Opinion – Page 404
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Comment
Taylor Wimpey update update
There is a degree of uncertainty surrounding the date of Taylor Wimpey's next trading update - but what can we read into it?While Persimmon brought theirs forward this week and Barratt and Redrow are pencilled in the diary for November, there is no word from TW on a date yet.It ...
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Comment
A week is a long time in housebuilding
This week's news that £254m-turnover David McLean had fallen into administration sent reverberations around the industry because it was the biggest construction faller yet in the credit crunch.Administrator Deloitte will wind up the contracting arm and plans to sell off its housing developments; all very sensible so far.Presumably all the ...
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Comment
Housebuilding bonuses under scrutiny
When the Redrow board announced it was taking a combined £271,000 in performance bonuses this year, even a few City analysts raised an eyebrow.Not known for their readiness to criticise the bonus culture, some questioned how it would look after a year of mass redundancies and, more to the point, ...
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CommentVigilance at all times: When to give notice to the insurer
Insuring your building against design risks is one thing, but as the Kajima case shows, deciding when to give notice to the insurer – and what to claim – is quite another
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Comment
Self-defence for directors: Risks to directors when a company goes under
In the second article in our series on the legal implications of the economic downturn, we look at the risk to directors if their company goes under
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Comment
Chris Rickard into the breach
Taylor Wimpey is keeping new finance director Chris Rickard firmly under wraps at the moment. It's probably a wise move; he has better things to do than meet the City or talk to the press.Like steer the housebuilder towards the safe haven of a refinancing deal.He comes with a healthy ...
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Comment
Bit of banter between Pidgley and Ronson
At a recent property event, heavyweights Tony Pidgley and Gerald Ronson shared a stage.It didn't take long before the thorny subject of planning came up. Berkeley Homes boss Pidgley bemoaned a process he said overlooked the fact real human beings were involved.He continued: "I was in Disneyland with my three-year ...
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Comment
The UK construction industry is in recession
If the definition you use is two quarters of negative growth, then on the first count by the national statisticians the construction industry is in a recession.The latest GDP figures show that growth in the whole economy dipped by 0.5% in the third quarter. This was the first fall for ...
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CommentMy digital life: Lee Penson
This architect likes a life of adventure, be it driving a classic Jaguar, yachting or racing cars on PS3. But even if he’s in the middle of a far-off ocean, he’ll be busy emailing the folks back home
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CommentThe men with two brains
Open mike: What relationship should architects have with project managers? Well they’re a bit like two halves of the same cortex – but there’s only room for one leader, says Keith Mason
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CommentQSs in the crossfire
The collapse of the commercial sector and doubts over public spending have left cost consultants facing a bitter battle for work, with fees plummeting and staff casualties expected to be high. Olivia Boyd reports on how QSs are fighting the downturn
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CommentThings that go bump in the night
If you’re a fancy finance boy thinking of taking a jump – well, go right ahead. For the rest of us, says Greg Verhoef, the game is survival and that means preparing the ground for a soft landing
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Comment
Positive action
All of us here at Inbuilt are enthusiastic about the UK Green Building Council’s report on Low Carbon Existing Homes which was published this week.
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CommentRaising the bar
It is no surprise to see that a scheme masterminded by Countryside Properties under the chairmanship of Alan Cherry has won the Stirling prize.
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Comment
Painting a bleak picture
The HSE recently found that a high number of professional home refurbishment projects in London were unsafe. But this hides a big problem: exposure to lead dust and fumes arising from something as simple as redecorating your own living room (if you live in a pre-1960s home).
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Comment
All they survey
I worked for many years in the engineering insurance industry as an engineer surveyor carrying out statutory inspections of lifting equipment. During the course of my job I visited many building sites each week to inspect cranes and other mobile lifting equipment. Although I am now retired, I know that ...
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CommentHow to score a bull’s-eye
The government is way off target on its schools building programme. So what, precisely, would the Tories do if they were in charge? Michael Gove takes aim
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CommentBuilding buys a pint … for Verry Construction
The Stirling prize is clearly not what it used to be for Verry Construction. Two days after it was announced that Feilden Clegg Bradley had won UK architecture’s top prize for a housing scheme in Cambridge, the team at Verry is reminiscing fondly about last year’s award.
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CommentWhat is to be done?
Do you remember the joke doing the rounds in the last recession? What do you say to an architect? “Big Mac and fries, please.”