted to coincide with the show in June, this would be severely compromised. “Following an extensive consultation process, the decision has been taken to delay the event by a year to allow market conditions to stabilise and to best support the construction and quarrying industry during this challenging period.” Rob Oliver, chief executive of the Construction Equipment Association, which owns PlantWorx, said: “Of course we didn’t want to postpone our show, but after discussions with the Hillhead management we concluded that it would be in the best interests of our exhibitors and the wider construction and quarrying industries if we reset the clock and allowed Hillhead the diary space in 2021. Few people expected the impact of coronavirus just a couple of weeks ago, so we thought it best to make a quick decision so the industry had some clarity. As a trade association now, we need to focus our resources on helping our members through the unprecedented challenges arising from coronavirus which affects both lives and livelihoods”. Hillhead and PlantWorx are just two among myriad industry events, meetings and exhibitions – not just in the UK but around the world – to be rescheduled or cancelled because of the pandemic. Vertikal Days, the lifting equipment exhibition, has also been postponed. It had been planned for 13-14 May at Donington Park, Leicestershire. A new date has yet to be set. Also postponed is the Commercial Vehicle Show, which had been scheduled for 28-30 April at the Birmingham NEC. This has been put back a year to 2021.
New industry research suggests half a million people could be living in unsafe buildings With government support limited to one specific type of cladding, these residents could be left with excessive bills to make their homes safe Resident groups form an unprecedented coalition with managing agents and building owners to call on the new Chancellor to establish a fund to make these homes safe Following new evidence that the scale of the cladding crisis may affect up to half a million people, cladding campaigners, residents, property managers and the UK’s largest freeholders have formed an unprecedented coalition to request a multibillion-pound fund to remediate unsafe buildings. In an open letter to the new Chancellor, the group has called on the Government to step in following failures in the building safety regime that have dated back decades. Without support, leaseholders may be left having to pay the price, which is likely to run into the billions. The Association of Residential Managing Agents (ARMA), which represents the largest property managers in the country, has conducted an analysis of apartment buildings in the UK and found that over half a million people may be living in unsafe buildings that passed building control when they were built. Materials now deemed to be unsafe include High Pressure Laminate (HPL) – which has been found to be at least as flammable as the ACM cladding that was used on Grenfell Tower – but the Government’s existing fund is limited to ACM cladding. The freeholder signatories are coordinating remediation work on buildings with ACM cladding in every major city in the UK, but the process has revealed numerous additional safety issues and there are concerns that the cost of fixing these problems will fall on to residents unless the Government steps in. Given the scale of the task, the group is calling for a multibillion-pound, government-backed fund to be established so that these buildings can be made safe as soon as possible. Nigel Glen, Chief Executive Officer, The Association of Residential Managing Agents (ARMA) said: “The Grenfell tragedy highlighted the dangers of ACM cladding, but it has also revealed a much wider building safety crisis which could affect over half a million people. These buildings are being fixed by building owners and managing agents as quickly as possible but, without Government support, the process could take decades and leave leaseholders with life-changing bills on top of the anxiety that has already been caused.” Martin Boyd, Leasehold Knowledge Partnership said: “Nearly 1,000 days after the Grenfell tragedy there is a huge amount of worry among leaseholders that the problems are getting worse, not better. The government must help find solutions rather than just telling everyone these are complex problems.”
For the most part, there are two reasons for travelling from one place to another. The first is pleasure: we want to see the world, sample new tastes and sensations, and take a break from working life. The second reason is business. In today’s interconnected world, businesses which operate internationally cannot silo their various branches away – they must occasionally send representatives from one place to another. Of course, the opportunities to do this are being heavily limited by the effects of the unfolding coronavirus pandemic, and it remains to be seen what effect this will have on the way international business operates. It is likely that alternative means of payment will be considered for employees less sure of the hours they need to be in the office – carnet tickets represent a flexible option that is likely to be popular. But why was it that we travelled for business in the first place? Why we travelled for business Network If you’re at a trade show or conference, you’ll have a unique opportunity to interact with your peers – and doing so is near-essential. This is where representatives with social skills will help to get your brand out there. Opportunity The rate at which prospects can be converted into customers vastly increases with the help of a face-to-face meeting. Some larger companies would not even think of signing a contract unless some form of real-world contact has been established. And if you’re signing international contracts, then some form of travel is always necessary. Human Interaction Face-to-face contact is advantageous for several reasons. It allows us to put a face to what might be a name on an email, and help individuals to endure for longer in the memory. Another plus side is that it will reduce the chance of a miscommunication. Business Travel Spend Through the Years According to Statista, business spending on travel has steadily increased in Britain over the last decade, from just under forty billion in 2010 to just over fifty billion in 2017. It remains to be seen whether the current nosedive in business travel represents a fundamental change, or a temporary blip before business-as-usual is restored. Effects of Brexit While Brexit might seem like a bit of a sideshow now, there’s no doubting that the effects it will have on business will still be consequential in the long-term. They just won’t be anywhere near as seismic as those of Covid-19. Freedom of movement across Europe will be restricted, and thus travellers may need to seek documentation prior to travelling to the mainland. Moreover, delays along the way are possible. For those travelling frequently, these might amount to a nuisance, and a drain on the scarcest of resources: time. But documentation isn’t the only thing that will drain your precious time. Other things like carrying heavy luggage and queuing to store them can also waste this scarce resource called time. While you may have no control over the effects of Brexit on business travel, you can at least ensure that minor things do not waste your time. Regarding luggage issues, for example, you can opt for luggage storage solutions. For example, if you’re in London, you’ll find options like left luggage Waterloo very helpful if you need to leave heavy luggage behind.
Mott MacDonald Ventures, the investment arm of global management, engineering and development consultancy Mott MacDonald, has announced a new strategic partnership with 3D Repo, pioneers of cloud-based design collaboration for building information modelling (BIM). The partnership follows a recent £2.3m A-series investment round in 3D Repo led by The Ingenious Group’s infrastructure ventures EIS service, and brings more positive momentum for the innovative start-up. Mott MacDonald currently utilises BIM across the building, oil and gas, transport, water, and power industry sectors, and plans to use 3D Repo’s online collaborative platform to enhance collaboration and to drive better results on construction projects across the UK. Darren Russell, chief digital officer at Mott MacDonald Digital Ventures, said: “BIM brings a long list of tangible benefits that ultimately save time and money through reduced risk, minimising waste, faster delivery, and enhanced sustainability. Through our partnership with 3D Repo we’ll be able to connect people with the information they need to drive better decisions and deliver more of the UK’s most ambitious construction projects.” Mott MacDonald is a US$2bn organisation, employing over 16,000 people and delivering projects all over the world. Notable developments include Heathrow Terminal 5, the Manchester Civil Justice Centre, and the US$13bn redevelopment of JFK Airport. Dr Jozef Dobos, founder and CEO of 3D Repo, said: “3D Repo is already partnered with a growing list of forward-thinking tech companies including Opentext, BrydenWood, and Mission Room, among others. Our new partnership with Mott MacDonald will open new doors for 3D Repo and allow us to deploy our digital construction platform on more of the most challenging infrastructure projects in the UK.” London-based 3D Repo has deployed its collaborative BIM platform on projects such as Wood Wharf district, the remodelling of King’s Cross railway station and Hinkley Point C nuclear power station. Its multi-award-winning digital platform for BIM provides access to data to anyone with a web browser whenever and wherever they need it. The service democratises the data, mitigates risk and reduces complexity for everyone involved including architects, engineers, and contractors. 3D Repo allows users to manage 3D model revisions and highlight potential clashes and safety issues using live collaboration tools which enable the whole project team to work from a single source of truth, anywhere and at any time. www.3drepo.com