NATFEN Awards Magazine Edition 12

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GENERAL

CLIPPINGS AND MUSINGS – NOVEMBER EDITION - HELEN DUVAL 2018 T here is a real concern that house prices could fall across the country next year, if the government fails to reach a Brexit deal, according to one senior economist. "We see this continuing to be the case over the coming months and we remain supportive of our 0-3% forecast range."

The average UK house price is now £227,869, but how does this relate to the north south divide? It has been suggested that the differences will narrow over the next five years with property values set to increase in Northern England by one fifth. Savills estate agent has predicted that British house prices will rise in line with average incomes from 2019 to 2024. Predictions are set to see house prices rise from 21.6% in the North West of England to 4.5% in London, with Scotland and Wales seeing property values rise by nearly 20% over the same period. The Head of residential research at Savills, recently stated that house prices in these areas were recovering more slowly than London. "Brexit angst is a major factor for market sentiment right now, particularly in London. But it is the legacy of the global financial crisis

Howard Archer, chief economic adviser to the EY ITEM Club, expects prices to fall "modestly" if there is no agreement with Brussels; however, “a negotiated deal could see prices rise by around 2%”. Meanwhile, the UK's largest mortgage lender, the Halifax, stated that prices rose by only 1.5% this year to October, which is the lowest annual rise since March 2013. Although supply of properties is still limited, the Halifax believes house prices will continue rising, by as much as 3%, over the coming months. "Further house price support comes from an already high and improving employment rate and historically low mortgage rates which are creating higher rates of relative affordability," Russell Galley, managing director of the Halifax commented in a recent article.

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GENERAL

mortgage regulation in particular combined with gradually rising interest rates that will really shape the market over the longer term," he commented. The predictions by Savills suggests that, house prices will increase across the country by 14.8% over the next five years, which would add around £32,000 to the average value of a home. London is expected to see the slowest rise during this period although prices are still the highest and have increased by 72% over the past 10 years. Cities such as Manchester and Birmingham "have the capacity to outperform their regions” Savills have stated. So what of the potential for the new build sector? According to a recent report from the BBC, “About 400,000 people have left the industry since 2008,” Richard Steer, Chairman of Gleeds, a leading construction management company recently commented. Furthermore, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors issued a report recently which predicts that up to 27,000 construction projects will suffer from a lack of suitably skilled and qualified workers, which continues to be a very worrying concern all round. The report states that the skills shortage has reached its highest level since 1998, with the highest demand being for bricklayers and quantity surveyorsUninspired graduates and potential apprentices, seeing no future in construction, appear to have completely rejected the industry as a career with potential. So how can this be turned around? Over £1 billion has been invested into training and apprenticeship schemes, with colleges offering more technically based places. The long term is definitely in focus as construction projects are being carefully evaluated to guarantee that enough time can be given to train apprentices to the right level before work begins.

Industry and education are being encouraged to work closely with training colleges to ensure that trainees have the right skills to meet future construction skill shortages. Other schemes are also currently being devised and implemented to aid the situation with some companies ensuring that 1 in 50 positions are filled by an apprentice. Currently, highly skilled people are being encouraged to support training programmes as they can help to train school leavers and apprentices as they enter the sector. It would seem sensible to predict that apprentices will only stay and complete their training if they can see a good future for themselves once their training is completed. Advancement and a guaranteed career path, is the key to inspiring the next generation. What about projects? With the idea of an Oxford Cambridge Arc, already creating a flurry with environmentalists, mega developments are clearly in the controversial pipeline. More than a million homes and an expressway may be built in a bid to shorten journey times across the country from East to West. Questions are being raised about whether this type of development is necessary as Government advisers state that they are essential to ‘safeguard booming economies’. With the space in the south almost depleted now, this type of expansive development within greenbelt areas could well become increasingly possible. Chris Grayling recently commented "We see the development of the corridor for the economy and housing as essential. For the new build sector it is certainly a challenging and perhaps exciting prospect that would boost business as long as the skills are firmly there to build it. With Brexit looming, the next few years will be critical to the future development of the construction sector and there are tough decisions looming not just for apprentices but for business owners in general.

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NFA WINNERS FEATURE

2018 NATIONAL FENESTRATION AWARDS WINNERS ANNOUNCED M onday 29th October to Friday 2nd November was Winners Week for the 2018 National Fenestration Awards campaign and was once again a highlight of the year for the industry. All winners have now been notified by email and have their winners logos which will be seen on social media, printed marketing, vans, email signatures and any other place winners feel proud to display them!

After 6 weeks of hard voting, superb campaigns by many finalists pushing for the industry for their votes, and indeed thousands of all important votes cast by all members of the fenestration community, these are the #NFA18 winners in all 24 categories, with two additional Heart Of The Industry hand picked awards: That’s 25 categories in total, with 23 different winners. This year’s campaign has been the most extensive, most inclusive and most diverse. Although many companies were nominated in quite a few categories, the end results have produced an incredibly diverse group of winners. The voting this year has also been very close, perhaps the closest it has ever been. The 2018 campaign produced an incredible three categories with joint winners, with the majority of categories only being decided by a handful of votes. Even in the final hours category leaders were changing positions. Winners Week was also another successful venture on social media. Winners Week is the method in which the NFA winners are announced. Beginning on a Monday, a batch of winners are announced on social media, particularly Twitter and Facebook. The general spirit of those who won, came second and third was very positive indeed, and showed the industry in a light than is not often seen outside the industry.

Preparations for the #NFA18 winners event are already underway, with firm dates, location and marketing opportunities set to be announced soon. The NFA team would like to thank main sponsors: Kolorseal, GQA Qualifications, Masterframe, Sysneal, FrameXpress, Bystronic Glass/HEGLA and Morley Glass for their backing and support during the course of the campaign. Thanks also go to >Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 86 Page 87 Page 88 Page 89 Page 90

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