Neom is a so-called ‘smart’ city planned for development in Tabuk province, northwest Saudi Arabia.
Aecom’s role will include oversight of masterplanning, design and construction services, through to testing, commissioning, and “operational readiness, activation and transition” – also known as ORAT.
“We are very pleased to be part of this innovative Neom project, which is set to transform travel between Neom and the world,” said Aecom president Lara Poloni.
“Our track record delivering large-scale infrastructure projects in the region, as well as our mobilised global aviation resources and project management experts will help ensure the successful delivery of Neom International Airport.”
“We are delighted that Aecom will be adding another chapter to its relationship with Neom,” said Hamed Zaghw, chief executive of Aecom’s Middle East and Africa region.
“This contract is a testament to our leadership position in the region and to our continuous commitment to Neom and the goals of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030.”
Russell WBHO is entering the final phase of a £12m contract to build a 152,000 sq ft warehouse at Redhouse in Doncaster for pharmaceutical wholesaler Mawdsleys.
Russells’ financial year runs to the end of June. It says that the first half of FY 2022 (i.e. July-Dec 2021) was the busiest period in its 25-year history, completing £165m worth of projects.
But in the second half – between January and June 2022 – it saw £150m of anticipated starts put on hold as the economy faltered amid the fall-out of the invasion of Ukraine.
“Reassuringly, however, several of those delayed projects are now making significant progress and are expected to generate turnover in the 2023 year,” said financial director Lee Downs in the company’s annual report.
“As the company marks its 25th anniversary, we expect the order book to recover significantly over the next 12-24 months. The forward pipeline is extremely positive and over the last 12 months Russells has been asked to deliver more pre-qualification questionnaires, bids and tenders than at any time in the company’s history,” he continued. “The team is currently awaiting decisions on more than £250m of tendered contracts.”
With turnover down by two-thirds in the year to 30th June 2022, pre-tax profit fell to £2.5m, down from £8.0m the previous year – “a significant achievement when reviewing the current marketplace,” said the financial director, “and in excess of many of our immediate competitors”.
Russells Construction was established in 1997 in Manchester by Andrew and Gareth Russell. In 2018 they sold a majority share to South Africa’s biggest construction business, Wilson Bayly Holmes-Ovcon Limited (WBHO) and trades as Russell WBHO.
The plans include the refurbishment of The Commercial public house
Build-to-rent (BTR) developer and operator Platform plans to build a 1.3 million sq ft mixed-use neighbourhood on a brownfield site on Sweet Street West that has been vacant since 2009.
Construction is expected to start before the end of the year, once a contractor has been appointed.
The masterplan shows up to 1,350 BTR apartments with leisure, dining and entertainment amenities around a new public square. The development incorporates the refurbishment of an old pub, The Commercial.
The masterplan also includes two new office buildings of 96,000 sq ft and 48,000 sq ft respectively, with floorplates of up to 15,000 sq ft. Platform is targeting a BREEAM Excellent rating for the office buildings.
Platform, which owns the freehold to the site, intends to start enabling works straight away, alongside detailed design and a construction tender process for the first phase of the development to start on site before the end of the year.
Chief executive Jean-Marc Vandevivere said: “The green light from Leeds City Council is the news that we have been waiting for, and we are incredibly pleased that we can now progress with our development which is set to become one of the most desirable residential and office communities in the city.
“This will be Platform’s largest development yet, taking our portfolio to 4,000 apartments and value of over £1bn as we continue to add further BTR opportunities across the UK.”
A new public square will be the focus of the development
Oxford Brookes University is decamping from its Wheatley Campus and has sold it for housing
The 53-acre site, close to the villages of Wheatley and Holton, has outline planning consent for 500 homes.
The development will provide a mix of houses, from two to five bedrooms, along with some apartments. There are also community facilities planned, including a sports pavilion, bowling green and cricket pitch.
Crest Nicholson hopes to begin works at the end of 2024, with the first completions to be expected in autumn 2025.
Crest Nicholson South land director Nicholas Daruwalla said: “This is a key purchase for Crest Nicholson, given the site’s prime location and scale. It is in close proximity to major employment, retail, leisure, and education hubs, making it a highly desirable location. These characteristics, coupled with the area comprising high levels of housing demand and low levels of supply, makes this deal an important purchase for the business.”
The university was advised by CBRE on the deal. CBRE director Jasper Masters said “The Wheatley sale represents the largest single family housing site to have exchanged in the UK since last September’s mini budget. A sale of this nature will provide the development land market with a strong sense of optimism.”
Thanks to high prices and an extra trading day in January 2023 compared to 2022, the amount of money passing through the tills increased, but only just.
The latest Builders Merchant Building Index (BMBI) report, which analyses point-of-sale data from over 80% of generalist builders’ merchants’ sales throughout Great Britain, reveals that total value sales were up by 0.2% in January 2023 compared to the same month in 2022. This nominal growth came largely from inflation as volume sales were down 16.5% while prices rose 19.9%. There was also an extra trading day this January, so like-for-like sales (by value) were 4.6% lower.
Nine of the twelve categories sold more in January 2023 compared to the previous year. Renewables & Water Saving ( up 46%) performed strongly, as did Decorating (up 21%) and Plumbing, Heating & Electrical (up 18%). Sales of Timber & Joinery Products were down 15% on the year, Landscaping was down 12%.
Month-on-month, volume sales were up 28.6% in January 2023 compared to December 2022 – December is always slower, due to holidays. With process up 1.9% over the course of the month, total sales takings were up 31.1% in January 2023 compared to December 2022.
However, there were five more trading days in January; daily sales were actually flat (down 0.1%).
For the 12 months February 2022 to January 2023 to total merchant ££ sales were 5.3% higher than the corresponding period a year before. But with price inflation at 16.5%, sales volumes were down 9.6%.
Emile van der Ryst, account manager at data firm GfK, which crunches the numbers, said: “Market turmoil in the past year has now reached the stage where some of the monthly figures need further context. This month, January-on-January sees a +0.2% value increase, with a -16.5% volume decrease and a +19.9% price increase. Logic dictates that value should therefore be around +3-4% if volume and price are balanced against each other. This month is however affected by Heavy Building Materials, Timber & Joinery and Landscaping distorting the total market view.
“These three categories combined make up around 75% of total market value, and therefore heavily influence topline trends. But they are each quite different in the mix. Heavy Building Materials has one of the lowest average prices of the categories but has seen a larger than market average price growth. At the same time, Timber & Joinery has one of the highest average prices, but has seen lower than market average volume declines, with prices declining against rampant total market inflation. Finally, Landscaping is a key volume driver in the market, but has seen a larger than market average seasonal volume decline. These factors in combination occasionally create hard-to-understand distortions, unexpected anomalies in topline trends which need to be seen in context.
“We expect these trends to continue through 2023 and into the first half of 2024 as inflation, demand and supply gradually return to a more normal stability.”
The new engineering building, designed by ADP Architecture
Willmott Dixon’s £60m contract is for a new teaching block with faculty offices, alongside an engineering workshop, together providing new home for the Faculty of Technology, Design & Environment.
The buildings are designed by ADP Architecture.
Completion is expected by September 2024, in time for the new academic year.
Jerry Woods, director of estates and campus services at Oxford Brookes University, said: “We are pleased Willmott Dixon has commenced work on two inspirational buildings for our Headington Campus. The new state-of-the-art labs, workshops, and teaching and social learning spaces will be transformational for our Faculty of Technology, Design & Environment.”
Willmott Dixon was selected off the Southern Construction Framework SCF Construct, on which it has been a permanent fixture since the franework’s creation in 2006. Yesterday we reported that Willmott Dixon was among 20 contractors selected for the fifth iteration, SCF 5, which starts in May. Willmott Dixon has completed more than £1bn of construction work through SCF’s previous four generations.
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