Archive for the ‘Real Estate Finances’ Category
Morgan Sindall on track for record profit
Contractor predicts strong 2008 final figures and says broad spread of activity should underpin its performance next year
Morgan Sindall has said it remains on track to carry out record profit in 2008.
In a trading update this morning, the UK-based contractor said: “The forward order book remains strong at £3.8bn and in addition to this, Urban Regeneration’s development pipeline has increased to £1.3bn.”
Barratt land sale brings in £46m
Housebuilder will use money to reduce £1.7bn debt
Barratt has netted £46m from the sale of industrial land and buildings from its Wilson Bowden Development arm.
Some £39.2m is due upon completion, scheduled for early 2009, with the remainder expected to follow over the course of the next 18 months.
Taylor Wimpey leak reveals refinancing deal near
City analysts say leaked internal email suggests increased likelihood of deal early next year
Analysts have said that an internal email sent by Taylor Wimpey chief executive Pete Redfern to staff on 12 December suggests an increased likelihood of a refinancing deal in the new year.
Business rates to rise 5% from April
CBI warns of threat to economy after government ignores its call for a business rate freeze
The government has told local authorities that business rates will rise by 5% in April 2009, in line with last September’s unusually high RPI rate of inflation.
WSP shifts staff from Dubai as market slows
Consultant redirects resources in response to market crisis, predicting global profits ahead of expectations
WSP is shifting staff away from Dubai as the market there comes to a standstill, the engineering consultant said in a trading update today.
Balfour Beatty breaks into European top 10
UK contractors make up over one-quarter of top 100 list
Balfour Beatty has been named as the seventh-largest construction firm in Europe, returning the UK to the top 10 for the first time in recent memory.
Although only one British firm was named in the top 10, as many as 28 of the top 100 largest construction companies in Europe were from the UK. Taylor Wimpey was the next largest, at 13th on the list, with Carillion soon after at 15th. Vinci, the French contractor, was named the largest in Europe.
Manchester plans iced for Europe’s tallest apartment tower
Downturn drives Ballymore and Inacity to halt construction work and apply to convert site back into vehicle park
It has not been a good year for Wayne Mellor, chairman of multimillion-pound property developer Inacity.
First there was the community service Mellor was ordered to do in September, following his stone-throwing assault on the home of his former lover’s boyfriend.
South African group buys stake in WSP division
Black economic empowerment consortium Intsaki acquires 26% of WSP Africa
Consultant WSP has announced that South African group Intsaki has bought 26% of its Africa division for £3.5m.
Intsaki, which is backed by Investec bank, is a black-controlled economic empowerment group that was formed under a programme launched by the South African government after the end of apartheid to redress the economic balance in the country.
Grontmij and Baqus circle Pettifer consultancy
RBS says sale of £10m PCM arm must be finalised by 19 December
Dutch consultant Grontmij and UK firm Baqus are understood to be among several bidders circling the PCM consulting arm of Pettifer Group, according to sources close to the company.
Mouchel threatens to ditch BSF
High bid costs drive consultant to review involvement in government school building programme
Mouchel is reviewing if to continue bidding for work under the government’s £45bn Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme as dissatisfaction grows with the scheme’s high procurement costs.
Carillion forecasts strong profit growth
Support services firm predicts ‘enhanced earnings’ in 2009 and reveals costs savings of £50m since acquisition of Alfred McAlpine
Support services giant Carillion has forecast double-digit profit growth in 2009 despite what it called the ‘increasingly difficult economic background’.
Cash-in-hand cowboys cost Treasury £2bn a year
Government admits there’s ‘minimal’ chance of catching small firms that evade VAT
Self-employed firms could be costing the Treasury £2bn a year in lost revenue, a new report by the House of Common Public Accounts Committee has warned.
Despite the survey published as HMRC: Tackling the Hidden Economy showing 2 million people working in the informal economy, the report said the chances of these people being caught is “minimal”.
House buy loan volume up by 14% in October
Council of Mortgage Lenders data shows rise bucking annual trend
October saw an increase of 14% in the volume of house buy loans, and a 10% increase in value, compared with September, new data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has shown.
Scott Wilson posts 18% increase in turnover
Engineering and design consultant’s interim results show 10% rise in profit
Scott Wilson Group has posted strong interim results for the period ending 26 October 2008, with revenue up 17.8% compared with the same period in 2007.
The multidisciplinary international design and engineering consultant said that the rise in revenue shows “strong organic growth and confident outlook”.
Cyril Sweett reports 30% rise in profit
Acquisitions revenue contribute more than half of group’s 40% increase in turnover
Trading at Cyril Sweett Group rose substantially year on year for the six months stopped 30 September, buoyed by revenue from acquisitions, public sector work and overseas work.
ISG acts to counter credit crunch
Contractor rebalances activities as downturn hits London office and regional private work
ISG has said that the downturn has hit both its London commercial and regional contracting businesses.
At a trading update for the past three months, the contractor and fit-out specialist said it has started to feel the negative effects of the credit crunch.
Capital values to fall harder than in seventies
Commercial property will lose ‘at least 50%’ of value by 2011, says new RICS forecast
Commercial property capital values will have fallen by at least 50% by the end of 2010, making this a worse downturn than those in the seventies and nineties.