Morrison Utility owner buys energy metering firm

The big US investor that bought Morrison Utility Services earlier this year has swooped again this time taking control of electricity and gas metering specialist G4S.

Private equity investor First Reserve now owns MUS, regional contractor Dyer & Butler and the G4S Utility & Outsourcing Services portfolio, which principally includes meter reading, technical energy metering services and data process management services.

The acquisition will also include G4S Locks and Alarms, which provides nationwide, 24/7 locksmith services and inspection specialist G4S Assessment Services.

Private equity investor First Reserve said the metering business would be rebranded as Morrison Data Services and the other associated businesses would become M Assessment Services, LRP Services and ProtectMyProperty.

Jim Arnold, Chief Executive of Morrison Utility Services, said: “Competition for metering and outsourcing is strong and G4S Utility Services’ strong market position, combined with our broad client portfolio and infrastructure construction expertise, will offer our clients a number of new value add services.

“We are excited by the new market opportunities that this acquisition will bring.” 

from Construction Enquirer http://www.constructionenquirer.com/2017/01/03/morrison-utility-owner-buys-energy-metering-firm/

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Ray O’Rourke can only spend part of the year in UK

Laing O’Rourke chairman and chief executive Ray O’Rourke can only spend a limited number of days in the UK due to his tax exile status in Jersey.

The restrictions come at a time the O’Rourke leader is taking a more hands-on role in a bid to turn around the fortunes of the country’s largest private contractor.

The company revealed last month that it made a £246m loss for the year to March 2016.

Ray O’Rourke said: “It is with humility that I have to report our first loss in 15 years of trading as Laing O’Rourke.

“As a private company, the responsibility for its performance rests with me as founder.”

Ray O’Rourke took up the chief executive role 13 months ago when Anna Stewart stood down.

Companies House records show he is a resident of Jersey which is a tax haven.

Tax rules mean Ray O’Rourke can only spend half the year in the UK.

A source close to the company said: “Ray is back at the helm but being based in Jersey obviously has its drawbacks.

“He can only spend a certain amount of time in this country where a lot of the recent problems have been.”

The Enquirer understands that senior O’Rourke managers have been forced to fly to Jersey for board meetings.

A Laing O’Rourke spokesperson said: “In his leadership role as executive Chairman and CEO, Ray travels extensively across all our international operations and is managing the business in a hands-on way, supported by an extremely capable senior leadership team.

“The Chair’s choice of residence is very much a private matter for him and his family, and therefore we will not be commenting further.”

from Construction Enquirer http://www.constructionenquirer.com/2017/01/03/ray-orourke-can-only-spend-part-of-the-year-in-uk/

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Green light for construction of thousands of new Starter Homes

The Government has given the go-ahead to 30 local authorities to spearhead its new discounted homes scheme for 23 to 40-year olds.

The first Starter Homes will be built on brownfield sites across the country, housing minister Gavin Barwell confirmed today

The first wave of 30 local authority partnerships – selected on the basis of their potential for early delivery – will spearhead schemes.

These partnerships have been established under the government’s £1.2bn Starter Homes Land Fund which supports the development of starter homes on sites across England.

Each local authority partnership will work closely with the Homes and Communities Agency to identify and take forward further land opportunities for the fund.

Also, the Homes and Communities Agency has today issued a call seeking expressions of interest from local authorities who are interested in using their land to deliver homes at pace through the £1.7bn accelerated construction recently announced. This will see up to 15,000 homes started on surplus public sector land this Parliament.

30 Starter Home Land Fund partnerships

• Blackburn with Darwen Council
• Blackpool Council
• Bristol City Council
• Central Bedfordshire Council
• Cheshire West and Chester Council
• Chesterfield Borough Council
• Chichester District Council
• City of Lincoln
• Ebbsfleet Development Corporation
• Fareham Borough Council
• Gloucester City Council
• Greater Manchester Combined Authority (Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan)
• Lincolnshire County Council
• Liverpool City Council (in association with Sefton, Knowsley, Halton, Wirral, St Helens)
• Luton Borough Council
• Mid Sussex District Council
• Middlesbrough Council
• North Somerset Council
• Northumberland County Council
• Pendle Borough Council
• Plymouth City Council
• Rotherham Metropolitan Council
• Rushmoor Borough Council
• Sheffield City Council
• South Kestevan District Council
• South Ribble Borough Council (in association with Preston City Council and Lancashire County Council)
• South Somerset District Council
• Stoke-on-Trent City Council
• West Somerset Council (in association with Taunton Deane Borough Council, Sedgemoor District Council)
• Worthing Council

These new developments will also support the wider growth and regeneration of local areas, including some town centre sites, and help make sure this is a country that works for everyone.

The first places will begin construction later this year along with sites supported by the Homes and Communities Agency.

Housing Minister Gavin Barwell said: “This government is committed to building Starter Homes to help young first time buyers get on the housing ladder.

“This first wave of partnerships shows the strong local interest to build thousands of Starter Homes on hundreds of brownfield sites in the coming years. One in three councils has expressed an interest to work with us so far.

The Starter Homes Land Fund was set up to prepare suitable land for quality starter home developments which can be built on by developers or through accelerated construction by 2020.

from Construction Enquirer http://www.constructionenquirer.com/2017/01/03/green-light-for-construction-of-thousands-of-new-starter-homes/

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McAlpine bags £29m Newcastle Uni teaching block

The University of Newcastle upon Tyne has awarded Sir Robert McAlpine the contract for the third building at its Science Central development in the city.

The Learning and Teaching Centre project for the University is expected to cost £29.1m. This includes £21.5m for building works, £7.2m for external works and £400 000 for post novation fees.

McAlpine has signed a pre-construction agreement and aims to start work on site by September 2017, once a final price is agreed in second stage tendering.

It would be the second win for McAlpine at the 24-acre Newcastle Science City site following the first flagship building called the Core, finished just over two years ago.

Bowmer & Kirkand is constructing the second major project known as the Urban Sciences Building for completion in September 2017.

The latest building will provide the University with additional lecture, teaching and office facilities and is to be designed to BREEAM Excellent when completed in July 2019.

Sheppard Robson designed building footprint takes the form of a quarter circle segment to incorporate a large auditorium

The four-storey building will boast a 750-seat high-quality auditorium that can be sub-divided flexibly to provide separate operational 500 and 250 seat lecture theatres and will be linked to the urban sciences building with a enclosed bridge clad in mirrored glass.

Two of the building’s three faces will be clad in aluminium coated metal mesh hexagonal units

The University is a lead partner in the Newcastle Science City initiative which promotes Newcastle as a city of science across the world.

from Construction Enquirer http://www.constructionenquirer.com/2017/01/03/mcalpine-bags-29m-newcastle-uni-teaching-block/

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Government backs 14 garden village sites

The Government has unveiled locations for a new wave of garden village schemes and three larger towns around the country.

The first ever garden villages of between 1,500 and 10,000 homes could deliver more than 48,000 homes. Sites for new villages include green belt land and spread from Cornwall to Cumbria.

In an expansion of the existing garden towns programme, the Government has also unveiled three extra locations for larger garden towns in Buckinghamshire, Somerset and the Essex-Hertfordshire border.

14 new garden villages

• Long Marston in Stratford-on-Avon
• Oxfordshire Cotswold in West Oxfordshire
• Deenethorpe in East Northants
• Culm in Mid Devon
• Welborne near Fareham in Hampshire
• West Carclaze in Cornwall
• Dunton Hills near Brentwood, Essex
• Spitalgate Heath in South Kesteven, Lincolnshire
• Halsnead in Knowsley, Merseyside
• Longcross in Runnymede and Surrey Heath
• Bailrigg in Lancaster
• Infinity Garden Village in South Derbyshire and Derby City area
• St Cuthberts near Carlisle City, Cumbria
• North Cheshire in Cheshire East

Three new garden towns

• Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire
• Taunton, Somerset
• Harlow & Gilston, Essex and Hertfordshire

The new villages will receive about £6m in government funding over two years to help deliver the projects, with a further £1.4m of funding being provided for the delivery of the new towns.

The cash will be used to unlock the full capacity of sites, providing funding for extra resources and expertise to accelerate development and avoid delays.

Together with the seven garden towns already announced, these 17 new garden settlements have the combined potential to provide almost 200,000 new homes across the country.

Housing and Planning Minister Gavin Barwell said: “Locally-led garden towns and villages have enormous potential to deliver the homes that communities need.

“New communities not only deliver homes, they also bring new jobs and facilities and a big boost to local economies. These places combined could provide almost 200,000 homes.”

By 2020, more than 25,000 housing starts are expected in garden villages, towns and cities supported by the government.

Homes are already being built in several locations, including Bicester, Basingstoke, Didcot, Ebbsfleet, Aylesbury, Taunton and North Northants.

The new garden projects will also have access to infrastructure funding programmes across government, such as the new £2.3 bn Housing Infrastructure Fund announced at this year’s Autumn Statement.

from Construction Enquirer http://www.constructionenquirer.com/2017/01/02/government-backs-14-garden-village-sites/

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CIOB chief awarded OBE

Awards were few and far between for construction in the Queen’s 2017 New Year’s Honours.

Among a handful of business leaders to win recognition for their service to the industry Chris Blythe, chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Building, was made an OBE.

Also honoured with an OBE is director of asset management at Anglian Water, Chris Newsome, for services to civil engineering and carbon reduction.

New Year Honours: (l to r) Chris Newsome, Mike Conway, Ant Wilson

From the contracting side of the industry, FM Conway chief executive Mike Conway picks up an MBE for services to UK construction, infrastructure support and road safety.

Building services engineer Anthony Wilson, director of sustainability and building at AECOM, was also made an MBE for services to engineering.

 

from Construction Enquirer http://www.constructionenquirer.com/2016/12/31/ciob-chief-awarded-obe/

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2017 will be a year of “feast and famine” for contractors

Next year will be one of “feast and famine” for contractors – depending on what sector of the industry you specialise in.

KPMG head of infrastructure, building and construction Richard Threlfall is predicting very different 2017s for many contractors.

He said: “2017 will divide the construction sector into winners and losers.

“Contractors in infrastructure will win more work as Government and utilities companies continue to spend heavily on road, rail and energy investments.

“Contractors who depend largely on commercial demand will see a decline in demand as corporates continue to delay investment decisions pending clarity on Brexit.

“We will also see significant regional variation. The West Midlands will benefit from the HS2 effect which has already seen an uptick in investment into the region, whilst worries over Brexit will continue to gently deflate the London housing bubble.

“An industry divided by demand will nonetheless be united by the common challenge of rising materials prices, already responding to the fall in the value of sterling.

“The skills shortage will add further pricing pressure in civils, as well as playing large in the Brexit immigration debate due to possible curbs on the provision of labour from Europe.

“I remain encouraged that the new Government has signalled its commitment to infrastructure by embracing the three Hs – Heathrow, HS2 and Hinkley Point – despite strong lobbying in the summer to cancel all of them.

“I am therefore bullish on UK infrastructure demand in 2017, but far less confident on the longer term.

“I remain concerned that as the economy weakens the Government’s investments in infrastructure will become less sustainable.

“Rising inflation and the subsequent erosion of buying power will mean less Government income from taxation.

“I expect this to result in delay to schemes like Crossrail 2, the Trans-Pennine road tunnel, HS3 and other mega projects.

“And similarly I expect regulators to put downward pressure on utility investment programmes as household incomes are squeezed.

“Amidst all this macro-economic uncertainty, construction industry CEOs need to keep focussed on the prize of achieving competitive advantage through offering clients greater efficiency and predictability.

“Whilst politics and economics may dictate the winners and losers of 2017, in the long-run this industry will be owned by those who invest in technology and skills.”

from Construction Enquirer http://www.constructionenquirer.com/2016/12/30/2017-will-be-a-year-of-feast-and-famine-for-contractors/

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