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New direction for Ecobuild 2016 voted a hit by industry

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Tens of thousands of industry professionals flocked to Ecobuild to see 800 brands across core areas of industry growth and market priorities: housing, infrastructure, design, energy efficiency, technology and skills. The UK’s definitive event for the built environment, Ecobuild 2016 unveiled its new direction, shook up its layout and delivered a robust three days of business.

It kicked off on a high note as Berkeley Group Chairman, Tony Pidgley CBE opened the Ecobuild Conference, which together with dedicated learning hubs across the show featured more than 350 high level speakers, celebrities and industry A-listers.

Martin Hurn, Event Director at Ecobuild, said “The built environment has fundamentally changed since Ecobuild launched 12 years ago. Government policy is at a crossroads but sustainability has become normalised. While we continue to maintain the eco-focus and promote sustainability standards with our partners across the industry, the smarter end of the market is taking a broader approach to sustainability, aiming to ensure buildings appeal to occupiers well into the future with improved building performance, design, efficiency, health and wellbeing benefits”.

Hurn added that Ecobuild had confidently set out a repositioned show to reflect market priorities after a period of consultation with customers and stakeholders. New areas introduced for infrastructure, digital construction, smart technology and resource efficiency in the built environment are hot prospects set to grow for the event in 2017.

He said “We’ve been thrilled with the feedback from Ecobuild 2016. The industry is changing and we’re changing with it, ensuring our visitors come away with new ideas and working practices as well as new connections.

“The response has been emphatic. It’s been our buzziest show for a number of years and exhibitors are already looking to book for 2017 in record numbers. I’d like to thank the exhibitors for once again showcasing the very best in innovative products and services that are helping to drive the construction and energy industry, meet future needs and adapt to the challenges ahead.

“I’d also like to say a huge thank you to our partners and look forward to our ongoing collaboration with the industry throughout the year.”

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How will YOU vote in the EU referendum?

The EU referendum is currently dividing opinion within the construction industry. It did in 1975 and now once again in 2016 we find ourselves asking “should we stay or should we go?” How are you planning on voting? Take part in our anonymous twitter survey below and feel free to explain your reasons or concerns in the comments section below!

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80% of CBI members think being in EU is best for their business

 

The The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) Chairmen’s Committee has taken the final step in endorsing the leading business group’s mandate to make the economic case for the UK to remain in the EU. It comes after the CBI reaffirmed its member mandate following a rigorous governance process through the organisation’s “business parliament” and publication of a new member survey.

A clear majority of CBI member companies – which together employ nearly 7 million people, about one third of private sector employees – believe that it would be in the best interests of their business and the wider UK economy to remain inside the EU. This is according to an independent survey carried out by polling company ComRes.

The survey had 773 responses among small, medium and large firms across the whole of the UK. It reveals 80% of CBI members, when weighted to reflect its membership – including 71% of small and mid-sized business members – believe that the UK remaining a member of the EU would be best for their business. Overall, 5% say it is in their firms’ best interests for the UK to leave the EU, with 15% unsure.

The survey forms part of a thorough consultation process with the CBI’s governance network of three national councils (Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland), nine regional councils, eleven standing policy and sector committees. This culminated in an endorsement from the Chairmen’s Committee – the CBI’s highest policy making body – which met on Monday. This round of 24 separate consultations has taken place over the last three weeks, with a clear majority in each meeting backing the business case to remain in the EU.

CBI Director-General, Carolyn Fairbairn said “The message from our members is resounding – most want the UK to stay in the EU because it is better for their business, jobs and prosperity. Walking away makes little economic sense and risks throwing away the many benefits we gain from being part of the EU.”

“Our members tell us that having guaranteed access to a tariff-free market of 500 million people, and to more than 30 global trade deals covering 50 countries, are significant advantages that outweigh the frustrations.”

“A minority of members want to leave the EU. We will continue to respect and reflect their views and campaign for EU reform to get a better deal for all businesses.”

“However, most CBI members are unconvinced that alternatives to full membership would offer the same opportunities. We have yet to see those who seek to leave the EU present a compelling vision of what this would mean for jobs and growth.”

“We will not align ourselves with any campaign. Though prosperity, jobs and future living standards matter to many people, we recognise there will be other considerations. It is not our place to tell people how to vote, but the CBI will play its role in making the economic case for remaining in the EU.”

On securing the CBI’s mandate and its role in the EU referendum, CBI President, Paul Drechsler said “Having secured a strong mandate from our members, the CBI will continue to play a role in shining a light on the business and economic issues at stake. We will seek to inform the public debate focussing on the implications for jobs, prices and prosperity.”

“The vast majority of our members tell us their businesses have gained from being in the EU. We have consulted every one of the CBI’s councils in the last three weeks, involving firms of all sizes and sectors across the UK. All councils agreed, many unanimously, that the CBI should make the economic case for remaining.”

“The referendum is a matter for the British people and it’s clear that the public will base their decision on a range of factors. The business and economic case is only one part of the story, but it is a vital one.”

“The job now for the CBI and business leaders across the UK is to set out the arguments as clearly as possible for the British public. The CBI speaks on behalf of members who employ nearly seven million people and we’re proud to represent entrepreneurs, ambitious growing firms, smaller companies and some of the UK’s biggest employers, spanning all sectors across the UK.”

What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments section below!

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Nearly 60% of construction bosses start their careers as an apprentice, reveals FMB

With National Apprenticeship Week kicking off today, FMB have made an interesting announcement. Nearly 60% of SME construction owners started their career as an apprentice, according to new research from the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) ahead of National Apprenticeship Week.

The research also shows that more than half of those bosses were running their own company within just seven years of completing their apprenticeship training, and that 98% of construction SME owners value an apprenticeship over a degree when looking for new staff.

Chief Executive of the FMB, Brian Berry said “The construction industry is ideally suited to a young person with heaps of ambition and an entrepreneurial spirit. Our research demonstrates that a construction apprenticeship is the perfect springboard for a successful and rewarding career, with more than half of construction SMEs being run by people who started out as an apprentice. Of those who went on to start their own businesses, more than one in two reached that goal within a mere seven years of completing their apprenticeship training, showing that you can go from being a brickie to a business owner in no time at all.”

“Even if running your own firm isn’t what you aspire to do, a construction apprenticeship can nevertheless provide the foundation for a highly rewarding career. Almost 80% of our SME construction bosses said that employment in the sector offers high levels of job satisfaction with tangible results and 87% believe an apprenticeship teaches useful and practical skills. What’s more, by the age of 23, a bricklayer with five years’ experience can earn up to £31,000 and rising in some cases to £52,000 in London. Given the high levels of university tuition fees, young people have every reason to properly consider a more vocational education and pursuing a career in construction looks an increasingly shrewd move.”

Tony Passmore, Managing Director of the Passmore Group – an FMB member firm – added “I’ve been working in the construction industry for a long time now and I’ve lost count of the number of young people who I’ve seen start out at the bottom, put in the hard work during their apprenticeship, and then rise up through the ranks to set up their own firm. Many of them wouldn’t have guessed they’d soon be running their own business when they first entered the construction industry and started their apprenticeship. And for those who aren’t keen on running their own firm, most jobs in the construction industry give you the freedom to work anywhere in the country – or better still, anywhere in the world.”

Did you start your career as an apprentice? Tell us about it in the comments below!

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Commercial property: Free-thinkers welcome

The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars. – Jack Kerouac, On the Road

I’m not saying that life as a commercial property surveyor in the East Midlands is in any way exactly the same as Kerouac’s travels across America in the 1950s, but, just as the author was rightly lauded as a free-thinking ground-breaker, our sector is suffering from a dearth of truly creative thinkers – and this needs to change.

Recently, I was reading an article in an industry journal from Jonathan Goldstein, the CEO of financiers Cain Hoy, who was complaining that many now operating in the commercial property sector are now faceless automatons, obsessed with box-ticking, and replete of even a grain of creativity.

However, if companies such as his champion entrepreneurial spirit – why do they employ the services of the big corporate firms and not niche private practices?

Goldstein is correct that the surveying industry is dominated by grey-suited corporates and their surveyors are clones of their immediate bosses as much as they are of theirs. Evidence of this was very clear at 2015’s RICS East Midlands seminar where the great and the good were bemoaning the fact the industry is dominated by white males of in the 40-55 age range. There was much hand-wringing about how we can make the industry attractive to the younger generation.

The truth might be hard to bear – but they can’t if the status quo is maintained. The commercial property surveying sector is conservative by nature and conservative by design; it lacks any sense of forward-thinking and, broadly, isn’t seen as an either glamorous, exciting or colourful place to work.

Bigger agencies are, by design, less flexible; they are stuck in their corporate ways, answerable to faceless, unshifting, unambitious boards of directors who have been doing things the same way for years (and so why change?)

We’ve changed because we’ve had to. NG Chartered Surveyors has, since we started the firm, had a sense of individuality. We’ve strived to stand out from the crowd – partly because we have to – but also because of the ideas of our people. Our marketing has been niche, targeted and – gasp! – has often had a sense of humour – something we could never accuse some of our larger rivals of having.

We have to be market-clever because our budgets are a fraction of those of the big beasts. But we still turn heads, we still make people smile, we still deliver for clients over and over again.

The fact of the matter is: the property industry outside London resists flair and resists change. It doesn’t run with the mavericks like NG – even though it could get better results. To us both results and flair matters, but to most new entrants into the commercial property industry, flair is a foreign island.

And flair gets results. Off the back of our innovative marketing, we’ve completed some groundbreaking deals recently. At the Loft in Nottingham city centre, we let the second and third floor offices, achieving the highest rent in the Lace Market at over £14 per sq ft.

At Cinderhill Point NG has let a 26,200 sq ft industrial unit at £5.25 per sq ft – the highest rent for a unit of this size/age anywhere in Nottingham since the end of the recession.

Meanwhile, at Sycamore Pods Moorgreen we have achieved rents at £7.25 per sq ft, and at Stanton Forge we have forward sales ahead of project completion at over £100 per sq ft
Off the back of this we have been asked to bring our magic to Urquhart House in the Lace Market and 14 Park Row in the heart of Nottingham’s professional services quarter.

So, whilst we’re not exactly like the character in Kerouac’s On the Road, we’d urge any young people who are “tremendously excited with life” and who wants “the freedom of the road” to get in touch with us. As the book’s Dean Moriarty enthuses: “Somewhere along the line I knew there would be visions, everything; somewhere along the line the pearl would be handed to me.”

Written by Richard Sutton, director of NG Chartered Surveyors
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How will Brexit affect the construction industry? Two views:

The opening shots have been fired. Brexit is the big political issue of the year, and perhaps the decade. For those of us here in the present, it is going to be a busy few weeks in the run up to the EU referendum. Party loyalties will be tested to the limits. Industries will hold views. Businesses within those industries will hold competing views. Individuals within those businesses, within those industries will hold their own views, all often contrasting. Arguments based on reason, on attachment to tradition, on patriotic necessity, on economic planning, on their children’s future, and every other factor that influences us will compete for our opinions. www.nstraining.co.uk investigate.

As with every other industry, the construction industry has a variety of views on the prospect of Brexit, and I think it necessary for us to have views at our disposal before making our own decision. Here are thoughts from both the ‘in’ and ‘out’ EU camps:

In:

A survey by Smith & Williamson recently found that only 15% of construction executives favoured a UK exit from the European Union. A massive vote of confidence in favour of remaining part of the EU. The chairman of the property and construction group at Smith & Williamson, Mark Webb echoed the thoughts of quite a few commentators from the construction sector, when noting the reasons for favouring the UK remaining within the EU:

when considering that the key components of the sector are also cornerstones of the EU, access to labour and flexible working, it is less shocking. The survey highlights the concern within the industry that should a Brexit happen there is a very high likelihood of access to labour declining as margins are squeezed.

– Access to labour is essential for the construction industry, the worry of a Brexit from the EU seems to be rooted in access to labour. Renegotiated treaties following such a decision, may well take years, may well require drawn out negotiations, and may result in much less ease of access to labour. Simon Thomas, Managing Director of Asset International, writing for Huffington Post similarly focused on the necessity of labour to fill the skills gap in construction in the UK:

The first major issue is access to labour, without which the construction industry would be unable to function. The industry relies heavily on foreign workers to fill both skilled and non-skilled job roles, and always has done.”

A core principle of the EU is the right of free movement, which makes immigration between member states relatively easy and stress-free. For the construction industry, this provides a vital resource. An EU exit would mean that foreign workers would find emigration to the UK much more difficult. It’s logical that in this scenario those skilled individuals will instead take the easy option and cast an eye toward France, Germany, or Spain, where the right of free movement would remain intact.

– As a key resource, ease of movement for labour – a fundamental value of the European Union, unlikely to be curbed – the construction industry is unlikely to back a British exit from the European Union. As it stands, the construction sector is set to bounce back from a slow few quarters, and so demand for labour is likely to grow, which means either free movement from EU members is going to be a greater necessity, or the UK is going to have to invest in training (hi, we’re North South Training!) up a huge number of British workers to fill the gap.

Out:

Clearly the consensus from the construction industry is that the UK should remain within the EU. But dissenting voices are vital to any consensus. It challenges our assumptions, it engages on a deeper level, and it strengthens or weakens positions, until we come to a better understanding of the issue. When I see a figure of 85% in support of a position, I want to know the arguments against, because strength in numbers is not automatically an indication of truth.

Lord Bamford, the Chairman of JCB is a dissenting voice. He is convinced that a Brexit could cut the costs of bureaucracy so much so that any additional costs of leaving the EU would be easily covered. Bamford also rubbishes the ‘scare mongering’ of those who insist it would make trade far more difficult with other European nations, because he insists it is in everyone’s interests to trade openly and freely:

I think it would be, because I really don’t think it would make a blind bit of difference to trade with Europe. There has been far too much scaremongering about things like jobs. I don’t think it’s in anyone’s interest to stop trade. I don’t think we or Brussels will put up trade barriers.

– Further, he claims the red tape imposed by Europe can often make it easier to trade with those outside the EU:

It’s a burden on our business and it’s easier selling to North America than to Europe sometimes.

– Lord Bamford’s belief that similar trade deals with the EU in the event of a British exit will likely remain similar for the sake of the interests, seems to be echoed by Parliament’s own recent briefing:

If the UK wished to remain in the single market but outside the European Economic Area (EEA), like Switzerland, it would probably have to accept certain EU rules by arrangement. Whether these would include the free movement of people would depend on the outcome of UK-EU negotiations.

Most studies on the impact of migration on the UK economy have found weak or ambiguous effects on economic output, employment and wages on average

On the other hand, if the UK were to negotiate a relationship with the EU similar to the EEA states or Switzerland, it might find that it did not have any greater scope to control EU immigration to the UK than it did as an EU Member State.

You are going to hear a lot of contradictory arguments across industries, across unions, and across businesses on the benefits of staying or leaving the European Union. When an opinion appears strong, a contrary view will break it down, and vice versa. Ultimately it is up to us as individuals to weigh the arguments, and come to a rounded decision. On a personal level, I am in the 1/3 of voters who have not made a decision, and remain open to persuasion from either side. One thing is for sure, it’s going to be a spectacularly complex, information packed few months until the referendum arrives.

Written by Jamie Smith, Marketing Manager at www.nstraining.co.uk

 

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GEZE UK is ‘The Automatic Choice’

GEZE UK has published a new technical guide to provide contractors, fabricators and architects with the information they need to specify the most appropriate and effective automatic operator.

Easy-to-use, ‘The Automatic Choice’ brochure encompasses GEZE’s extensive range of sliding, swing, revolving and folding doors including the latest Powerturn swing door drive and the Slimdrive range. This is supported by information and advice about how to specify the right products when taking in to account accessibility requirements, sustainability and industry regulations.

Available to download from the company’s website or in hard copy, the guide features double page spreads dedicated to each product with technical drawings and photography showcasing the products in situ across a range of different buildings. The detailed product data pages make comparisons between products quick and easy.

As well as GEZE’s complete range of automatic operators, it includes information about supporting products such as activation devices and safety systems, as well as advice about supply and installation, and repair and maintenance contracts.

Andy Howland, sales director of GEZE UK said: “We have worked hard to ensure that ‘The Automatic Choice’ technical guide is an invaluable tool for anyone looking to specify an automatic operator. It provides a comprehensive overview of all our automatic door systems allowing comparison between the benefits and functionality of different products to be carried out with ease.”

“This technical guide provides contactors, fabricators and architects with a good introduction to our range of products so they can make informed choices and select the best product for the job.”

‘The Automatic Choice’ brochure is available to download from GEZE’s website. Alternatively call 01543 443015 or email info.uk@geze.com for a printed brochure.

For more information www.geze.co.uk.

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Armstrong Ceilings set to debut at Resource 2016

Armstrong Ceilings’ sustainability guru also set to present recycling and Cradle to Cradle case studies.

Leading UK manufacturer Armstrong Ceilings is debuting at Resource 2016 AND delivering a presentation in the exhibition’s #buildcircular learning hub seminar.

The company’s sustainability manager Jeremy Sumeray will talk on the Wednesday (March 9th, 2-3pm) about how architects and specifiers can take lifecycle into account in specification via the use of appropriate materials and resource-efficient product design.

He will also discuss how these factors drive innovation, what the motives are and what the payback is for owners, using case studies that show how Armstrong has recycled old ceilings and installed Cradle to Cradle-certified products to provide safe, healthy and endlessly reusable materials as lifecycle thinking in practice.

Armstrong’s stand (R8030) at the event, which co-locates with Ecobuild (March 8-10) at ExCel, will reinforce the company’s position as the world’s first mineral ceiling tile manufacturer to win Cradle to Cradle certification for a single tile, and then a complete range, as well as its pioneering of ceiling recycling schemes in the UK.

Visitors to the stand will be entered into a prize draw to win a Cradle to Cradle certified Herman Miller Setu chair.

For more information please visit www.armstrongceilings.co.uk.

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“HS2 already changing Britain,” says chairman

The chairman of HS2 has said that the project is already changing the way private investors, as well as local and central government plan for the future in Britain.

But David Higgins said HS2 must also help change the way we deliver infrastructure in this country as soon as we can reap the benefits for future projects such as Hinckley Point.

Mr Higgins made his comments in a speech in Manchester marking the second anniversary of the launch of his first report in the city.

In that two years, he said, not only had the concept of re-balancing the British economy taken root, people were beginning the process of making it a reality, helped by the moves towards devolution.

Local authorities and enterprise partnerships not just in Birmingham, Manchester, and Leeds, but also in the North West, the East and West Midlands, and Yorkshire were using HS2 not just to re-think their transport systems, but also how they attract private investment to their areas – and business has responded.

They were taking responsibility for transforming both their local economies and the overall balance of the national economy.

Companies such as Burberry in Leeds, HSBC in Birmingham, Interserve in Solihull are beginning to recognise the benefits of the extra connectivity and capacity that HS2 will deliver – as are potential investors elsewhere.

The potential for that transformation is outlined in a report published by HS2 today – HS2: Changing Britain.

The report also outlines how HS2 is already changing the perceptions and ambitions of the next generation quoting Cheshire East councillor, Rachel Bailey, as saying that it is already having a tangible effect in Crewe:

“That difference is being felt in schools because it is helping to lift pupils’ horizons, particularly on skills.”

But Sir David also challenged the UK infrastructure industry to learn the lessons of construction elsewhere and become more streamlined in its approach.

A series of factors, he said, made the UK industry less cost effective: a history of stop/go which prevented firms investing in skills, innovation and technology; fragmentation leading to multiple overhead costs plus a lack of co-ordination between design and construction.

HS2, he said, was determined to adopt a new approach which would bear down on those factors and transform the way we deliver infrastructure in this country, without compromising HS2’s strategic objective to re-balance the British economy.

That approach would include:

  • early contractor involvement to drive innovation and efficiencies in design and methodology
  • adopting enabling works contracts to clear the line of route ahead of the main civils works
  • incentivising companies to out-perform
  • adopting techniques new to this country such as linear construction, which uses the newly constructed route as a supply chain access

“As a twenty year project we have no excuse not to become more streamlined in our approach and not to innovate.”

Sir David said the lessons learnt from applying this approach to Phase One would be then be transferred to Phase Two.

You can view the report here.
You can read the speech here.

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Modular home factory to open in Leeds

Legal & General Capital (LGC) has today announced the launch of its modular housing business, Legal & General Homes, which will seek to modernise the home building industry by providing modern, precision engineered factory manufactured houses through its new factory in the North of England.

The UK’s housing supply is in crisis. This is a chronic production problem; we simply don’t supply enough houses to meet the demand by customers, both young and old. The UK has an annual output of around 130,000 homes, with a requirement for 250,000. Legal & General is aiming to build thousands of modular houses to help tackle this long term problem.

Legal & General Homes has signed a long-term lease with Logicor on a 550,000 sq ft warehouse in Sherburn-in-Elmet, 15 miles east of Leeds, representing the largest modular homes construction factory in the world. Initially employing 400 to 500 local people, it expects to deliver its first houses from the factory in June. The customer response to our modular housing has been extremely positive from a wide range of developers.

Paul Stanworth, Managing Director of Legal & General Capital, said: “Sustainable, durable modern materials and proven technology will enable us to create high-quality homes meeting a wide range of housing needs and help solve the UK’s housing crisis. Modern modular housing in the UK has so far been restricted to the top end of the market: the scale of our Sherburn facility will enable many more people to benefit from new, environmentally-friendly construction techniques which have already become mainstream in Europe.”

A flexible, cost-effective solution, it will produce high quality homes tailored to meet customers’ designs and needs, ranging from 20-storey apartment blocks to rows of terraced, semi-detached and detached houses. The technology has been proven right across Europe, including countries such as Austria, Germany and Scandinavia where off-site manufacturing of housing is increasingly common place. Time spent building on site will be reduced by more than 70%, compared to traditional techniques, manufacturing sections in advance and delivering them to the site to be installed.

Tom Ground, Chief Executive of Legal & General Homes, commented: “Legal & General Homes aims to deliver a new solution to the problems we face in the UK, addressing the shortage of suitable, affordable and sustainable housing by manufacturing higher quality, energy efficient, lower cost housing.”

Legal & General Homes will not have the typical defects associated with house building by using cross laminated timber and automated technology to remove shrinkage, cracking, wet trades, plaster jointing and nailing – reducing repair costs as the building settles. Its homes will be precision engineered in order to make them energy efficient, great to live in, and better for the environment than traditional homes.

Roger Marsh OBE, Chair of Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (The LEP) commented: “I am delighted that The LEP was able to play a significant role in securing Legal & General’s investment into Selby. The confidence shown not only brings over 400 jobs to the area, it highlights the strength of the City Region’s workforce within the manufacturing sector and underlines our attractiveness to international investors due to our location at the heart of the UK which ensures easy access to both domestic and global markets.”

“The investment, which is the second in the region by Legal and General in the last 12 months following the joint venture with Scarborough Group at Thorpe Park, will also see The LEP and Legal and General work together to help meet the region’s growing housing demands.”

Leader of Selby District Council, Cllr Mark Crane, added: “This is a real vote of confidence in the Selby district as a great place for business investment. Our transport links, the availability of affordable business space, and the quality of life here in Yorkshire all contribute to the growth potential of our area. This isn’t just about jobs, this is about housing too and we’re excited by the products that will be made at this site. We’ve been working with Legal & General for some time now, and we’ll continue to do so, to finalise plans for this major investment in the Selby district.”

Charlie Howard, Managing Director – UK, Logicor, said: “We are very pleased to lease this building to L&G Homes. The Big555 is the UK’s largest readily available warehouse, located in Sherburn Distribution Park which provides strategic access to Yorkshire, the North West, the North East and the Midlands.”

As one of the largest UK property investors, with significant volumes of patient long-term capital under management, Legal & General has identified high quality housing stock as a key asset for society and wants to work with the Government, local authorities, housebuilders, social housing providers, charities and other specialist organisations to create more housing stock in the UK. It recently announced the launch of a Build to Rent partnership with PGGM, through which it will invest £600m into building purpose built private rental housing across the UK, providing over 3000 homes.

Our Mortgage Club provides large scale distribution of mortgages. In 2015 the Club completed £46bn of mortgage lending, with around one in five new UK mortgages going through it. It is part of the company’s Housing Partnerships Division, which includes Legal & General Surveying Services who managed over 490,000 mortgage valuations and surveys in 2015, and Insurance which provides a full range of protection products for homeowners, tenants and landlords.

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