Key sites in England snapped up for major housing schemes

Bridging Finance News:-Homes England, the government’s housing development agency, has bought 19 sites worth £180m to build up to 5,000 new homes. Several of the acquisitions were completed just before the end of the financial year, with the agency re-affirming its position to back housebuilding post the Covid-19 pandemic. Homes England chief land and development officer Stephen Kinsella said: “As a master developer, it’s crucial we continue to create development opportunities and provide a pipeline of sites for housebuilders of [...]

By |2021-11-13T09:24:21+00:00April 14, 2020|Projects, Blog, Finance News, Planning News|0 Comments

Surveyors call for stamp duty waiver to boost house sales

Bridge Finance News:- A stamp duty holiday post lockdown would help get the housing market back on its feet, according to the professional body for surveyors. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, RICS, residential market survey for March shows a sharp fall in buyer demand with a net balance of minus 74 per cent. Newly agreed sales dropped across the UK with over two-thirds of respondents reporting a fall compared with 19 per cent recording a rise in February. RICS [...]

By |2021-11-13T09:24:27+00:00April 9, 2020|Projects, Blog, Finance News, Planning News|0 Comments

Scottish government orders building site closures

Commercial Finance News:- Construction firms north of the border have been told to shut up shop unless their work is for essential projects due to the coronavirus pandemic. Work related to supporting crucial work to deal with Covid-19 such as repurposing buildings to offer clinical care will be allowed. Economy secretary Fiona Hyslop said she recognised this was difficult for all kinds of businesses, but the government’s priority was to save lives. “To this end, all construction sites should close [...]

By |2024-06-27T03:08:24+00:00April 7, 2020|Projects, Blog, Finance News, Planning News|0 Comments

Housebuilders call on the government to extend planning permissions

Bridging Loans News:- Extend planning approvals by a year to avoid current permissions lapsing during the pandemic crisis, urges the construction industry. The National Federation of Builders, NFB, has put six proposals forward to the government to help the housebuilding sector survive the coronavirus pandemic. These include exemption from business rates, suspending planning contribution payments and council tax on new build unoccupied or incomplete homes. NFB chief executive, Richard Beresford, said it was in constant contact with its members so [...]

By |2024-06-27T03:07:53+00:00April 6, 2020|Projects, Blog, Finance News, Planning News|0 Comments

Government-backed loan scheme extended to all SMEs

Bridging Finance News:- All viable SME businesses will now be eligible for the coronavirus business interruption loan scheme, the chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced. The government is also going to stop banks from asking for personal guarantees from directors for loans under £250,000. Loans over this sum will need personal guarantees of 20 per cent of the amount after recovery of other business assets. Mr Sunak said: “We are making great progress on getting much-needed support out to businesses to [...]

By |2021-11-13T09:24:56+00:00April 3, 2020|Projects, Blog, Finance News, Planning News|0 Comments

Construction industry wins business secretary praise

Development Funding News:- Business secretary, Alok Sharma, has thanked the construction industry for rising to the challenge of ensuring people have safe and healthy homes and helping the NHS. Mr Sharma wrote an open letter yesterday, March 31, praising the sector for supporting the country and the economy in its time of need. “The construction industry has answered the call to action. Whether by building temporary hospital wards, installing complex and life-saving oxygen systems, constructing the infrastructure that society needs [...]

By |2021-11-13T09:25:04+00:00April 1, 2020|Projects, Blog, Finance News, Planning News|0 Comments

Housebuilders need to carry on, says business minister

Finance Lenders News:- Business minister, Nadhim Zahawi, has defended private sector enterprises, such as the building industry, still operating in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis. Mr Zahawi writes in The Telegraph that “we still need to build houses” and sectors such as the construction industry and online delivery retail outlets had been unfairly criticised. “We have seen some, intentionally or otherwise, wrongly interpreting the current rules, and unfairly criticising businesses that are implementing them correctly.” He described it as [...]

By |2021-11-13T09:25:12+00:00March 30, 2020|Projects, Blog, Finance News, Planning News|0 Comments

Construction industry presses for clear message about building sites

Bridging Loans News:-Clarity over which construction sites should stay open and which must close is essential, the industry has urged. Construction Industry Council, CIC, chief executive, Graham Watts, said work to make good unsafe buildings or dangerous structures should continue. “In the absence of firm advice, some construction companies are taking matters into their own hands and closing for the foreseeable future or until there is more clarity. It is currently a matter of mess and muddle,” said Mr Watts. Taylor [...]

By |2021-11-13T09:25:18+00:00March 27, 2020|Projects, Blog, Finance News, Planning News|0 Comments

Builders’ merchants open for business again

Bridging Loans News:- Builders merchants are re-opening their doors after the government told them to stay open to support the construction industry supply chain. Howdens, Huws Gray, Jewson, Ridgeons, Selco and Travis Perkins closed their branches yesterday, March 24, following the government’s advice on Monday that people should stay at home. However, the government told them via their trade association, the Builders Merchants Federation, BMF, to continue operating. BMF chief executive, John Newcomb, said during a construction leadership taskforce meeting [...]

By |2021-11-13T09:25:28+00:00March 25, 2020|Projects, Blog, Finance News, Planning News|0 Comments

Building firms urged to keep cashflow alive

Construction Loans News:- Keep your supply chain up and running by paying suppliers and staff, urges construction trade body, Build UK. The organisation called on construction firms to act responsibly following the chancellor, Rishi Sunak’s announcement on Friday, March 20, of a raft of business support measures. “The aim is to keep cash flowing through the whole supply chain so that businesses of all sizes can survive the current crisis,” it said. Build UK wants firms to hang on to [...]

By |2021-11-13T09:25:34+00:00March 23, 2020|Projects, Blog, Finance News, Planning News|0 Comments

Smaller developers press chancellor for tax break

Bridging Financing News:- Small and medium-sized building firms are calling for a three-month tax holiday on VAT, pay as you earn and construction industry scheme contributions to prevent wide-spread insolvencies. The Federation of Master Builders, FMB, has written to the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, and business secretary,Alok Sharma, asking for immediate support in the wake of the coronavirus. They say three-quarters of their 7,500members have reported delayed or cancelled projects and just under two-thirds have seen a fall in enquiries. Nearly [...]

By |2021-11-13T09:25:41+00:00March 20, 2020|Projects, Blog, Finance News, Planning News|0 Comments

Builders on red alert for site closures and lay-offs

Instant bridging finance News:-The construction industry is grappling with the challenge of supply chain disruptions, staff sickness and site closures caused by the coronavirus. The National Federation of Builders, NFB, said members had reported issues of absence due to self-isolation and this was likely to change rapidly in the next few days. NFB chief executive, Richard Beresford, said: “The government and the construction sector needs to also recognise the risk of mass absence from construction sites and the potential impact [...]

By |2021-11-13T09:25:47+00:00March 18, 2020|Projects, Blog, Finance News, Planning News|0 Comments