Interserve, the services, maintenance and building provider, has won the award for Innovation at the Human Capital Awards ceremony in London on 12 October 2009.
Interserve, which faced tough competition in the innovation category, was recognised for its successful development and implementation of its Sustainable Development Guide - RENEWABLES. The entry focussed on how all Interserve employees implement sustainability in day-to-day duties, and are driving a cultural shift in service delivery.
The Human Capital Awards celebrate the impact of people and HR-led programmes on the business performance and profitability of organisations across the UK, highlighting the growing flexibility, versatility and productivity of the best UK companies.
Steve Thomas, HR Director at Interserve Facilities Management, commented: “We are delighted to be recognised by such a prestigious awarding body. Our aim is to provide a practical means of implementing our sustainable development policy and drive a cultural change across the organisation. Since the RENEWABLES guide was launched in June 2008, sustainability has become embedded into every activity across the country, with a direct and positive result for our clients, and our business. Winning this award is a fantastic achievement and testament to the hard work of all of us.”
An Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) ‘building for 2012’ map shows a snapshot of around 1,500 companies spread across the UK already supplying goods and services to the for the venues and infrastructure needed for the Games.
ODA Chairman John Armitt said: ‘The map is a snapshot of how businesses are benefiting from the investment in the Games project. It shows around 1,500 UK companies from Inverness to Taunton have already won contracts ,a mere fraction of what will be the total number.’
Speaking at the London 2012 Business Summit today, London Organising Committee (LOCOG) Chair SebCoe also announced that LOCOG will tender around £700 million worth of goods and services for the staging of the Games. These include facilities management, catering, production services for Ceremonies and technology.
Seb said: ‘The focus so far has been on the ODA and construction, but the Organising Committee is now at a stage where we move from planning to delivery.
‘With less than three years to go, we’re starting the procurement process for everything we need to stage a memorable Games. The scope of this is potentially massive - from sporting equipment to catering services and beyond.
‘We often talk about the Games heralding a golden decade of sport and I believe that this could be matched by a golden decade of sport-related business. We want the Games to be a triumph for Britain – at the finish line and the bottom line.’
Keller Group plc , the international ground engineering specialist, issued a resilient trading forecast in their Interim Management Statement released this week. the group say thatmost of the geographical markets in which we operate remain "challenging" however in most of their regions public infrastructure spending remains robust although privately-financed construction generally is still fragile.
Revenues and margins since the first half have continued to be below the comparable period in 2008 , however the group say that "viewed in the context of the difficult market conditions, the results so far reflect a resilient performance."
The Group's financial position remains strong. After payment for the acquisition of Resource Holdings, net debt at the end of October stood at approximately £100million reflecting good cash generation in the period. The Group retains over £200million of committed facilities expiring between 2010 and 2014 to meet its strategic and operational goals.
Order intake, which in the first half of the year was down 22% on a like-for-like basis compared with the preceding first half, has since remained reasonably steady. However, reduced levels of construction expenditure around the world have, as expected, resulted in tighter pricing which will generate lower margins until our markets recover.
Balfour Beatty, the international construction group , has revealed a strong order book standing at £13.7 billion, in its Interim Management Statement this week.
The company said that there had been strong overall performance in the building sector in the U.K. and the U.S. in the period from June 28 to Nov. 10.
Balfour Beatty said that its order book at the end of September was at the same level as at the half-year stage. It reported a first-half order book at GBP12.5 billion. But the order book was boosted by the September acquisition of U.S. professional services company Parsons Brinckerhoff for £353 million.Parsons Brinckerhoff's order book will add £1.2 billion.
Balfour Beatty,primarily an infrastructure business catering for the government, regulated and private industries,operates in various sectors that have been hit by the credit squeeze and subsequent recession.However its balance sheet remains strong with cash in excess of £260 million.
Balfour Beatty shares closed Tuesday at 264 pence, giving the company a market capitalization of £1.81 billion.
According to the Office for National Statistics, UK unemployment fell to 7.8% in the quarter to September, down from 7.9% in the April-June period.The number of unemployed people increased by 30,000 to 2.46m, the lowest quarterly increase since March-May 2008, while the number of people in employment rose by 6,000 to 28.93m.
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Yvette Cooper, said: “The figures show more people in work and a lot more young people taking up our offer of full-time education and training, which is welcome news...The fact that unemployment is significantly lower than everyone forecast at the beginning of the year shows the support for the economy is making a real difference. But we know things are still tough for a lot of families, and unemployment is expected to increase further next year. That’s why we’re determined to do more with an extra 35,000 youth jobs, more apprenticeships and education places so we can guarantee no young person gets stuck in long term unemployment.”
Laing O'Rourke today announced that chief operating officer Tony Douglas is leaving the firm.Douglas joined Laing O'Rourke from BAA two years ago as chief operating officer as part of the succession plan.O'Rourke blamed the global economic crisis for the rethink about the group’s leadership.
Ray O’Rourke said: “The original appointment agreement was entered into by both parties in good faith. As my fellow shareholders and I are now unable to deliver on the original intent, I want to register my gratitude to Tony for the respect and professionalism he has shown to Laing O’Rourke at this time.
It is believed that Mr Douglas, who is highly regarded in the industry after successfully overseeing the completion of Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 5 on time and to budget, has been approached in connection with at least three other jobs.
The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Housing Market Survey for October 2009 reveals that House prices continue to rise despite an increase in the number of new instructions received by agents.
The net balance of Chartered Surveyors reporting rises rather than falls in house prices reached a positive reading of 34 in October, up from 20 percent in September ,the highest result since December 2006. London is leading the upturn in prices with the net balance of surveyors reporting rises rather than falls for London climbing to 95 percent ,the highest figure since December 1996.
A net balance of 15 percent of surveyors reported that new instructions had increased in October, compared to a reading of 5 percent in September. Significantly, all regions reported a rise in instructions for the first time since the onset of the credit crunch with the North, the South West and London leading the way.
Transaction levels continued to rise with sales per surveyor edging up to 19 over the past three months. As a result, the sales to stock ratio,a measure of market slack and an indicator of future prices, rose for its tenth consecutive month and stands at 30.
The net balance of surveyors reporting an increase rather than a decrease in new buyer enquiries slipped from 35 percent in September to 31 percent. However, only East Anglia is seeing a fall in buyer enquiries while buyer interest is strongest in London.
Jeremey leaf of RICS said of the results "Although the supply of property is beginning to pick-up, it is still insufficient to keep pace with the increase in demand which points to further prices gains in the near term. Cheap money remains a critical prop for the market and this is being reflected in the continuing appetite for finance from first-time buyers despite the large deposits still being demanded by lenders."
Kier, the construction and housebuilding firm , has announced in its interim report that public sector work is helping it to continue steadily after a "good start" to its financial year.
Since July the company won £250 million in work under the Building Schools for the Future scheme with projects from councils in Bolton and Telford and Wrekin as well as £70 million in health projects.
The firm added that the private housing market had "stabilised" while its fast-growing support services business has a "long list of potential new contracts".
Kier has also prequalified for early contracts on the Crossrail east-west London rail link and is bidding for similar work in Hong Kong.The company's housebuilding business has meanwhile secured almost three-quarters of its planned sales for the year in completions and orders so far.
Social housing remains solid as long council waiting lists prompt an increase in schemes. Kier has won £56 million in new work from local authorities and registered social landlords which is due to start on site in the next year.
Today the government named 10 sites where new nuclear power stations may be built whilst announcing changes to planning rules aimed at speeding up approval for energy projects.
Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband said "The threat of climate change means we need to make a transition from a system that relies heavily on high carbon fossil fuels to a radically different system that includes nuclear, renewable and clean coal power,"
Adding,"The current planning system is a barrier to this shift... that is why we are undertaking fundamental reform of the planning system which will result in a more efficient, transparent and accessible process."
He also said no new coal fuelled power stations would be allowed to be built without carbon capture and storage.
The 10 sites had been nominated by energy firms hoping to build reactors. Most are on or adjacent to existing plants, but two identified as suitable are on new sites, Braystones and Kirksanton, both in Cumbria and on the “nuclear coast”.A potential site in Dungeness, was ruled out because of the possible impact on the local ecosystem, which is noted for its birdlife and bleak beauty.
Ministers hope the first of a new generation of stations can come on stream as early as 2017.
In response to the announcement, Conservative energy spokesman Greg Clark accused the government of a "last minute scramble" to act after 12 years of procrastination in the face of looming energy shortages.
Bristol City Football club have received the green light from the local council planning authorities to proceed with their plans a new stadium
Speaking seconds after the ruling, City's chief executive Colin Sextone said "To get the permission in the Green Belt, albeit with some reservations, was the big hurdle to cross...There are other hurdles that we still need to cross, but that was the big one. We've got to be very pleased because a lot of hard work has gone into this...There were a lot of contentious issues in this and emotions were going to be high. We understand that but overall this is very good news and we're very pleased."
The new stadium will include a hotel and conference facilities and be capable of expanding to seat 40,000 fans. The stadium relocation and land development project will cost £90m in total, and depends on the club finding a buyer for Ashton Gate.Sainsbury's has signed an agreement to buy the land at Ashton Gate but its planning application will not be submitted until March 2010.
