The Resolute Group Ltd

Plans for a new National Distribution Centre for bakery chain Greggs at Symmetry Park in Kettering have been announced. The planning application contains details for 311,551 sq ft of logistics space on a 25.1-acre plot as part of Greggs’ strategic growth plan requiring investment in significant supply chain capacity. Greggs currently has 2,500 shops and its longer-term plans target more than 3,000 shops in the UK. The distribution centre will bolster its capacity to directly supply ambient and chilled products to a growing portfolio of shops. Tritax Symmetry is also seeking planning permission for an additional 100,000 sq ft to enable Greggs to expand the site further. The building will be a key part of Symmetry Park which extends to 136 acres in total and benefits from outline planning permission for 2,310,000 sq ft of logistics floor space overall. Subject to planning, Greggs expects the centre to be operational in the first half of 2027.

Skanska has signed a £105m contract to deliver a major office rebuild on Millbank close to the Houses of Parliament. 7 Millbank project will restore original building facade. Developer Old Park Lane Management aims to dismantle and rebuild 7 Millbank in Westminster to create nine-storey office building with two basement levels. The design and build of 12,100 sq m of workspace will include reconstruction of the original historic façade, which has been carefully deconstructed by demolition contractor McGee and stored before being rebuilt into the new structure to maintain and enhance the building’s historic character. The new development will provide sustainable workspace with an enlarged reception, atrium and staircase, and terraces on the 6th, 7th and 8th floors to offer amenities and enhance urban greening. The scheme will be targeting BREEAM Outstanding, WELL Platinum and a Nabers 5* rating. Consultants to the scheme are project managers G&T, Make Architects, Waterman Group, Hilson Moran and WT Partnership. Construction is expected to be completed in January 2027. https://lnkd.in/euRvfdDY

Yesterday we announced our draft decisions on water companies' plans for 2025-2030. This morning, we're setting out what these mean for each water company. For more information, visit: https://lnkd.in/gzRc69MM

Henley Investment Management Ltd has submitted plans for a cluster of towers containing 3,300 flats on the boundary of Salford and Manchester. The landmark £1bn development will transform the 130,000 sq ft site at Regent Retail Park, currently occupied by Costa Coffee and JD Sports at one end to TK Maxx at the other, and the associated car parking. Designed by MattBrook Architects, outline plans for the new neighbourhood involve building seven towers and three mid-rise buildings. The tallest of the residential tower would rise to 264m, making it the third tallest skyscraper in the country behind The Shard (310m), and TwentyTwo (278m). The Regent Park scheme would include West Union Park at its heart, a 3.5 acre park with a children’s play space and a village square. Henley is targeting vacant possession of phase one of the site by 2026. Ian Rickwood, chief executive at Henley Investment Management, said: “Our vision is to create a new green and sustainable neighbourhood for Salford, one that meets the needs of future generations. “Regent Park will deliver a new local centre for the area, with retail, community and green space at the heart of the plans. Our proposals will bring forward more and enhanced retail space, a new park and village square, along with much needed high-quality homes. “We’ve undertaken extensive public consultation with the local community, stakeholders and the council and we look forward to continuing to work together.”

Ofwat sets out record £88 billion upgrade to deliver cleaner rivers and seas, and better services for customers The total expenditure proposed is £16bn lower than in companies’ business plans. This reflects Ofwat’s analysis of those plans, removing or reducing costs where expenditure is insufficiently justified, inefficient or for activity for which companies have already been funded; customers will not pay twice. The average bill increase for water and wastewater companies will be £19 a year over five years (£94 in total), excluding inflation. Companies’ business plans proposed increases averaging £144 over five years. Ofwat’s interventions have reduced the level of bill increases proposed by companies. For example, Thames Water’s proposed increase of £191 by 2030 has been reduced to £99; Severn Trent’s proposed increase of £144 has been reduced to £93. £35bn of the expenditure reflects the investment needed to reduce pollution, improve customer service, river and bathing water quality, and deliver greater resilience to the impact of climate change. This is more than a trebling of the level of investment in the 2020 to 2025 period. Companies have been required to prepare for the future by setting their plans in the context of a 25-year delivery strategy. These proposals include the work of the regulators’ joint team RAPID, which is helping to accelerate the delivery of £17bn of new water assets including 6 reservoirs, some of which are part of the wider programme of major projects; in total 9 new reservoirs are proposed. Reducing the number of spills from storm overflows by 44% (compared with 2021 levels) by spending £10bn and upgrading 2,500 storm overflows; this includes the 21% reduction which Ofwat has required companies to deliver by 2025 at their own expense Today’s announcement builds on Ofwat’s approval in 2023 of £2.2bn of accelerated investment to make an early start on delivering improvements and drive down spills from storm overflows. £1.4bn of investment on storm overflows to be delivered through catchment- and nature-based solutions Improving river water quality by investing £6bn including improvements at over 1500 wastewater treatment works – with around 880 removing more phosphorus £6bn for securing water supplies including progressing 9 new reservoirs and 7 large-scale water transfer schemes. Requiring companies to replace around 8,000 km of water mains pipes – a 400% increase compared with the current 5-year period. Targeting companies to reduce leakage by a further 13%.

Hampshire County Council has agreed to increase funding for phase 3 of the Botley bypass road scheme by £16m to “meet the significant rise in construction and materials costs due to inflation.” Contractor Milestone Infrastructure secured an early contractor involvement deal two years ago following VolkerFitzpatrick Ltd’s completion of the first two phases (pictured in green above). The council said the budget will now be increased from £31m to £47m. Construction is expected to begin in Spring 2025 and be completed in 2027. The final phase includes a new bridge over the River Hamble, a new roundabout junction with the A334 and a new access for Newhouse Farm. Councillor Nick Adams-King, Leader of Hampshire County Council, said: “It’s important to provide transport infrastructure that creates the capacity to cope with additional traffic on the road network and minimise impacts on local communities. “Completing this scheme will benefit residents and businesses in and around Botley village enormously, by reducing congestion, improving traffic capacity and, in turn, reducing noise and pollution in the village. To be able to agree the extra financial support required to fulfil our longstanding commitment to build the bypass is very positive.”

5 out of 6 shortlisted SMR firms submit tenders for Great British Nuclear competition Five out of six shortlisted firms have successfully submitted initial tenders for small modular reactors (SMRs) to Great British Nuclear (GBN) as the body’s competition for rolling out the technology in the UK moves forward. GE - Hitachi, Holtec Britain, NuScale Power, Rolls-Royce SMR and Westinghouse Electric Company all successfully submitted their documents this week to meet the new deadline post-election. SMRs are nuclear power stations that have lower capacity than large-scale nuclear plants. They are in theory quicker and cheaper to deploy and their construction will be easily repeatable thanks to their modular design, which will see parts created in a factory. They are seen as a crucial part of achieving a decarbonised power network. Under the previous government, the timeline for the competition was to see two finalists name before the end of 2024. The eventual winning firm will be supported by the government in deploying its SMRs, which will unlock supply chain investment, create jobs and provide opportunities to export the technology around the world. EDF (UK) was the one shortlisted company that did not submit documents, instead opting to withdraw from the competition. This is despite its NUWARD SMR having reached the basic design phase. The company says it “remains committed to supporting the development of #nuclear in the UK” and is instead focusing on extending the lives of its large-scale plants and developing new plants at #Hinkley, #Sizewell and #Wylfa. https://lnkd.in/dddZD6RT

Consumer goods giant Dyson plans to cut up to a third of its UK workforce as part of a global shake-up. The company, best known for the invention of the bag-less vacuum cleaner, said the proposals would ensure it was “prepared for the future” amid what it called “increasingly fierce and competitive global markets”. But the move comes after staunch, long-running criticism from its founder Sir James Dyson of the UK economy policies, and the business moved its headquarters to Singapore in 2019. Dyson currently has 3,500 UK employees, with offices in Wiltshire, Bristol and London. CEO Hanno Kirner said the company needed to be "entrepreneurial and agile". Decisions which impact close and talented colleagues are always incredibly painful," he said. Those whose roles are at risk of redundancy as a result of the proposals will be supported through the process." Sir James moved Dyson's global headquarters to Singapore in 2019 Dyson moved its head office to Singapore in 2019 to be closer to its manufacturing sites and supply chains. Asian markets account for more than half of its sales and Singapore also has a free trade agreement with the EU. The company, which also makes air purifiers and hair dryers among other appliances, is still highly profitable. It increased its research and development spending by 40% last year. Dyson has stated the announcement is a business decision, not a political one, and a result of its global review. But Sir James has been highly critical of the UK’s economic policies. Last year he said the UK had “woeful policies” such as high corporation tax, and said he would invest more in “modern, forward-looking economies elsewhere” that encourage growth and innovation. Business of all sizes, much like households, have been hit by rising costs and bills in recent times. Corporation tax, which is paid on the profits of UK companies to the government, increased in April 2023 to 25% from 19%. Dyson said the UK would "remain a vital centre" for the companies research and development (R&D), as well as the home of the Dyson Institute, which has 160 undergraduate engineers. But one Dyson employee who received notice today told the BBC though the physical R&D building remained, "everyone involved in R&D have now exited all Dyson buildings". "All in stark contrast to James' promise that R&D would remain in the UK after the Singapore headquarter move. We believe this is obviously to cut costs by using our South East Asian counterparts who are cheaper to employ," they claimed. During the coronavirus pandemic, the firm cut 600 jobs in the UK and a further 300 worldwide, saying people were changing how they bought products. Dyson was founded by inventor Sir James Dyson who is fifth on the Sunday Times Rich list with a personal wealth of £20.8bn. BBC News

Skanska’s UK construction business saw operating profit slump to £6.3m last year on turnover that remained stable at £1.3bn. The firm also restated its previous financial performance in 2022, originally reported as a £55m pre-tax profit. This has now been cut by £30m to £24m in 2022. Skanska said the adjustment was required after the estimated costs to complete several contracts had to be revised. Operating margins were squeezed to 0.5% in 2023, down from the 3% originally reported in 2022 (restated 0.9%). Chief financial officer and executive vice president Meliha Duymaz, who joined Skanska from Network Rail at the end of 2022, said that during the year the group identified a number of contracts where the estimated total costs required to complete the contract required a significant increase. She said: “Further investigation revealed various underlying causes of the estimated total cost increases, including errors in forecasting, the discovery of previously unidentified risks which the group should have been aware of and the misinterpretation of contract terms and obligations and therefore related costs. “The group determined that a number of these underlying causes existed at the previous reporting date and would have resulted in the recognition of different contract revenues and costs in the prior year if the information that should have been reasonably known was known. “The group has concluded that the operating performance of the affected contracts reported in the financial statements for the year ended 13 December 2022 was materially misstated.” Last year Skanska booked £1bn of orders including a £219m project for a new military facility at RAF Molesworth, Cambridgeshire and a £158m contract for the M&E fit-out of the Telehouse Office data centre in London. https://lnkd.in/gVUGttf

Sometimes, you need to go higher to see the progress and achievements. The future Washwood Heath depot is massive! Thinking back to our first rainy site visit four years ago and seeing the first lorries arriving. Proud to be part of this project. #balfourbeattyvinci #hs2 #birmingham #vinci