New £2.3bn housing infrastructure fund announced in Autumn Statement November 23, 2016 A new £2.3bn housing infrastructure fund has been announced in the Autumn Statement to unlock new land for house building in high demand areas. The chancellor Philip Hammond also said there would be a £1.4bn fund to be spent on building 40,000 new homes. He announced a £3bn homebuilders' fund for 200,000 new homes and £2bn to build [...]
Experts welcome second investigation into London’s super sewer August 29, 2016 London is in desperate need of new sewage capacity, according to experts, who welcomed a second investigation into the Thames Tideway “super sewer” on transparency grounds. The National Audit Office (NAO) has said it will publish a second study into the £4.2bn infrastructure project in the autumn, when construction on the 25km Thames Tideway Tunnel [...]
Google’s still committed to the UK after Brexit promising major investment November 15, 2016 Google remains committed to the UK the tech company's top boss has said, with its headcount set to nearly double in the coming years as it goes ahead with plans for a new £1bn headquarters. "We see opportunities here," said Sundar Pichai on his first trip to London since becoming chief executive. However, a crackdown on skilled immigration would [...]
UK house prices were flat in October November 2, 2016 House prices were flat in October, as the housing market struggled to regain the momentum it lost following the EU referendum. According to data from Nationwide, there was no house price growth month-on-month in October. House prices increased 4.6 per cent year-on-year, down from an annual growth of 5.3 per cent in September. Read more: [...]
David Cameron promises £140m turnaround of sink estates January 10, 2016 David Cameron has promised £140m to redevelop so-called sink estates in an effort to tackle poverty and social problems. Some 100 housing estates across the UK will be redeveloped and some knocked down "starting from scratch" under new plans. "Behind front doors, families build warm and welcoming homes. But step outside in the worst estates [...]
Cut-price Chinese and Russian imports keep steel outlook negative into 2017, according to Moody’s October 26, 2016 Cheap imports from China and Russia will continue to constrain European steel prices over the next year, according to a report from Moody's Investors Service. As well as putting pressure on European prices, imports will also soak up "a fair share of the expected growth in steel demand", Moody's said. This was based on the [...]
Australia’s richest woman invests $300m in Yorkshire potash mine owned by fertiliser group Sirius Minerals October 25, 2016 The company directed by Australia's richest woman has signed a $300m (£246m) financing deal with fertiliser group Sirius Minerals for its Yorkshire potash mine. The British arm of Hancock Prospecting, chaired and directed by iron ore tycoon Gina Rinehart, will buy $50m worth of Sirius shares and a five per cent royalty stream of the first 14 megatonnes [...]
Caterpillar’s profits crawl as demand slows July 26, 2016 US heavy machine maker Caterpillar has been forced to downgrade its outlook for the rest of the year due to the problems facing mining and construction industries. Its lower guidance for the full year came alongside steep declines in second-quarter profit and revenue. Caterpillar now expects to earn $3.55 a share this year, excluding restructuring [...]
Interserve seals £37.5m account with Land Securities October 17, 2016 Interserve has won a three-year facilities management account with commercial property firm Land Securities, valued at £37.5m. The support services company announced it would be providing a range of services to Land Securities, including security, cleaning, customer service support and waste management. This would be across eight of its shopping centres, with a ninth – Westgate [...]
British steel “on track” to shake off multi-million pound losses and return to profit September 29, 2016 British Steel said today that it’s on track to go from making multi-million pound losses to returning a profit in this financial year. The firm successfully completed the first stage of its turnaround plan which included efficiency and cost-cutting measures, 270 new employees as well as a £50m capital investment. Read more: Union calls on Tata Steel [...]