Leading IB boarding school’s Fruitful Community Initiative brings pupils and workers together

Parent-led community project delivered over 1,000 treat bags to workers to mark New Year

PUPILS from Swiss International School Dubai (SISD), a unique IB, bilingual boarding school based in the heart of Dubai, recently visited a local construction site to donate ‘treat bags’ to the workers.

One of the school’s aims is to create caring global citizens, and to involve parents as much as possible in their world-class educational provision.

A school parent, Julia Fernandez, set up the ‘Fruitful Community Initiative’, a volunteer programme, in collaboration with Engineering Contracting Company and the relevant governmental authorities. The aim of the initiative is to empower students to learn about, and actively engage with, their surrounding community through volunteering, community engagement and acts of kindness.

And as part of the initiative, the school’s Grade 3 and Grade 11 pupils recently visited a construction site near the school in Al Jadaf, to wish the construction team a Happy New Year, learn about their construction project from civil engineers, and share fruits and treats as a symbol of celebration and community.

SISD’s parent community packed 1,000 treat bags, containing more than 10,000 food items, including apples, bananas, oranges and dates, along with fruit juice, chocolates and biscuits.

Each treat bag was decorated by Grade 1 and 2 students with messages and pictures of appreciation for the builders of Dubai.

Alison Roberts, Head of Marketing and Admissions at the award-winning school, said: “This was a very heartwarming and impactful initiative for our students to be part of. We hope to continue our support for this programme and are excited to see how the Fruitful Community Initiative develops in future. It gives our students the opportunity to contribute significantly to building a compassionate and socially-conscious generation.”

Teaching staff at Leeds College of Building are elated after receiving eleven articulated trailers of equipment donated by Legal & General. The materials and tools will be used to train the next generation of construction professionals enrolled across the College’s North Street and South Bank Campuses. 

The donation includes 60 pallets of fire, moisture, and general-purpose grade plasterboards, bathroom suites, consumer units, switches and sockets, timber flooring, internal doors, plinths and skirting, paint, workshop vacuums cleaners, strip lights, mini skips, toolboxes, timber chop saws, portable power tools, a pallet of spirit levels, plumbing consumables, and more. Richard Longley, Managing Director in Legal & General Capital’s housing division:

“When an opportunity arose to further develop tradespeople of the future, we were delighted to be able to offer our support to Leeds College of Building and contribute to the next generation of UK home builders. A lot of our own team came through the College’s doors to learn their trades, so it’s wonderful to give something back.”  The Legal & General donation will be split across multiple departments and used to benefit most of the Construction Crafts trainees at the College. This includes students and apprentices studying plastering, carpentry and joinery, painting and decorating, wall and floor tiling, multi-skills, brickwork, plumbing, welding, and electrical specialisms. 
Wayne Chappelow, Head of Construction Crafts at Leeds College of Building, said:
“We have worked with Legal & General for many years to establish qualifications that met their needs and placed several apprentices with them.This donation is the latest development in our partnership, and we are absolutely overwhelmed by the generosity!

“My thanks go to Legal & General for this incredible donation of materials, tools, and equipment. It will help to ensure Leeds College of Building students receive the best possible training for successful employment as they go into the workplace. 

“We rely on essential material donations like these to continue our training and are so grateful to the exceptional businesses that work with us regularly. This work is vital to build the construction workforce of the future and boost the number of skilled professionals needed to fill critical skills gaps across trades.” A significant part of the donation includes brand new tools and equipment designed for “tape and fill” – a key skill in the dry lining industry and an area where Legal & General found a significant shortage of talent. Other equipment includes general and battery-operated hand tools, PPE and RPE such as air-fed face masks, and specialist Teflon-coated setting-out tables for welded, brazed, and soldered components to be used in the fabrication and welding department. 
Legal & General’s donations are the latest in a series of substantial material donations to the College, including roofing supplies donated by SR Timber, Glidevale Protect, CUPA Pizarras, BMI UK& Ireland, Rinus Roofing Supplied Ltd, Hunslet Roofing Supplies Ltd, Wienerberger UK, Velux, Midland Lead Ltd, Hambleside Danelaw, Monument Tools Ltd, Permavent Ltd, and more.

Find out more about Construction Craft courses at the next Leeds College of Building open event on Thursday 22 February (5 – 7 pm, North Street Campus). Register for your free place at www.lcb.ac.uk/events. 

• 17% of all insolvencies were construction companies last year
• Construction insolvencies have outpaced all other UK sectors for the last three years
• Cancellation of Northern leg of HS2 hits confidence

The construction sector is experiencing the highest number of insolvencies of any industry in the UK, with 4,370 companies going bust in the year to the end of November 2023, representing 17% of all insolvencies*, says Mazars, the international audit, tax and advisory firm.

In 2022, the UK’s construction sector contributed 6% to the country’s GDP**. Construction insolvencies have consistently outnumbered any other sector for the past three years, with 2022/23’s figure showing a 7% increase from the 4,086 companies that went insolvent in 2021/22 and a 76% rise from 2,481 2020/21.

Mazars says that the construction sector has been hit hardest with a perfect storm of high material and labour costs. The impact of rising borrowing costs has further impacted profit margins on both live and pipeline development projects. 2023 saw mortgage rates reach a 15-year high, putting a dent in consumer confidence and taking the heat out of the dramatic price rises in residential housing over recent years.

Mark Boughey, Partner in the Restructuring Services team at Mazars, says: “There are now on average a dozen building companies going under every single day in the UK. This is an immensely difficult period for the construction sector.”

“One problem is that the commercial viability of a lot of today’s projects were assessed three or four years ago, with fixed price contracts often being negotiated – since then, costs have spiralled, while buyers’ appetite has taken a dive. Construction contractors operate on very tight margins at the best of times – the sector is really being squeezed at both ends right now.”

Insolvencies in the sector have been highest in specialised construction activities, such as demolition, electrical and plumbing, representing 58% of all insolvencies in the sector over the last twelve months.

“We saw a number of bigger contractors filing for insolvency 12 to 18 months ago and now those failures are being felt downstream in the supply chain,” says Mark. “Sub-contractors aren’t getting paid on time or to the agreed levels and, as a result, are now starting to experience their own financial problems. The impact of failures in the sector cuts both ways though – when smaller companies fold, it can cause major delays for the main developers in completing projects.”

“Whilst some of the headwinds around increasing borrowing costs and material prices have eased, we’re unfortunately likely to see these difficulties persist through 2024 and into 2025.”

* Source: Insolvency Service

** Source: United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, Share of construction in GDP, 2022   

Housebuilder Pro is a cloud-based software application created by software development experts Shoothill with invaluable design input from Shropshire-based house builders Shingler Homes.

In April, the average cost of a home reached a record of £286,079. However, with rising interest rates and
outrageously fast increases to the cost of living, could house prices have peaked?

On Thursday last week, the Bank of England raised interest rates to 1% from 0.75% to try and fight off increasing inflation, the rate in which is forecast to surpass 10% this year – the highest level since 1982. With our daily lives becoming more and more expensive, this seemingly unstoppable house price growth month on month must come to an end eventually, so at the very least, we should expect a significant slowdown at some point, if not a decline.

Repositioning yourself for this is key as a salesperson in the new home construction industry – as selling homes will become increasingly more challenging, and for first time buyers, increasingly confusing; Will monthly mortgage payments increase? Will deposits need to be higher? Will house prices decrease? These questions are going to be at the forefront of the minds of a new home buyer, which in turn may
encourage you to rethink your sales strategy. Here are some ways you might go about doing this.

Offer a wider range of financing options.

With rising interest rates, the cost of borrowing will only increase. The word ‘mortgage’ may be enough to terrify first time buyers, so encouraging larger deposits is key. Offering a wide variety of mortgages can help those that may find saving the hardest and help find a solution that can work for them. ‘Green Mortgages’ are new options that offer buyers of energy-efficient homes more favourable terms, ideal for many new home sellers. Learn more about green mortgages here.


Implement educational content into your marketing strategy.

Changing your marketing strategy in a way that will help buyers achieve their financial goals might prove to be mutually beneficial. Offer them tips and actions they can take to save more for that deposit. Not only are you helping them achieve their goals, but you are helping them achieve your goals too. A great example of educational blog formats that help achieve this include ‘top 5s’. Short, punchy content resonates well with a younger audience, the first time buyer demographic.


Communicate the financial benefits of new-build homes over traditional homes. Ryan Lloyd, Digital Marketing Specialist, Housebuilder Pro

With the cost of living so high mainly thanks to the war in Ukraine, utility bills will be one of the major concerns for prospective buyers. New homes have many benefits over traditional homes that help keep these costs low. Communicate these benefits as much as possible as part of your sales and marketing efforts. New homes offer increased energy efficiency benefits as they are built to much higher standard and need to adhere to modern regulations. On average, new build homes are far cheaper to run for this reason alone.

The best thing sales teams can do in times where buyers might be more hesitant than usual is to be as transparent as possible and be as efficient as possible in managing enquiries, so no questions are left unanswered. The sales process doesn’t need to feel like you’re juggling a hundred tennis balls. See how Housebuilder Pro helps sales teams here.

Property & Development Magazine | The Home of Residential Sector News

Lincolnshire-based developer, Allison Homes, has announced the appointment of Dave Sheridan
as a Non-Executive Director. Former CEO of Keepmoat and currently Executive Chairman of Ilke
Homes, Dave brings a strong track record in delivering growth, and extensive experience with
private equity arrangements.

Starting out over 40 years ago at Wimpey Homes, by 2012 Dave was CEO of Keepmoat and oversaw
a period of impressive growth during which the company increased output from around 1,500
homes per year to 4,500. He joins the Allison board as the company seeks to deliver against similarly
ambitious targets.

Speaking of the appointment, John Anderson, CEO Allison Group, said: “I’m delighted to welcome
Dave on board. His track record in managing rapid growth will have a significant impact on Allison as
will his extensive experience of partnerships and private equity.

“He also brings drive and energy in the field of construction, his knowledge around Modern Methods
of Construction (MMC) will be invaluable to the Allison board and to me personally. This is a very
important period for Allison and I’m looking forward to working with Dave and the rest of the board
as we pursue our goals.”

Dave Sheridan said: “Under John’s leadership, Allison Homes is embarking on an exciting new
chapter, and I am eager to be a part of it. Globally it’s a challenging time but that doesn’t change the
fact that the UK is in desperate need of new housing. I believe there is significant potential for a
company with the drive and ambition of Allison to make a major impact on the delivery of those new
homes.”

Operating in Lincolnshire, Rutland, Cambridgeshire, Devon, Somerset, Norfolk and Suffolk, Allison
has recently announced several significant planning achievements in line with the growth strategy.
In addition, a strategic partnership with Legal & General Affordable Homes for The Oaks in Norwich
was unveiled earlier this year.

Dave continues: “Allison has all the ingredients – strong landbank, excellent vision and defined
values in terms of quality of build and customer service – to shake up the status quo and I’m looking
forward to working with John and the team to help them capitalise on the opportunities.”

Property & Development Magazine

Construction works on a new £19m residential scheme in Nottinghamshire are set to commence in summer 2021, led by property developer Taggart Homes.

Located in the old market town of Retford, in north Nottinghamshire, the development known as ‘Bracken Lane’ will consist of 71 two, three, four and five-bed properties ranging from £195,000 to £475,000.

Due to complete in winter 2022, the new homes will comprise different property types including detached and semi-detached – all finished to the finest quality with high specification fixtures and fittings throughout, as well as landscaped gardens; as is typical from leading home builder, Taggart Homes. 

Properties will appeal to a varied demographic including first time buyers, downsizers and families.

The Bracken Lane development lies within walking distance of the historical market town of Retford – a desirable location offering a range of amenities including a town centre and an array of high street shops and independent bars, pubs and restaurants.

Situated on the northern side of Bracken Lane to the south east of Retford, homes will be partially enclosed by established mixed native hedgerows and mature trees, with accessible links to local transport routes such as Retford train station and the A1 motorway nearby.

The scheme also sits adjacent to a primary school, and is within the catchment area for a number of sought-after primary and secondary schools, in the vicinity.

Located in the Bassetlaw area of Nottinghamshire, secondary schools in Retford have also benefitted from a major overhaul which involved moving to new facilities built around the town under Bassetlaw District Council’s Transform Schools scheme – which included Retford Post-16 Centre which provides vocational, technical and higher education courses to students.

Further afield, the development will offer easy access to beauty spots and places of interest such as Idle Valley Nature Reserve less than four miles away, Retford Golf Club just over two miles away and cities including Lincoln, Nottingham and Sheffield all fewer than 35 miles away, with frequent rail connections to each.

Chief executive officer of Taggart Homes, Michael Taggart, said: “Bracken Lane will be an attractive new development bringing high quality homes to a desirable location in north Nottinghamshire.

“The range of properties will suit all types of homebuyers – from first timers, to families and those looking to downsize. As with all of our developments, high spec fixtures and fittings, quality materials and meticulous attention to detail are paramount and will make these homes a modern, wonderful place to live in a location that offers so much.

“We are pleased that works are starting on this exciting development and look forward to seeing these high-quality homes take shape.”

Tim Downing, at Pygott & Crone, sole selling agent for Bracken Lane, said: “We are pleased to be marketing this exciting new development bringing high-spec homes to north Nottinghamshire, on the south east edge of the historic market town of Retford.

“Taggart Homes has a reputation for building quality homes, weaving together excellent design ideas and premium materials to deliver real value for money to its customers. We are already seeing a great deal of interest in this development and look forward to seeing works progress.” Prospective homebuyers can register their interest with Pygott & Crone by contacting Tim Downing on tdowning@pygott-crone.com, or by calling 07703 204975.

Property & Development Magazine

Aberdeenshire Housebuilding and Construction : Bancon Group reports positive trading performance, despite COVID

Bancon Group has announced positive trading results for the year ending 31 March 2020.

A marked improvement in margins at the Aberdeenshire housebuilder and construction group led to an increase in operating profit from £10.3milion in 2019 to £13.2million. This is despite turnover dropping from £92million to £85million as a direct result of the inability to trade during the final weeks of the financial year due to the COVID-imposed lockdown.

Since coming out of lockdown in the summer of 2020, Bancon Group has reported a strong recovery and trading performance and now has a positive forward sales position across its homes, timberframe and construction businesses.

Notwithstanding the on-going market challenges in the North-east of Scotland, Bancon Homes has continued to deliver its ambitious growth plans. Three new developments were launched in the period, with further sites secured since its year end, including its first site in the Central belt as part of its expansion outwith its traditional North-east market.

Deeside Timberframe delivered a record year after capitalising on the increasing demand for off-site construction methods by growing  repeat business with existing customers.

Trading performance and margins were ahead of expectations at Bancon Construction. This is attributed to the clear strategy of  focusing on higher margin work and extending its reach throughout Scotland.

Exceptional costs of £3million, incurred in the period, have suppressed the group’s overall position of improved margins and trading performance, resulting in a loss before tax of £0.5million in the annual accounts. These were due to a non-cash impairment to write down the value of a long-held development and a one-off loss on a historic construction contract.

John Irvine, chief executive of Bancon Group, said: “These robust results in a financial year, which was impacted by the pandemic and the subdued market in the North-east at the time, reflect the overall health of the group.  

“With significantly improved margins and trading performance across all three of our businesses, coupled with a very encouraging future order book, we have firm foundations from which to build sustainable, profitable growth once the impact of the pandemic is behind us.”

This confidence is shared by Santander who have signed a three-year extension to the group’s banking facility.

Mr Irvine added: “Three months of not being able to trade during lockdown and the subsequent reduced levels of activity as restrictions eased in 2020 will inevitably impact on our current financial year. But, thanks to actions taken and the support of our employees, we have emerged strongly and 2021/22 will see continued strong operating profits and a return to profit before tax. The longer-term outlook for Bancon Group is very promising indeed.” Bancon Group, head-quartered in Banchory, Aberdeenshire operates in North-east and Central Scotland and employs over 260 people.

Property & Development Magazine