Building Briefs – October 18th

Maven Capital Partners has sold Marketgait Apartments, a 116 bed purpose built student accommodation development in Dundee, to 90 North Real Estate Partners LLP.

The asset has been sold for £9.5 million generating a return in excess of 2x Multiple of Money for Maven’s clients in little over three years.

Maven purchased the property for £1.55m in April 2015 and, following a comprehensive £5m internal refurbishment, Marketgait Apartments opened in time for the start of the 2016/17 academic year. The property enjoyed 100% occupancy last year and is fully let again for the 2018/19 student year.

WQS secures £700,000 worth of new contracts

North Lanarkshire Council’s enterprise team has help Airdrie-based business WQS secure £700,000 worth of new contracts and a full order book.

WQS needed to raise working capital to service a series of large public contracts arose. The loan finance helped plug the gap in a £150,000 funding package, enabling the business to resource itself to meet the scaled up demands.

The company, which has been trading in its current form for two years, specialises in the monitoring, maintenance and upgrade of hot and cold water systems to help control the possible growth of Legionellosis. Customers span the public and private sectors across most of Scotland, with the majority located in the central belt.

Established by brothers Kevin and Des McGivern, WQS (UK) Ltd employs 17 staff and operates from 2,000 sq ft premises at Chapelhall Industrial Estate.

A second business, Wonderseal Ltd, which provides ‘patches’ for the repair of commercial water storage systems and is also run by the brothers, is seeing similar success, with products being shipped overseas to Belgium, Germany and the US to meet increasing customer demand.

Saint-Gobain celebrates partnership with Stronger Together on Anti-Slavery day

Saint-Gobain UK and Ireland is working with industry alliance Stronger Together to help tackle Modern Slavery in supply chains in the construction industry.

Today is Anti-Slavery Day which aims to raise awareness of modern slavery.

In the EU, construction ranks second only to the sex industry as the sector most prone to exploitation. Saint-Gobain UK and Ireland, with other industry sponsors, has helped shaped the Stronger Together construction programme which aims to tackle modern slavery in the sector. As part of this Stronger Together runs specialist training workshops and provides free resources, including a best practice tackling modern slavery toolkit for businesses.

Upcoming construction specific workshops will take place this year on 15 November in Derby and 11 December in London. Spaces are still available and you can book your place here.

Linthouse Housing Association housing upgrades completed

CCG (Scotland) Ltd has been on site with Linthouse Housing Association since January 2018 where a suite of upgrades to existing housing stock has been undertaken across two contracts including stock improvement and fabric repairs.

The first contract to have been completed is the stock improvement to properties in the Govan area of Glasgow where CCG’s planned maintenance division CCG Asset Management carried out boiler replacements, kitchen and bathroom installations, electrical upgrades and smoke and heat detection works reflecting the new requirements.

Works within each property varied; however, the contract included improvement works to approximately 250 properties.

This contract, valued at £1.2 million, was procured directly by Linthouse through the Scottish Procurement Alliance KB3 Workstream and was delivered within a 22-week programme.

Meanwhile, CCG Specialist Building Services (SBS), which has extensive experience in fabric renewal, is currently making good progress with the other contract at Hutton Drive, Govan. This division of the company is undertaking comprehensive tenemental repairs to four closes, including stone repairs, new roof tiling, installation of new boilers, external wall insulation and attic insulation to improve thermal performance, as well as new kitchens and bathroom layouts. The works also include amalgamation of unpopular bedsits.

The £3m contract will be delivered within a 60-week programme. Works commenced during January 2018 and are on programme. The contract was procured via Public Contracts Scotland under the Restricted Procedure.

Through ongoing dialogue with CCG’s Community Benefits team, the Association has secured benefits in this respect, which again are to the benefit of local charities and local school children in relation to work experience and possible, future careers.

New funding available for bike-friendly workplaces

Organisations have until November 12 to apply for funding to improve cycling provision and facilities through the Cycle Friendly Employer fund run by Cycling Scotland.

Grants between £5,000-£25,000, funded by Transport Scotland, are available and can be used for projects that encourage staff and visitors to travel by bike. The funding can cover:

Cycling Scotland’s latest Attitudes and Behaviours survey found that 30% of those identifying as everyday cyclists used their bikes to commute. With increased access to cycle paths and community links there are many workplaces that are ideal for cycle commutes, with a little bit of extra infrastructure.

Cycling Scotland believes this second round of funding will bring the total number of workplaces benefitting from grant funding to nearly 100, including awards made earlier in the year.

Applications for funding are open now and close on November 12.

Information is available here.

Inverclyde bridge repair work postponed

Bridge repair work in Inverclyde has been postponed.

The work along a major route through Gourock was due to start however it has been postponed until January.

Repairs will also be carried out to the existing concrete bridge deck and new kerbs and pavements installed.

Two thirds of rural Scots back wind energy

Almost seven in ten Scots living in rural areas support the use of onshore wind energy, a new poll has found.

The independent survey is the first to focus specifically on what people living outside urban areas think of renewable energy developments.

Results show 66% of rural Scots support the use of onshore wind energy, with 22% saying they have no opinion or don’t know and only 11% opposed to new onshore wind farms.

All renewable energy technologies enjoy high levels of support, with rural Scots backing solar power (83% support), wave and tidal energy (83% support), offshore wind energy (78% support) and biomass (69% support).

The poll, carried out by Survation, also found that eight in ten Scots living in rural areas (80%) think the next Scottish Government should continue to develop renewable energy sources.

In comparison, support for building new fossil fuel (coal, gas or oil) power stations or extending the life of existing ones stands at 42%.

Just 31% of rural Scots back fracking.

Hamilton gas supply network to be improved

Gas distribution firm SGN has started work to improve and upgrade the gas supply network in Hamilton.

The company is investing £367,000 in the scheme which is taking place on the Bothwell Road.

The work involves the replacement of old, metal gas mains with new plastic pipe to ensure a safe and reliable gas supply for many years to come.

Work on the scheme started on Monday 15 October and will last approximately 19 weeks.

SGN will be working in Bothwell Road from its junction with Arthur Street progressing north to its junction with May Street. The work will tale approximately seven weeks to complete.

After a short break for Christmas and the New Year, SGN will return to Bothwell Road near the entrance to the industrial estate opposite Hamilton Race Course. For the remaining seven weeks of the project, SGN will be working in various locations in Bothwell Road between May Street and Candymill Lane. The work will require the need to close the nearside lane in Bothwell Road’s northbound carriageway in the sections being worked in.

Emergency sewer works to begin in Aberdeen

Scottish Water has announced that it will be carrying out emergency sewer repair work in central Aberdeen.

The work, being undertaken by contractor Kier, will begin on Saturday 20th October on Union Street and last for approximately eight days.

To allow the safe excavation of the road surface to a depth of around 4 metres, a lane closure will need to be in place in the centre of Union Street between Rose Street and Chapel Street for the duration of the work.

A loading bay will be in place in Bon Accord Terrace for the duration of the work in order to mitigate the potential impact of the traffic management measures on local businesses.

Kier will have a representative available on site to speak to any customers affected.

Sewer manhole covers to be repaired in Elgin

Essential repair work to sewer manhole covers is to begin on South College Street on the A96 in Elgin.

The work, which is to start on Thursday 18 October, will ensure three manhole covers and the road surface around them remain safe for road users.

The A96 will be closed to traffic between its junction with Maisondieu Road and Greyfriars Street, with a signposted diversion in place. The road is scheduled to re-open at 5.30am on Friday 19th October.