turner & townsend

CONSTRUCTING EXCELLENCE MIDLANDS LAUNCHES INFRASTRUCTURE FORUM

ENABLING infrastructure clients to deliver improved outcomes by collaboratively working faster, greener, safer and smarter, Constructing Excellence Midlands has launched its Infrastructure Forum, enhancing the visibility and perspective of infrastructure activities in the region. The forum aims to assemble businesses from client organisations and supply chains in the Midlands, modernising

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TURNER & TOWNSEND APPOINTED TO PROJECT MANAGE COMPLETION OF BRADFORD LIVE

Turner & Townsend has been appointed by Bradford Live to project manage the redevelopment of the city’s historic former Odeon building. The scheme which will reinstate the main auditorium, creating the biggest ‘mid-sized’ performance area in the country, will be seen through to completion by the global professional services consultancy.

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UK Contractors Report Increased Order Books

Increased order books for UK contractors haven’t defeated Brexit uncertainty, with high input costs fuelling fears of a subdued and cooling market for the next 12 months, according to the latest quarterly analysis from leading professional services company, Turner & Townsend. The consultancy’s UK market intelligence report finds that order

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Turner & Townsend’s Future is Bright with New Financial Package

Turner & Townsend, one of the UK’s leading professional providers of programme management, project management and cost management has successfully managed to confirm a financial package worth some £80m from three of the UK’s leading banks, namely: Royal Bank of Scotland, HSBC and Lloyds Commercial Bank. The announcement sits alongside

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Latest Issue
Issue 323 : Dec 2024

turner & townsend

CONSTRUCTING EXCELLENCE MIDLANDS LAUNCHES INFRASTRUCTURE FORUM

ENABLING infrastructure clients to deliver improved outcomes by collaboratively working faster, greener, safer and smarter, Constructing Excellence Midlands has launched its Infrastructure Forum, enhancing the visibility and perspective of infrastructure activities in the region. The forum aims to assemble businesses from client organisations and supply chains in the Midlands, modernising the methods of industry collaboration and utilising digital tools for knowledge sharing to drive efficiency and improved outcomes. Andrew Carpenter, chief executive of Constructing Excellence Midlands, who has created the Infrastructure Forum, said: “The forum will present a fantastic opportunity for the Midlands infrastructure community to coordinate responses to key industry challenges and collaborate on projects and programmes, ensuring continued infrastructure advancement that is pre-emptive of the demands and opportunities for the region. “Infrastructure requires a collective planning approach where visibility of the opportunity to collaborate is essential, whether that’s rail, aviation, utilities, roads or power. An infrastructure forum will provide an opportunity to work smarter with collaborative efficacy and prove how we can provide ‘more for less’, while improving safety and sustainability outcomes.” Mark Lyddon, Midlands regional infrastructure lead at Turner & Townsend, said: “I’m delighted to be involved in the conception of the Constructing Excellence Midlands Infrastructure Forum. The Midlands boasts leading global pioneering minds in infrastructure development, working on world class projects and programmes. This forum will enable clients and the entire supply chains to utilise the power of their combined expertise and experience. “Consultation and collaboration through this platform will help us drive improvement in our industry and deliver better outcomes for customers and the environment. With the current volume of infrastructure construction activity and projects planned to take place in the Midlands region, we must create an improved way of working across clients and programmes.” Alec Gillham, business engagement manager for DIGI-RAIL at the University of Birmingham, said: “DIGI-RAIL is thrilled to have been asked to participate in the newly-established Constructing Excellence Infrastructure Forum. Currently working with some of the UK’s most innovative and technologically advanced rail businesses, we are keen to explore the opportunities that the forum will present for collaboration around the themes of connected transportation and infrastructure. “As we transition towards the creation of the public body Great British Railways (GBR), we are experiencing levels of investment and technology adoption in UK railways not seen for a generation. It is our firm belief the forum will provide a valuable platform to engage with stakeholders working within advanced transportation and infrastructure sectors to reimagine the UK passenger travel experience for the future.” If you or your organisation would like to be involved or to find out more, please contact Constructing Excellence Midlands at info@cemidlands.org.

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Wester Hailes community vision to be transformed into regeneration masterplan

Plans for the regeneration of the Wester Hailes area have taken a big step forward. The City of Edinburgh Council today announced the appointment of the consultancy team that will work with the community to translate their vision into a masterplan for the area. This important commission has been awarded to a multi-disciplinary consultant team led by Turner & Townsend, who will act as project managers, together with partners Stallan Brand (architects, lead designer and community engagement), Atelier 10 (building services and sustainability), OOBE (landscape architects) and Goodson Associates (engineering and transportation). Setting out a comprehensive, phased approach for the next 10 to 15 years, the Wester Hailes masterplan will build on community aspirations as set out in the Local Place Plan as well as a number of early action projects that are already under way. These include improvements to existing Council homes and estates, delivery of new-build affordable homes at Dumbryden Gardens, early design work for the replacement of the high school, as well as improvements to Westside Plaza. The plan will seek to maximise distinctive characteristics of the area including its canal-side location, existing assets, opportunities for wider economic and social benefits and the role of key partners and the local community. Working with the Council and the community, the masterplan team will look at opportunities to implement improvements to existing transport and active travel infrastructure, new housing-led developments and adapting public sector delivery models, all firmly rooted in the Council’s new 20 Minute Neighbourhood model. Wester Hailes is also one of the first communities in Scotland to start to develop its own Local Place Plan following their introduction within the Planning (Scotland) Act in 2019. City of Edinburgh Council Leader, Adam McVey, said: This is a hugely important project that will offer real opportunities for people in Wester Hailes. The investments which the masterplan sets out will include improvements to existing homes as well as new affordable housing that is so desperately needed in our city, together with employment opportunities and facilities for small businesses and entrepreneurs in the area to prosper. Throughout the development of the masterplan we will look to actively engage with people in Wester Hailes and nearby communities to feed in to help these improvements benefit everyone. The appointment of the right team to take the community’s ambitions for their area forward was critical and we believe the award-winning team, led by Turner & Townsend will meet our goals. We look forward to working together with the team and community as the masterplan develops over the coming year. Depute Leader, Cammy Day, said: It’s fantastic to be getting this regeneration project under way with this key appointment. A priority for us, on awarding this commission, has been to engage fully with the local community and ensure that the Council’s regeneration programme reflects the aspirations, ideas and actions emerging from the Local Place Plan process to date. The community consultation process will include speaking to key public sector partners, those who have assets within the area, those who use existing land and buildings on a long-term or meanwhile basis, and the communities within the regeneration area and surrounding neighbourhoods. All this will be fundamental to the overall success of the proposals the team produce for us to take forward to the next phase. James Darrie, Director and Edinburgh office leader at Turner & Townsend, said: From upgrading transport systems to delivering new affordable homes, this much needed regeneration promises to bring transformative long-term benefits to the Wester Hailes area. Our local team will work closely with the community to ensure it becomes the thriving and flourishing neighbourhood that residents want and deserve. Eoghan Howard, Chair of Wester Hailes Community Trust and Leah Black, Chief Executive at WHALE Arts said: We welcome the news that Turner & Townsend have been appointed and that this important project will be starting in 2021. WHALE Arts, Wester Hailes Community Trust and Prospect Housing have been working alongside the Council for the last 18 months following a piece of work in 2019/2020 working towards a Local Place Plan.The goal has been to ensure that the community-led Local Place Plan will be aligned to the regeneration project so that local views and ideas are at the heart of changes and improvements to the area. This builds on the Westside Plaza design process which was led by the Wester Hailes Community Trust and has resulted in an improved social area, giving local residents an idea of how important it is for regeneration to be led by people living in the area.

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TURNER & TOWNSEND APPOINTED TO PROJECT MANAGE COMPLETION OF BRADFORD LIVE

Turner & Townsend has been appointed by Bradford Live to project manage the redevelopment of the city’s historic former Odeon building. The scheme which will reinstate the main auditorium, creating the biggest ‘mid-sized’ performance area in the country, will be seen through to completion by the global professional services consultancy. The appointment compliments Turner & Townsend’s existing cost management role on the project. The company will provide project management services to Bradford Live from its head office in Horsforth in Yorkshire.  Bradford Live supports the rebirth of the city and the former Odeon building is a central component of this. With a seated capacity of 3,500 and a standing capacity of 4,000, it is expected to attract national and international performers. The venue’s flexibility will also allow sporting events, corporate product launches exhibitions and conferences. It will be run by NEC when it opens in autumn 2021. About Turner & Townsend Turner & Townsend is an independent professional services company specialising in programme management, project management, cost and commercial management and advisory across the real estate, infrastructure and natural resources sectors. With 110 offices in 45 countries, we draw on our extensive global and industry experience to manage risk while maximising value and performance during the construction and operation of our clients’ assets. www.turnerandtownsend.com

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UK Contractors Report Increased Order Books

Increased order books for UK contractors haven’t defeated Brexit uncertainty, with high input costs fuelling fears of a subdued and cooling market for the next 12 months, according to the latest quarterly analysis from leading professional services company, Turner & Townsend. The consultancy’s UK market intelligence report finds that order books have increased by 23.4% in the current financial year (2018-19) while contractors indicate that order books for the next financial year (2019-20) are now 17.5% fuller than they were in Q1. However, contractors report that input costs remain stubbornly high and the company’s price data reveals that contractors expect the cost of a representative basket of construction materials to rise by 5.3% in the coming year. The report, which takes the temperature of the industry’s front line, found that in Q2 more than half of the UK contractors surveyed felt the market will continue to cool over the next 12 months. “While there have been some high-profile examples of financial sector giants swapping the City for the Liffey, for now the exodus remains more threat than reality. Clearly it is incorrect to suggest that the interplay between the two cities is a zero-sum game, and that Dublin’s market is heating up in direct inverse proportion to London’s cooling,” said Paul Connolly, UK Managing Director of cost management at Turner & Townsend. Outside of the UK but less than 300 miles from London, Dublin’s construction market is in the midst of a full-scale boom, with bullish sentiment and strong client demand driving up tender prices at well over double the rate seen in the UK capital. Surveyed contractors forecast that tender prices in Dublin will rise by an average of 6.3% in 2018, while those in London forecast a modest 2.5% increase. “However, a surge in relocation interest has undoubtedly turbo-charged Dublin’s construction market, and it now risks overheating with the city facing the prospect of acute skills shortages and rapid price inflation. While Brexit itself is likely to impact on both sides of the Irish Sea, for now the uncertainty over the nature of the UK departure from the EU is taking a far greater toll in London than in Dublin,” added Paul. The gulf in construction fortunes between the two cities is most stark in terms of market sentiment. Nearly two thirds (63.6%) of contractors in Dublin report that their market is improving and getting warmer compared to just 21.1% of respondents in London. 26.8 percent of contractors expect to see the London market cool. “In challenging markets like London, clients must face down multiple, fast-moving threats with equally agile procurement and project management strategies. The most obvious issue to be confronted is supply chain strain. Clients must remain vigilant and in practical terms, this means re-running credit checks and challenging suppliers on their ability to continue delivering, while also seeking to understand and allay their concerns,” concluded Paul.  

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Turner & Townsend’s Future is Bright with New Financial Package

Turner & Townsend, one of the UK’s leading professional providers of programme management, project management and cost management has successfully managed to confirm a financial package worth some £80m from three of the UK’s leading banks, namely: Royal Bank of Scotland, HSBC and Lloyds Commercial Bank. The announcement sits alongside the £380m turnover company’s recent conversion into a limited liability partnership. As a company with a keen focus on investment back into the company, sources as Turner & Townsend highlight the importance played by such investment in the company’s ability to steadily grow its turnover over the last five years. As Vincent Clancy, Chief Executive of Turner and Townsend (pictured) noted that the recent developments will allow the company to: “Invest in our capability and to continue to transform our business to deliver better results for our clients.” The package, which Turner & Townsend has secured on a five year revolving credit, is aimed to facilitate the future growth of the organisations and will provide much-needed working capital. Key areas of investment for the organisation will involve the expansion of the company’s reach, geographically, and also in terms of services and its overarching capacity to deliver on them. The plans come at a time when the construction industry, in its present state, is considered to be performing well and will allow for Turner & Townsend to maximise on the opportunities presently available in the market. With keen backing from all three of the major banks, both confidence in Turner & Townsend, as well as the confidence it exudes, is considerable, with great anticipation for the future direction of the company.

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